Diagnosing boiler PRV valve pressure loss fitted with a dry trap

Diagnosing Boiler PRV valve pressure loss when a dry trap tundish has been installed: The new normal

The 5 Senses of hotun

Sense 1 – Sight

The 5 Senses of hotun – Overview

Click on the individual toggles below to see the benefit of hotun experienced through the 5 senses

Sight - Sense 1

SIGHT

Sense 1:

With its open sided construction, the home owner or engineer can easily see any water in the bowl of the tundish giving a visual fault indicator – NO OTHER dry trap on the market allows for the ability to see the residual water after the PRV has stopped dripping and is therefore in full compliance with Building Regulations G3; H1 and Water Regulations (not just the minimum requirements!)

If you can’t see it you can’t diagnose it!

Touch - Sense 2

TOUCH:

Sense 2:

The easily accessible tundish bowl allows the installer to verify if water has been passing – meaning that you can be sure of your diagnosis. PLUS, if the hotun valve ever needed maintenance it can be easily cleaned without having to remove the tundish from the pipeline (some dry traps cant even be serviced!)

If you can’t touch it you cant verify it!

Smell - Sense 3

SMELL

Sense 3:

To ensure your dry trap doesn’t pass any nasty whiffs or noxious fumes into the building, carry out your own manual pressure test to verify! If it passes air, it doesnt comply. The hotun dry trap tundish is pressure tested to comply with Building Regulations H1 c. “prevents foul air from the drainage system from entering the building….”

If you can’t blow through it, it won’t let foul odours in!

Hear - Sense 4

HEAR

Sense 4:

With the ability to upgrade your hotun dry trap tundish to the hotun detect alarm unit, and comply with Building Regulations G3 para 3.55 (for people with impaired sight or mobility), you can be sure that your customer has peace of mind.

They will get an automatic audible warning giving a fault diagnostic indication alert and avoid either a boiler lock out due to low pressure or on an unvented water heater, water passing unnoticed, wasting energy and water.

If you can hear it, you will save on boiler lockouts and wasting water!

Taste - Sense 5

TASTE

Sense 5:

Available in both black and white, compression and pushfit inlet variants, if you use hotun you can choose the colour to suit your taste and the choice of your connection, no need to swap from manufacturer to manufacturer to get the colour tundish and connection that you want, just keep with hotun! So simply choose hotun to keep your options completely open!

If you can choose colour and connections, you can choose a product that suits your taste!

#hotun is the ONLY dry trap tundish on the market that is fully PRV diagnostic friendly. It is also easily upgradable to the world’s first ACTIVE automatic audible PRV diagnosis unit, using the hotun detect alarm unit. Dry trap tundishes are passive and need intervention to notice any discharge the hotun detect makes that process active!

We will explore the 5 senses to explain hotun’s unique advantages over alternative products: This blog focuses on the first sense: Sight.

We answer the commonly asked question on boiler installation and maintenance forums about diagnosing boiler PRV valve pressure loss when using a dry trap tundish.

The hotun’s distinctive features and benefits make it the leading and go-to dry trap tundish in the boiler and plumbing market.

hotun – copied but never bettered

hotun – It’s not just a tundish

When diagnosing pressure loss from a boiler, (if the PRV has stopped dripping) it’s crucial for repair engineers to see any residual water in the dry trap bowl. This visibility significantly aids in identifying the problem, after all

If you can’t see it you can’t diagnose it!

With hotun, there is no question you can see the residual water in the bowl of the tundish (see picture). With other dry traps, sadly, that’s not the case. But, if you are not aware of the shortfalls of some products, you could fall right into the trap of buying the wrong tundish or a membrane trap!

The design of the best dry trap tundish on the market

Russell Armstrong, the inventor of hotun, is a seasoned plumber and installer. He recognised the need for a product that serves multiple functions. His invention benefits installers, repair engineers and their clients both at point of installation and at point of diagnosis.

Russell recognised that diagnosing a boiler PRV pressure loss when using a dry trap, would need to be designed to have any residual water visible. In his experience, most pressure relief valves had stopped dripping when he came to diagnose the problem. So, he made sure that the hotun dry trap tundish has, as he coined it, an ‘open sided construction’. Making sure that the area above the valve was visible, making sure that the residual water held by the valve was going to be easily seen.

Unfortunately, for many installers who value the concept of teh dry trap

what they dont understand is that alternative dry trap tundish manufacturers (who mainly aren’t experienced “on the tools” plumbers) lack this understanding. They don’t seem to have designed their dry traps with this open-sided concept in mind for sight, which is essential for effective diagnostics after a boiler failure. As a result, these poorly designed dry traps can render troubleshooting and maintenance nearly impossible, undermining their usefulness in real-world applications.

It’s the Wrong Tundish Gromit!

Some installers or plumbers may assume that rival products from reputable companies perform similarly to hotun. This is not the case. If you encounter a situation where the “Wrong Tundish” has been installed, diagnosing a boiler PRV pressure loss becomes far more challenging. This leads to increased time to diagnose and therefore the cost of repairs. In the end, any savings made from choosing an alternative, yet inferior, product could lead to greater maintenance costs in the future.

The importance of choosing hotun

Imagine being called to a boiler locked out due to low pressure. Your first step would, typically, involve examining the visible point of discharge. In this case the dry trap. If it’s not a hotun, you may/will struggle to see the residual water, complicating your diagnosis.

The reality is, when a boiler locks out, there will be no water dripping through the tundish. Manufacturers that focus solely on saying their products are compliant because you can see visible dripping water miss the crucial aspect of residual visibility. This is vital for diagnosing pressure loss. Many engineers do not consider this factor when selecting a product or they simply take whatever’s offered over the counter.

The five senses of hotun: Focusing on Sight

Installers and repair engineers should prioritize a dry trap tundish that offers visibility both at point of installation and at point of diagnosis. As we have said, unlike other dry trap tundishes, hotun allows you to see the residual water after the PRV has stopped dripping. This enables effective troubleshooting for boiler PRV valve pressure loss issues.

This ultimately benefits the end user, aka YOUR customer! Why would you select an inferior product for your customers when they are relying on your expertise?

The value of hotun

Russell’s patented design addresses the need for both compliance at the point of installation and effective diagnostics when something goes wrong with the system and pressure is lost. Something that alternative products struggle to achieve.

A product compliant with Building and Water Regulations at point of installation is of little value if it lacks the obvious visibility at the point of diagnosis. The inability to indicate residual water effectively diminishes its usefulness. If hotun isn’t immediately available, don’t fall into the trap of buying a less suitable alternative, plan ahead, plan to get a hotun.

Assess the designs available and recognise the added value that hotun’s visibility and touch provide during the diagnostic process. This is what sets hotun apart as the best choice on the market.

Conclusion

Investing in hotun means investing in your customer’s satisfaction. Reliable diagnostics and easy maintenance in-situ are invaluable benefits for both yourself and your customer (saving you time when carrying out any system servicing work).

For your next dry trap tundish purchase, choose the hotun solution – it’s the only choice that makes sense!

If you know, you know!