Archive for January, 2010
Why is my shower cold when there is hot water available?
The hot water tap in our bath and our shower (in another room) run cold. If I check the water from the hot water tap at the sink, it is very hot so the boiler must be making enough hot water.
If we run the water *very* slowly from the shower or bath it runs warmer, but not when we run it fast. Why could this be? I think (but I’m not sure) that we have Thermostatic ValvValves fitted - could this be a factor?
Could it be a problem with the cold water header tank?
You might have a thermostatic mixer valve. These have a built in mechanism to go cold in the event of a fault so nobody gets scalded.
Gas furnace burners won’t light?
I have a Tempstar 90% gas furnace with a Honeywell SV9500m gas valve that seems to be malfunctioning. I’ve looked up this "smart valve" and seen it has had a lot of issues with the 4-pin connector. I’m not sure exactly what is happening, but here’s what I’ve seen. Vents are blowing cold air, so I go look at the furnace and just the pilot light is burning. I turn the switch off on the valve and turn it back on and the burners light up. I’ve also unplugged the connector and plugged it back in and the burners light up. The problem is, at some point after that…it’s been as long as 2 hours and as short as 20 minutes…I feel cold air and go check it and just the pilot light is on.
What could be causing this? I’m trying to decide if it’s a bad valve or a bad igniter, or something else.
It went off again so I tried turning the valve switch off and back on, and it failed to light the burners. Then I disconnected the connector and put it back in, and it still failed to light the burners. Then I tried the switch again and it lit up. It seems to be getting worse and worse. I need to figure out what to do. I can call a repairman to come but I want them to already know what needs to be done before they come out here. If there’s a part that needs to be replaced, I want them to have that part when they come.
It seems for some reason the "smart valve" is not opening the main valve to light the burners. The troubleshooting diagram from Honeywell says if the main valve doesn’t open and the burners don’t light:
- check that pilot flame makes good contact with burner flame rod
- check for good electrical connection through the pilot tubing
- if both above are good, replace igniter/flame rod assembly
I had to get a pro in here to deal with it. As I suspected and you all said, it was the valve. The unfortunate part is I can get this valve online for around $60, but it could take a few days to a week, so now I’m going to pay $250 to have it today, since it won’t come on at all anymore and we need heat.
Probably the smart valve itself.
Your pilot is lighting but the valve is not opening the main valve either because control part of the valve has an intermittent problem or the valve mechanically wont open.
These are expensive since the ignition control and the gas valve are all in one.
How do the valves on a radiator work?
I have new central heating. What do I with the Valves on each radiator? Should I set them to maximum and let the thermostat do the controlling? What happens if I turn down the heat setting on a radiator? will it affect the heat of the radiators down stream? If I switch one off completely does it block the pipes? Please explain…
They are mechanical and if you imagine the whole Central heating system not being like a series electrical circuit,but more like a Parallel one, well that’s pretty close.
If you have thermostatic valves on your radiators, as well as a thermostat for the central heating system?
will they not conflict with each other?
If not, why not?
The radiators might have flow control valves. Suppose all flow valves are open, and one room is too cold. By partially closing all but the coldest room’s valve, the other rooms get less heat, the cold room more heat. The flow control valves are used to balance heat throughout the house.
If all rooms are cold except the room with the thermostat, partially close the flow valves in the room with the thermostat first.
One caution: in older systems the functional parts of the flow control Valves are frequently corroded and don’t work at all. Sometimes they have seized up, and won’t turn, don’t force them.