How do I work this radiator?

Le_Kirk

There are two links when I put Drayton ZA5 into Google. It is the second one you want. Link posted below. www.draytoncontrols.co.uk/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=10510
This should offer you the option to open or save a .pdf which is the working manual not the sales leaflet which is the one your are finding. Do not force the indicator from A to B. The manual release lever is the one that pulls out. One side of the actuator has the indicator A/B, the opposite side has the release/lock lever that keeps or releases the actuator on the valve and the end lever is the one that pulls out and turns to move the valve from closed to open. The amount it has to move is very small. With no power to the actuator, i.e. your controller OFF, the actuator/valve should spring return closed. I have known these valves to jam open if a little bit of dirt gets in the port. I have also known the spring pillar inside to snap off its base, thus preventing the spring from exerting enough pressure on the valve to close it.

scarletjim

Right, just a brief update as I was asked to report back... lol.

I'm away for a couple of days now, so will do some proper research later in the week, but tonight I achieved something I've never been able to do before thanks to the advice/suggestions provided above:

On the white box, I moved the manual lever to send the indicator to 'A'. I then went to the control panel, and set both sides to 'Off'. Half an hour later, the towel rail radiator was cool! This is the right time I have achieved that without twisting the valves on the rad itself!

Interestingly, 20 mins ago I tried switching the left side of the control panel (which, according to the previous owners, controls the hot water advance) to 'On' - this did not move the indicator on the white box, so this is still at 'A', yet it made the towel rail get boiling hot again...

I think I need to investigate all combinations of on/off on the two switches on the control panel, with A/B on the white box, and perhaps similar on the silver box (I can see a manual lever on the bottom), and see what each combination does... At the same time, I can feel the pipes and review the brassware with a torch...

Will report back further at the weekend.

Cheers,
James

scarletjim

Interim update - it might be sort of fixed! I tried various combinations of having left and right switches on/off, and the levers on the white / silver boxes in manual / auto positions, and for the last couple of days, the towel rail seems to go on and off - but not how I had been told by the previous owners... It seems their explanation in the instruction booklet had the buttons the wrong way around. Having previously moved both levers (white box and silver box) to manual override (perhaps freeing them if they were stuck), I then put the left button (hot water advance) to 'timed', with the right hand switched 'off', and now the towel rail seems to be on/off at various times of the day.

I need to do some more research when I get back from holiday, so I understand exactly what combinations achieve what results, but it sounds like I've finally (with so much help from you guys) resolved it.

Thanks so much.

Ruski

It sounds like one/both of the zone valves were in the manual override position, thus opening the circuit continuously and demanding heat from the boiler.

I would imagine that you have now reset the manual override and the valves are doing what they are instructed to do via the timer - albeit not the 'side' that you were expecting, but that's no problem really.

Like I said I would expect the 'water' side to do the towel rail and the heating side to do the UFH.

Anyway, glad it's sorted - that's another feather in your DIY bow of knowledge of plumbing/heating.

Get any better and I'll have to start sub-contracting to you

Cheers

Russ