Hot water won't come on by itself

[Ivan Android]

I wonder if anyone can help diagnose a problem I'm having.

My hot water won't come on by itself.

The system is a pretty bog-standard gravity fed type with the cylinder, pump, 2 port valve etc in a first-floor airing cupboard.

If I switch on the heating by itself it works.

If I switch on the heating and hot water together the pump switches off. If I then turn down the cylinder thermostat the pump switches back on and I start getting a supply of hot water to the cylinder. This isn't ideal though because supposedly there's nothing to tell the 2 port valve when there's enough hot water? Could this be harmful?

The 2 port valve seems to be switching to direct water to each part of the system without any problem so I don't think that's the issue. As far as I can tell the problem lies with the controller which is a pretty ancient looking Potterton EP2002.

Anybody able to offer any thoughts?

 

[Burger]

Are you sure it’s a 2 port? Any photos of cylinder cupboard? Has it always done this or just started?

 

[Ivan Android]

I'm no expert but I think this is a 2 port.
It's just started a few days ago.

 

[chris watkins]

So it is a 3 port & system is fully pumped, not gravity hot water but apart from that you were spot on Ivan 😀

 

[Ivan Android]

Haha. What's in a number and a little bit of relativity?

 

[chris watkins]

It is more like to be the motor in the zone valve than the programer.

 

[Ivan Android]

How would I check that?

 

[SJB060685]

Dodgy cylinder stat? If you switch HW and CH on at programmer and turn cylinder stat to max do you get a feed to orange wire? I’m saying this but really someone with electrical knowledge should be testing this.

 

[Ivan Android]

Dodgy cylinder stat? If you switch HW and CH on at programmer and turn cylinder stat to max do you get a feed to orange wire? I’m saying this but really someone with electrical knowledge should be testing this.

I replaced the cylinder stat this morning as the plastic mechanism inside had broken. I was hopeful this would sort the problem but alas....

 

[SJB060685]

Ok when calling for hot water on it’s own do you get a feed to cylinder stat from programmer and then to boiler live?

 

[Ivan Android]

Ok when calling for hot water on it’s own do you get a feed to cylinder stat from programmer and then to boiler live?

That's beyond my capabilities to check safely. Have ordered a new 3 port valve head, I'm comfortable swapping that out. We'll see if that helps. Thanks for helping out.
If that doesn't resolve the issue what would you suggest? I have a spare Drayton controller on standby if necessary...

 

[SJB060685]

I suggest get someone out who can diagnose it. These valves are pretty simple inside, I’ll attach an image. With what you’ve said I would be suspicious of the programmer not supplying feed to cylinder stat (of course I could be wrong). I don’t think changing the valve head will fix it but again I might be wrong.

 

[Burger]

I replaced the cylinder stat this morning as the plastic mechanism inside had broken. I was hopeful this would sort the problem but alas..

Not that I don’t trust what you have done, but did you wire up the cylinder stat correctly?

 

[garygvl]

I'm no expert but I think this is a 2 port.
It's just started a few days ago.

View attachment 37154

strange pipework the 15mm pipe that comes back in the middle of pic????

 

[chris watkins]

strange pipework the 15mm pipe that comes back in the middle of pic????

15mm was often used to pipe to the old cylinders, when it was a couple of turns of pipe for the coil it provided enough heat.

 

[garygvl]

15mm was often used to pipe to the old cylinders, when it was a couple of turns of pipe for the coil it provided enough heat.

yes but if thats the hot water return in middle of pic strange pipework

 

[SJB060685]

As Chris says I’ve seen quite a few old cylinders with a 15mm flow and return, at a time when cylinders had a longer reheat time it was deemed acceptable, as you know nowadays cylinders have a coil output in the much higher KW outputs, sometimes even larger than boiler output itself and we wouldn’t get away with 15mm pipework. As for the the pipework in picture it’s hard to make out the arrangement lol

 

[Ivan Android]

Not that I don’t trust what you have done, but did you wire up the cylinder stat correctly?

100% it was 3 wires like for like.

 

[Ivan Android]

Regarding the 15mm pipe in the middle, if it helps to solve the mystery there's a shut-off valve just below and out of shot.

There appears to have been quite a few alterations to the pipework in the airing cupboard. Partially to accommodate some new rads in an extension and partly to add a couple of showers, the Aqualisa types that sit up in the loft.

We moved in last summer and for month or two were convinced we had a leak somewhere inside the house because even after all toilets had finished filling up the meter was still spinning. I eventually realised that the first floor toilets and showers were being fed by pipes coming out of the main loft tank so it was this that was filling up for a good half hour after everything else had.

 

[Burger]

Might be time to get an engineer in.