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| Detach 3-port valve |
In a traditional central heating system - where you have a
boiler and a hot water cylinder i.e. not a Combi boiler - the boiler itself has
no idea what it is heating. All it knows is that cool water comes into it and -
with luck - hot water leaves. Where that hot water goes is none of its concern.
The same cannot be said for the homeowner, who is often very
concerned as to where all that fully-paid-for hot water is going, so most CH
systems will have within them one or more ‘motorised valves’. These are usually
hidden in the airing cupboard next to the hot water cylinder and they control what gets hot; the radiators, the hot water
cylinder, or both.
To perform this vital function they contain a number of
moving parts and the sad thing about moving parts, especially ones constantly immersed
in water, is that sooner or later they give up the ghost and expire, usually in
the dead of winter when they are needed most. As such they are one of the most
frequently replaced parts of a central heating system.
We went through the process of how to replace these valves
within the Haynes Home Plumbing Manual but at the time I had never heard of the
“Detach” motorised valves by Sauter, possibly because they weren’t sold in the
UK at the time. This was a shame because they seem to be very good valves that offer real benefits to plumbers and DIY enthusiasts alike.
First off they come with a detachable lead. This doesn’t
sound like much but it’s the wiring that is often the most daunting aspect of
replacing one of these valves. Quite why, in the vast decades that motorised
valves have been around, no one else had ever thought of inventing a lead that could just be unplugged is one of life’s great mysteries, but fortunately
Sauter did make that breakthrough and life is now just that little bit easier as a result.
Of course this is of little help if you’re putting a Sauter
valve in for the first time but at least any subsequent repairs and
replacements will be considerably easier.
Another nice point is the easy-to-detach head. This is where
the actual motor – often called an actuator – resides and it is often this part
that dies well before the main valve. As such it’s very handy if this can be removed
quickly and easily. Fortunately most manufacturers offer this feature these
days - Honeywell being the notable exception.
Bizarrely, the Sauter valve doesn’t
just rely on a nice simple button to remove the valve but insists that you remove a small screw first. This seems unnecessarily inconvenient bearing in mind
that these valves are usually set in fairly cramped conditions, but there you
are.
Finally, this is one of the few valves that actually tells
you what it’s doing. Rather than listening for the sound of the motor, or trying
to catch a glimpse of the lever arm moving this valve has a two lovely little
lights, one labelled CH and the other HW. Again, a really simple improvement
that was somehow beyond the wit of every other manufacturer.
To put the icing on the cake, they are also pretty well priced and rumour has it that
they are looking to develop heads that will fit onto other manufacturers valve
bodies, so you can get all the benefits of the Sauter Detach without the hassle
of replacing the old valve completely.
All in all a very welcome product.
