MadManMike Posted January 4, 2023 Report Share Posted January 4, 2023 Can TF come to the rescue once again? I'm a plumbing noob, so go easy... We recently noticed that our hot water was gradually getting colder, to the point where we had no hot water at all. I had a look in our airing cupboard, where the tank and two Drayton actuators are fitted - one for heating, one for hot water. I had my partner turn both on one at a time and I figured out that the motor had burned out on the hot water actuator, so the valve wasn't opening - hence the water in the tank gradually cooling down, since no new hot water was getting in. As a temporary fix I took the actuator off and manually opened the valve and left it open. We ordered a replacement motor for the actuator. After fitting the new motor, the actuator works as it should - you can hear it and see it going through the motions when the hot water is turned on. For some reason the water is now only slightly warm, unless we press "hot water advance" to give it a boost. We've not changed the timers or anything, so it comes on as it did before the motor died. Before this issue, the water was always hot when we needed it. Any suggestions as to what may have happened since replacing the motor? It's definitely working as the water gets a little warm and then hot if we press the advance button. With the dead motor, it didn't heat up at all. For reference, the actuator is a Drayton ZA5, photo of the unit attached. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLIW Posted January 6, 2023 Report Share Posted January 6, 2023 Did you change the full valve or just the motor part?? If only the motor the valve its self is at fault. Drain the tank down, turn cold feed off and boiler, open hot and cold tap at the lowest point, you’ll have 2 pressure relief valves. You need to crank the top most open slightly and you’ll hear air and it gulping. Swap it out and then refil. Our system failed before crimbo. Converted to Combi best thing. Did a system convert in 10 hours and new rads plus a flush. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadManMike Posted January 16, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2023 Weird, I didn't see a reply on here, sorry! The valve itself is fine, not sticking at all - since replacing the motor in the actuator, you can see it moving. For a while it seemed to work OK, but the last couple of days it's gone cold again. I've noticed that when the HW comes on, either through the timer or by manually turning it on, the boiler doesn't always fire up - Googling that brings up all sorts of weird, unrelated results, so I guess it's time to call a plumber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadManMike Posted January 17, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2023 Done some more Googles... seems like the microswitch may have failed in that actuator, since it's separate from the motor - the motor fires up and opens the valve, but the microswitch may not be working, hence the boiler doesn't fire up (Intermittently). Looks like I'm buying another ZA5 actuator and replacing the whole unit (Keeping the motor from the current one, since it's brand new...) Motor was £22, new actuator is £50, so if it fixes it that's still a decent saving over a plumber. Fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Booth Posted January 18, 2023 Report Share Posted January 18, 2023 Check the microswitch out and find a part number Mike, put it into RS components and should be a like for like replacement. I doubt they're much effort to change as they're treated as service items. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadManMike Posted January 18, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2023 The manufacturer claims the microswitch and others parts aren't service items - only the motor is. How true that is, I don't know. Anyway, new ZA5 arrives today, pretty quick to swap over so fingers crossed it solves the problem... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Posted January 30, 2023 Report Share Posted January 30, 2023 Did it work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Rainbird Posted January 30, 2023 Report Share Posted January 30, 2023 Sorry, Mike can't come to the forum right now, he was having a bath and is still encased in ice. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadManMike Posted January 30, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2023 6 hours ago, Danny said: Did it work? It's about to be returned, unused, as for some reason the hot water just started working properly again... I still suspect the microswitch is faulty, but all the time it's working I'll leave it as it is. 4 hours ago, Luke Rainbird said: Sorry, Mike can't come to the forum right now, he was having a bath and is still encased in ice. Hah, no but I do have a mild concussion after twatting my head fixing the downstairs toilet earlier. Home ownership! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Rainbird Posted November 24, 2023 Report Share Posted November 24, 2023 Yaaaaaaaaay, plumbing (and a bit of fixing previous plumber's destruction for good measure) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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