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Paloma PH-5-3F (Not heating up)


otte529

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Hi,

 

I am new to this forum, (Maybe i have posted in the wrong section), but here we go ,we a have a caravan with a Paloma hot water service installed. we have had no problems until this weekend, when we turn the hot tap on the Hot Water Service fires up but the hot water is only hot for a few seconds then goes to just warm. I am hoping someone has a fix for this as i think there is not a lot wrong with this unit and don't want to replace unnecessary.

 

Thanks,

otte529

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Does the flame continue to burn? If not you are either out of gas or out of water.

What is the gas control knob on the left set to? For the hottest water it needs to be one click from the off position.

What is the water temperature knob set to?  At this time of year, for hot water I would think it would need to be at about 3 or 4.  Can the knob be turned? Many seize up in hard water areas.

Unlikley to be the pilot jet but worth giving the button on the left side a good prod.  Do this while the heater is running or you will need to relight it.

Check the gauze round the pilot light gas jet is clean as too much dust makes the pilot light small.

 

N

 

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Hi BEngo,

 

Thanks for your reply, answer to your questions :

1- Yes the flame continues to burn & fires up when the hot water is turned on

2 - The gas control knob on the left is set to the hottest setting

3 - The temp knob is set to 5 & also this is seized and cant be adjusted

4  - Haven't checked the gauze etc etc

Also the pump is pulsating (starting & stopping) only when running the hot water, so i am thinking there is a slight blockage somewhere in the system also

 

Regards

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I have over the years had my Paloma aprat on several occasions and so far have been able to correct any faults without having to resort to new parts. Most components can e stripped down and serviiced but I suggest you take photographs as you work on it and make notes. Surprising how quickly you forget which way things come apart.

This heater was manufactured before replacement became the only way to repair it

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17 hours ago, Traveller said:

I have a seized water governor on my Paloma (presumably that is the one on the right looking at the front of the heater). Any tips upon freeing it as it seems very solid to me. Failing that where can I gate a replacement?

Thanks

When mine seized i took the knob of and sprayed into the valve with wd40 then with a pair of pliers gently wiggled it left and right until it freed.

Don't try and free it in one go, be patient hopefully it should free. After that i spray regularly with silicone grease.

Make sure pilot is out before you start spraying.

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Hi all,

 

Thanks for your comments, i sprayed WD40 and it freed up no worries. Now we have hot water, but when we run it on the lowest setting which is warm the pump runs fine, as we turn the knob towards 2,3,4 & 5 HOT - the pump pulsates (starting & stopping), the only way to stop the pulsating is to run the hot water on 1 or run the cold water also with the hot water set to HOT which is too cold to shower in. It is very frustrating but at least we are getting somewhere.

 

Regards

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These instantaneous water heaters need the water to stay longer in the heater on the higher settings,  that is a slower flow, so the water has time to get hotter. That is why your pump pulsates at the higher  (hotter) settings.

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11 hours ago, otte529 said:

Hi all,

 

Thanks for your comments, i sprayed WD40 and it freed up no worries. Now we have hot water, but when we run it on the lowest setting which is warm the pump runs fine, as we turn the knob towards 2,3,4 & 5 HOT - the pump pulsates (starting & stopping), the only way to stop the pulsating is to run the hot water on 1 or run the cold water also with the hot water set to HOT which is too cold to shower in. It is very frustrating but at least we are getting somewhere.

 

Regards

If your water system has an accumulator it needs to be repressurised. If it does not have one it needs one!

Re pressurize to the pump cut-in pressure. There are several posts on here on how to do that.

N

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16 hours ago, otte529 said:

Hi all,

 

Thanks for your comments, i sprayed WD40 and it freed up no worries. Now we have hot water, but when we run it on the lowest setting which is warm the pump runs fine, as we turn the knob towards 2,3,4 & 5 HOT - the pump pulsates (starting & stopping), the only way to stop the pulsating is to run the hot water on 1 or run the cold water also with the hot water set to HOT which is too cold to shower in. It is very frustrating but at least we are getting somewhere.

 

Regards

Have you tried running a separate cold water tap while showering? (Turned on just enough to get the pump to run continuously)

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Ian_S,

 

What a great idea, i will try that but i think because we mainly run off tank water and not mains, we would be using nearly twice the amount of water. But if it works i will sacrifice the extra water until i can find a fix for the hot water system

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10 hours ago, otte529 said:

Hi BEngo,

 

Could you please point me to the posts regarding the accumulator & Re pressurize to the pump cut-in pressure

 

Thanks

Easier to repeat the process:

This assumes you have the normal accumulator with a rubber bladder and a Schrader valve on the top/ one end.  If you have the Jabsco plastic bottle type all you can do in that case is drain out all the water in the plastic bottle and refit it.

You will need a tyre pressure gauge and a foot pump (or bike pump for Schrader valves).

Turn the pump off and open a tap till the water flow stops.  Check the pressure in the accumulator .  Adjust it to be about 10 psi.

Turn the taps OFF and the pump ON.  Allow to run until until the pump stops.

Turn the pump OFF.  Check the accumulator pressure.  This is the CUT-OUT pressure of your pump switch.

Turn the pump ON.  Open a tap so the water flows very slowly.   IMMEDIATELY  the pump starts switch it OFF and turn the tap off . (If you miss it and the pump runs on then just allow it to run till it stops and try again.  You may need a few tries to get the hang of switching the pump off quickly and turning the tap off too.) 

Check the pressure in the accumulator.  This is the CUT-IN pressure of the pump switch.

Turn a tap on fully till the water stops.  Pump the accumulator up to 1-2 psi above the CUT-IN pressure you found.

Turn taps OFF and pump ON.  You should now have a fully functioning, non-pulsating water system.

Worth making a note of the cut off pressures so that in the future all you need to do is depressurize the water system and reset the accumulator pressure.

 

N

PS  If you put " Accumulator Pressure" into the search box you will find a good selection of posts which will tell you everything you wanted to know about water pump cut off pressures and accumulators, their function and pressurisation, plus, probably, some stuff you didn't want or need to know, but hey, that's forums!

Edited by BEngo
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What I find is that the pump works smoothly with the ordinary taps but starts to cycle when using the Paloma. Does that mean the accumulator has to be set-up to work with the Paloma for if memory serves it can all change again when the heat setting is changed on it.

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26 minutes ago, Traveller said:

What I find is that the pump works smoothly with the ordinary taps but starts to cycle when using the Paloma. Does that mean the accumulator has to be set-up to work with the Paloma for if memory serves it can all change again when the heat setting is changed on it.

The Paloma will restrict the flow in order to have the water flow slowly enough through the heat exchanger to get sufficiently hot. Without an accumulator this will cause the pump to cycle. With an accumulator the pump will cycle less. The accumulator is set up against the pump's cut-in pressure as above. 

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