DeeJunFan Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 Does anyone else with one of these units have a voltage meter that they could throw on it to see is there a certain amount of earth leakage always there? Heat pump guy thinks there would be a lot coming of the DC inverter? Thanks D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpmiller Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 No reason for an inverter to leak as such, the compressor windings and any mains suppressor/filter are more likely culprits. Followed by solenoid valve coils, fan motors etc.. If you can't find anyone that'll have a go give me a shout and I'll see if I can get down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeJunFan Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 Hi @dpmiller Thanks for that. I haven't had any joy yet with getting anyone. I have posted a message on the electrical forum @ProDave suggested and it appears that the way my spark tested the earth fault wasn't the correct way to even do it. Spark removed the earth supply cable from the heat pump so it wouldn't trip out and then tested with a voltage meter. He put one probe on the live terminal and one on the earth and got the voltage reading. I wasn't sure this was the right way to do it but i dont have a clue how to work the thing. I'm at a loss to be honest. I'll send you a PM and if you could send me your contact details that would be great. Thanks Damian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeJunFan Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 So @dpmiller was kind enough to come out and diagnose my heat pump. Its the compressor so looks like a have a large lump of scrap metal on my hands. Anyone know of any other half decent heat pumps on the market? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 At least you have a diagnosis, even if it is not the one you want. I take it it's out of warranty? What sort of readings did he get? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeJunFan Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 I dont think these IVT units came with any sort of warranty and if they did its just over 12 months runtime so not likely to be covered. The company (ice energy) we all bought them from went bust fairly quickly after they unloaded them. The compressor was reading mega Ohms and when he put the voltage through it was down to kiloOhms. around 2500KOhms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan52 Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 Can you not swap out the compressor for a new one. Has to be some sort of part id stamp on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeJunFan Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 1 minute ago, Declan52 said: Can you not swap out the compressor for a new one. Has to be some sort of part id stamp on it. Would cost more than 2/3 times the cost of the unit or so i've been told. Its quite labour intensive and the re-gassing is expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 11 minutes ago, DeeJunFan said: I dont think these IVT units came with any sort of warranty and if they did its just over 12 months runtime so not likely to be covered. The company (ice energy) we all bought them from went bust fairly quickly after they unloaded them. The compressor was reading mega Ohms and when he put the voltage through it was down to kiloOhms. around 2500KOhms Not convinced by that. at 230V and 2500Kohms the leakage is 1mA, that won't trip an rcd. I would power it up temporarily without an rcd, run it for a few minutes and then repeat the IR tests as soon as you can after turning it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeJunFan Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 5 minutes ago, ProDave said: Not convinced by that. at 230V and 2500Kohms the leakage is 1mA, that won't trip an rcd. I would power it up temporarily without an rcd, run it for a few minutes and then repeat the IR tests as soon as you can after turning it off. I could have mis-read the numbers perhaps @dpmiller could confirm? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpmiller Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 OK so standard resistance checks cold gave 30M plus for each of the mains-connected portions of the unit. As nothing obvious appeared we fired it up and it went through initialisation, started the fan, stepped the expansion valves and then there were a couple of faint buzzes from the inverter. No shudder, hum, or anything else from the compressor. After this, the multimeter showed 25k from the compressor windings to chassis. I threw the megger on it at this point and the needle was off the scale. Very leaky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan52 Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 2 hours ago, DeeJunFan said: Would cost more than 2/3 times the cost of the unit or so i've been told. Its quite labour intensive and the re-gassing is expensive. Not having much luck then Dee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeJunFan Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 2 hours ago, Declan52 said: Not having much luck then Dee. You don't know the half of it. This is a mere inconvenience at the moment. @ProDave and @dpmiller the plot thickens somewhat. My father came down this evening and insisted on changing the isolater and when the heat pump started up I was expecting the same startup process as earlier this evening H6 code and fan to start up etc and then trip. But this time the code 08 was displayed on the PCB display and the fan didn't start up there was a strange humming sound coming from the board and nothing tripped. The insulation test was just standard voltage so I didn't think it would change anything in terms of the function. But there you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpmiller Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 And what does your magic book say 08 is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeJunFan Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 6 minutes ago, dpmiller said: And what does your magic book say 08 is? It doesn't list 08 as a fault. There are 2 U8 faults. So either fan motor or refrigerant circuit temp. I'm not holding out any hope for it just very strange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpmiller Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Wonder if the compressor has now failed sufficiently that the inverter is chosing not to drive it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeJunFan Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 7 hours ago, dpmiller said: Wonder if the compressor has now failed sufficiently that the inverter is chosing not to drive it... Very possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 8 hours ago, DeeJunFan said: It doesn't list 08 as a fault. There are 2 U8 faults. So either fan motor or refrigerant circuit temp. I'm not holding out any hope for it just very strange. If this is an Ecolane then it’s a Mitsubishi AX-09 under the covers. U8 is abnormality in the main fan unit so check it’s not jammed. Error codes are as follows : Send me a PM with your email on and I’ll forward you the service manual for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeJunFan Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Thanks @PeterW Ill fire you over a PM now . I was expecting a letter and then a number but it reads 08 to me which is a strange one. Fan is (was moving without issue) Cheers Damian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 Did you I/R test the fan motor windings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 9 hours ago, dpmiller said: And what does your magic book say 08 is? sorry !! O8 is compressor warm up - does it change after a while ..??? @DeeJunFan can you take a photo of the board when it calls for heat ..? There are also some items about using Meggers on the boards - check the info carefully in the document I’ve sent you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeJunFan Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 22 minutes ago, ProDave said: Did you I/R test the fan motor windings? Resistance tested them i think the compressor was the only thing insulation tested. The fan itself is connected by a very small wiring loom so not sure how you would have tested anything else. Thanks Damian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 This sounds very much like a compressor that's suffering from an insulation breakdown when it warms up. Not a particularly unusual failure mode, I've seen a fair few electric motors over the years that have tested out OK when cold but then develop a leak to earth when they warm up. Replacing the compressor is a simple job mechanically, but does mean degassing the unit, most probably brazing up the pipes to it, putting it under vacuum to get any moisture out (and it may well be moisture in the refrigerant that's the cause of the problem) and then re-gassing it. The snag is that the likely cost of a compressor replacement, including the labour, will be a fair chunk of the price for a replacement ASHP. If it's not covered by warranty, then I think my inclination would be to look around for a replacement unit, as the odds are that will be a lot quicker to fit than replacing the compressor on your existing unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeJunFan Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 13 minutes ago, PeterW said: sorry !! O8 is compressor warm up - does it change after a while ..??? @DeeJunFan can you take a photo of the board when it calls for heat ..? There are also some items about using Meggers on the boards - check the info carefully in the document I’ve sent you. I didn't leave it on very long because there is a strange humming (almost sparking) noise coming from the unit. This is the LED display codes. So i was seeing H6 which is heating mode but Solenoid valve not on. and now getting 08 which looks like Off Compressor warm up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeJunFan Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 2 minutes ago, Jeremy Harris said: This sounds very much like a compressor that's suffering from an insulation breakdown when it warms up. Not a particularly unusual failure mode, I've seen a fair few electric motors over the years that have tested out OK when cold but then develop a leak to earth when they warm up. Replacing the compressor is a simple job mechanically, but does mean degassing the unit, most probably brazing up the pipes to it, putting it under vacuum to get any moisture out (and it may well be moisture in the refrigerant that's the cause of the problem) and then re-gassing it. The snag is that the likely cost of a compressor replacement, including the labour, will be a fair chunk of the price for a replacement ASHP. If it's not covered by warranty, then I think my inclination would be to look around for a replacement unit, as the odds are that will be a lot quicker to fit than replacing the compressor on your existing unit. Yes i think this is the current consensus. I have been looking around for a replacement unit and came across these guys. Not sure if anyone has any knowledge of them. https://coolenergyshop.com/collections/inverter-heat-pump/products/cool-energy-inverter-6-18-7kw-stainless-heat-pump-ce-ih6-18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now