I've rarely seen a better instructional video than this one. This guy is absolutely bloody brilliant. He explains everything so clearly and if only more plumbers/UFH specialists were like him. 10/10. Thank you.
If you take off the actuators or alternatively power them off, does that mean the pin allows the flow or is it closed by default and needs the actuator to power it open? I have an old (2005) Wirsbo brass manifold system with actuators and 4 wire thermostats
Thanks so much for the very clear video! I have a question to troubleshoot an issue I'm having with my Danfoss two-arm underfloor heating system. I'm finding that none of my rooms are heating up, however both the hot/flow pipes and the cold/return pipes are warm when the system is on. I would expect the circuits to hold hot water in that case and to feel the floors warm but I don't. Any idea what could be the issue here? I thought it could be related to the actuator pin, but that doesn't make sense to me if the circuit is warm. Thanks in advance for your help!
If both the flow and return pipe are warm (ideally around 45°C for a screed floor) and you have a flow rate on your meters this normally means the system is not giving up heat tot he room. which is normally ether the system cannot get rid of heat (normally because a thick carpet is on top) or the system has not emitter to pull the heat from the pipe which is more of an issue as this might be relaying. Last thing, always make sure you are running your system for as long as possible at a fixed temperature i.e. don't keep switching it on/off as UFH can take 4-6 hours to heat from cold. Also, this takes much more energy.
If I only have an air vent on the top rail (flow meters in my case) and I need to change a pin on the bottom rail. How is it best to re-pressurise once I've finished the sawp and ensure the air makes it to the vent point without getting stuck in the system? Thanks.
sorry for the delay in our response. just carry out the procedure as described in the video, but just depressurise the manifold do not drain it. as the valve is the highest point only a tiny amount of air will enter the system. (this will naturally leave the system by the highest point. I would not recommend filling the system again as this in induce more air. I hope this helps.
@@MultipipeLtd it does, thanks very much. Just to clarify, any small amount of air introduced into the return bar through changing the pin will make it's way through the system to the air vent point on the flow bar and be able to leave there. I saw somewhere that I could swap the pressure gauge on the return bar for an air vent but I feel like knowing the zone pressure is probably important. Thanks for your help and brilliant videos!
We have fairly hard water and the actuator pins jam due to plaque buildup. From time to time I remove the valves and wash them in a solution of citric acid (anti calc powder for domestic usage), which dissolves plaque. Is there any alternative way to keep the underfloor heating system running? For example, softening the circulating water by adding acid additives?
running a continuous acid solution in the your system would do damage so is not recommended. however, because heating water is not replaced, adding a simple inhibitor should help. but if you keep filling your system using the boiler filler loop this normally means you have a leak in your system and keep putting fresh water in your system will not help. lastly, you can drain your system fully then fill your system using deionised water which will help with limescale.
Thanks for posting this video! I have a question - I'm currently renovating a home in Europe and we had a floor heating system installed. We have two manifolds in separate areas of the house, and I've noticed that in both cases the hot water send is going through the bottom of the manifolds where the actuators are located, and the cold return comes back through the top where the flow meters are located. The guy who installed it seems to think the opposite is true (that the send is on the top and the return is on the bottom), however I've taken meticulous pictures of the entire renovation and I can plainly see he is wrong. I'm curious what I can expect if the system comes online with this setup (it's not running just yet). A lot of people here are telling me it's not a big deal, it will work. I've read online it will work but the flow meters will not work. I have about 16 different runs of PEX, each with varying lengths, so i feel like being able to set proper flow rate is a must. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
If you see a flow through the meter, your system is getting water through, which is the main thing. When checking the temperature, always make sure you touch the pipe more than the manifold as you can get transference of heat from the valve. II the UK, we tend to put our flowmeter on top and flow from the top bar to the bottom, but most EU installs have a flowmeter on the bottom and flow bottom to top. In all cases switching the system on with the flows backwards will not cause any damage just means it does not get warm in the rooms but can be easily swapped.
What is an average cost of replacing actuator including parts and labour cost? I had to call a tech to fix the issue, they made three trips and charged me 1000$ CAD which seems like a rip off. Will appreciate some feedback.
We can only advise in the UK but a actuator costs around £20 ish and take around 10 minutes max to replace. of course, finding a fault could take more time.
I've rarely seen a better instructional video than this one. This guy is absolutely bloody brilliant. He explains everything so clearly and if only more plumbers/UFH specialists were like him. 10/10. Thank you.
Absolutely!
Really useful video, thank you :)
Great video! Thanks for posting.
If you take off the actuators or alternatively power them off, does that mean the pin allows the flow or is it closed by default and needs the actuator to power it open? I have an old (2005) Wirsbo brass manifold system with actuators and 4 wire thermostats
all actuators work on a normally closed position so when powered off with shut the loop. I hope that helps.
Thanks so much for the very clear video! I have a question to troubleshoot an issue I'm having with my Danfoss two-arm underfloor heating system. I'm finding that none of my rooms are heating up, however both the hot/flow pipes and the cold/return pipes are warm when the system is on. I would expect the circuits to hold hot water in that case and to feel the floors warm but I don't. Any idea what could be the issue here? I thought it could be related to the actuator pin, but that doesn't make sense to me if the circuit is warm. Thanks in advance for your help!
If both the flow and return pipe are warm (ideally around 45°C for a screed floor) and you have a flow rate on your meters this normally means the system is not giving up heat tot he room. which is normally ether the system cannot get rid of heat (normally because a thick carpet is on top) or the system has not emitter to pull the heat from the pipe which is more of an issue as this might be relaying. Last thing, always make sure you are running your system for as long as possible at a fixed temperature i.e. don't keep switching it on/off as UFH can take 4-6 hours to heat from cold. Also, this takes much more energy.
Brilliant, thank you.
If I only have an air vent on the top rail (flow meters in my case) and I need to change a pin on the bottom rail. How is it best to re-pressurise once I've finished the sawp and ensure the air makes it to the vent point without getting stuck in the system? Thanks.
sorry for the delay in our response. just carry out the procedure as described in the video, but just depressurise the manifold do not drain it. as the valve is the highest point only a tiny amount of air will enter the system. (this will naturally leave the system by the highest point. I would not recommend filling the system again as this in induce more air. I hope this helps.
@@MultipipeLtd it does, thanks very much. Just to clarify, any small amount of air introduced into the return bar through changing the pin will make it's way through the system to the air vent point on the flow bar and be able to leave there. I saw somewhere that I could swap the pressure gauge on the return bar for an air vent but I feel like knowing the zone pressure is probably important. Thanks for your help and brilliant videos!
We have fairly hard water and the actuator pins jam due to plaque buildup. From time to time I remove the valves and wash them in a solution of citric acid (anti calc powder for domestic usage), which dissolves plaque. Is there any alternative way to keep the underfloor heating system running? For example, softening the circulating water by adding acid additives?
running a continuous acid solution in the your system would do damage so is not recommended. however, because heating water is not replaced, adding a simple inhibitor should help. but if you keep filling your system using the boiler filler loop this normally means you have a leak in your system and keep putting fresh water in your system will not help. lastly, you can drain your system fully then fill your system using deionised water which will help with limescale.
So clear. Thank you
Thanks for posting this video! I have a question - I'm currently renovating a home in Europe and we had a floor heating system installed. We have two manifolds in separate areas of the house, and I've noticed that in both cases the hot water send is going through the bottom of the manifolds where the actuators are located, and the cold return comes back through the top where the flow meters are located. The guy who installed it seems to think the opposite is true (that the send is on the top and the return is on the bottom), however I've taken meticulous pictures of the entire renovation and I can plainly see he is wrong. I'm curious what I can expect if the system comes online with this setup (it's not running just yet). A lot of people here are telling me it's not a big deal, it will work. I've read online it will work but the flow meters will not work. I have about 16 different runs of PEX, each with varying lengths, so i feel like being able to set proper flow rate is a must. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
If you see a flow through the meter, your system is getting water through, which is the main thing. When checking the temperature, always make sure you touch the pipe more than the manifold as you can get transference of heat from the valve. II the UK, we tend to put our flowmeter on top and flow from the top bar to the bottom, but most EU installs have a flowmeter on the bottom and flow bottom to top. In all cases switching the system on with the flows backwards will not cause any damage just means it does not get warm in the rooms but can be easily swapped.
👉 Got any more questions about your underfloor heating system? Feel free to let us know by leaving them in the comments.
What is an average cost of replacing actuator including parts and labour cost? I had to call a tech to fix the issue, they made three trips and charged me 1000$ CAD which seems like a rip off. Will appreciate some feedback.
We can only advise in the UK but a actuator costs around £20 ish and take around 10 minutes max to replace. of course, finding a fault could take more time.
Do you just unscrew the actuator and then screw it back in? you kinda skipped that part
Apologies, yes you would just make sure you know the order in which you remove them it is good to number them in the order you remove them.
Have you ever seen a valve with a pin that is too stiff for the actuator to push it down? So the loop basically stays open all the time
yes, you have to make sure the torque rating of the actuator is higher than the valve. i.e. our actuators are 100nm of force and the pin is 90nm