Brivis Ducted heating problem

[futronix]

Hey all...

Anyone know what could be wrong with our ducted system?

Brivis ducted system, was working fine,

digital thermostat - relay turns on ok.... Pilot light is on...

problem is that when the theromstat is switched on there is no reponse from the ducted unit... fan does not come on, heater rails do not alite.

i can manually put the fan on via the swtich in the unit but it wont automatically start when the relay switches on the thermostat nor does the gas fire up....

any suggestions.

Cheers

[Gumby]

I had a similar problem and called a local Heating Cooling guy in. He turned the unit's power off at the plug and then turned it back on. It reset the unit and it worked fine.

he charged me $100 for the call out.

Give it a try. And if it works, you owe me $100

[Metung]

Also had a similar/identical problem with our system some time ago but wasn't as lucky as Gumby. The gas control unit in the burner unit outside had to be replaced - at a cost of $350 back in 05.

[futronix]

thnx for the replies..

have tried turning it off and on again. was one of the first things i tried....

unfortunately i think its the main control unit also.... thought it would of just been a gas relay in the main unit but the fan is not swtiching on either so it might be the whole module.

[Gumby]

thnx for the replies..

have tried turning it off and on again. was one of the first things i tried....

See, since you joined this forum, things are getting better already.
You just saved yourself $100

[zathras]

Hmmmm, I just got in the roof to do the same to my Brivis heater.

Certainly cycling the power switch seemed to make things a lot better, gas fired up straight away.

Is there a Brivis Y2K fault designed to trip on the 11th August 2007?

The other strange thing is the light fitted so you can see went on and off several times before staying on when I first turned it on.

I'm thinking perhaps the switches on the GPO / light is full of dust making a bad contact, flicked it several times and all seems good now...

[bricks]

You may have a broken mag valve ( gas control) Do you have to manually start the pilot with a piezo igniter button?

Your mag valve gets a small EG 30-50 milliamp feed from the thermostat to power a small electro magnet which opens the gas feed- pilot will work when this part isn't.

If you have a rod and tube type thermostat the milliamps are the same but the tube assembly may have broken- happens all the time.

The fan on most units is wired before the gas valve too so if your fan is broken your gas won't come on either- its a safety feature- If i were you id check the fan first, then worry about the gas, until you get the fan working the gas problem- if there is one - wont be easy to find.

Sometimes there is a build up of scum on the fan blades and motor making it much heavier- if you wipe this off and clean it a bit you may find the fan can spin more easilly,

[Stuart]

Had a similar situation - same symptoms.

My unit wouldn't reset - what had happened was I had too many ducts closed, and the unit had tripped on overheat.

Real problem was - dust, age, (lack of) luck, the trip wouldn't reset, even with power cycling.

My guy - (I've found a good one) came out, took the unit apart (bloody trip switch is in the bottom, underneath everything!), cleaned it out, tested, confirmed the switch was still good, and was working again and reassembled.

Total cost - about $80. I've used this guy in the past, and will every time in the future - he's reliable, charges reasonably, and knows his job.

[futronix]

You may have a broken mag valve ( gas control) Do you have to manually start the pilot with a piezo igniter button?

Your mag valve gets a small EG 30-50 milliamp feed from the thermostat to power a small electro magnet which opens the gas feed- pilot will work when this part isn't.

If you have a rod and tube type thermostat the milliamps are the same but the tube assembly may have broken- happens all the time.

The fan on most units is wired before the gas valve too so if your fan is broken your gas won't come on either- its a safety feature- If i were you id check the fan first, then worry about the gas, until you get the fan working the gas problem- if there is one - wont be easy to find.

Sometimes there is a build up of scum on the fan blades and motor making it much heavier- if you wipe this off and clean it a bit you may find the fan can spin more easilly,

thnx for your reply. the fan can be manually started from a switch.. fans tests ok... we have changedf from a mercury swtich thermostat to a digital one (been working for over a year till now).. relay clicks on ok... havent tested the current going through to the inlet of the cotrol box onthe unit.... will have to some more investigating.......

[Metung]

Hey Futronix, I hope this problem isn't keeping you awake at night.

[maxpower]

Hi, it could be any number of things and hard to say without more specific information. It could be your gas valve, flame rollout sensor or your electronic controller. If your heater has been switched off for some time and the LEDs are doing a merry dance its probably your electronic controller.
If you can safely test voltage going to the gas solenoid you may find zero volts going to the gas control. They are usually solenoid driven.
On a mid 90s model the controller is a Tek321.

Brivis had a recall on over 11,700 EMS2 heaters made between 1994 and 1997 due to a faulty circuit board (which they tried to deny when i rang their service (sic) centre)

Anyway they stuffed me around for a while then sent out a tech who didnt follow proper start up procedure but flicked the power on and off rapidly (not a good idea IMO) and reckoned its not a recall but refused to show me the part or explain why and wanted $470 to replace the board. Their customer service is appalling IMO.

If you shop around you can buy the Tek 321 controller for under $280 and takes minutes to replace (and costs a whole lot less to Brivis i am sure).

Does Brivis mention on their website or user manuals that its not a good idea to leave the unit with the power switched off power to the heater- no - why ? Cos it can "blow" the circuit board and they make money from it.
I found out the hard way. I do not recommend Brivis.

[maxpower]

oops just to add, when the heater has been off for a while and is turned on the surge can blow the board especially when its a few years old and its been cold. Moral of the story is always leave the power connected to your heaters folks. Dont shut it off for summer etc. It aint worth it.

[seriph1]

first of all WELCOME to the forum! Hope you get your problem fixed. Someone mused that these units seem to break down at the same time - ours (EM35 in-roof monster) displayed weird faults..... fan working first thing in the morning - then gets up to temp. goes back 4 or 6 degrees turns on but never gets to temp again. Went up top and saw the fan was working, system kept saying 'purge' - heater unit was turning on then off then on etc. Called Brivis who wanted 175 call-out fee plus parts - we are in KILMORE, which is an hour from Melbourne (greetings to the Wallan-ite in this thread!) - anyway I asked the original installer (business over the road from us) what he thought the problem might be ..... sounds like a FLAME SENSOR was his reply. Called Brivis again and asked how much - $70 - then saw a number for spares on their site. Called it and got a flame sensor for $17 trade price. Got home - got in the roof - fitted it in ten minutes and we are happ'nin baby! Good result all-round really, but I have to say Brivis was pretty inflexible seeing the system was only out of warranty by two weeks and cost more than 6 grand.

but we are waaaaaaaarm n toasty up here in Kilmore, which can be a tad chilly

[maxpower]

...but I have to say Brivis was pretty inflexible..........
yes, and i can think of a lot of other words to describe what i think of them....

[futronix]

Cheers everybody for their reply.

I decided to take things into my own hands, turned off the unit. turned off pilot light, get rubber malet out.. knock the gas valve box (in/out box)

fire up pilot again.... turn thermostat on.....Bobs ur uncle....

Thanks all again for your replies, much appreciated :aussie3: