Bemused - Choice of 3 Port Motorised Valves

by **nailed812** » Fri Feb 03, 2012 9:45 pm

Hi All, looking for a 22mm 3 port motorised valve at Screwfix and Toolstation and a bit bemused by the choice. Was intending to go for a Honeywell but its nigh on £100 and a Horstmann is £43. There's also offerings from Danfoss, Siemens, Corgi and Sunvic.

Any advice please.

Thanks.
Roger.

by **plumbbob** » Sat Feb 04, 2012 8:50 am

Like everything different manufacturers offer different quality of products. Generally, Honewell is considered the best.

There are various types of TPV. Are you sure you are comparing like for like?

by **nailed812** » Sat Feb 04, 2012 9:35 am

Posibly not. I have to admit that my post is based on my posibly out of date recollection that the Honeywell isa 3 port valve with mid position and that it remains in the 'last' position when demmand is satisfied.

My assumption is that the other 3 posrt valves listed work in the same way?

Thanks for the reply.

Roger.

by **plumbbob** » Sat Feb 04, 2012 4:45 pm

nailed812 wrote:My assumption is that the other 3 posrt valves listed work in the same way?

There are two versions of the valve, - 3 wire two position valve and a 5 wire three (mid) position valve.

by **nailed812** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 7:56 am

Ok thanks, so limiting my choice to 5 wire, does anyone have any thoughts on the other manufactures, ie not Honeywell? I like Honeywell but if I can save £50 on another that will do the job just as well I will.

by **plumbbob** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 11:02 am

nailed812 wrote:Ok thanks, so limiting my choice to 5 wire, does anyone have any thoughts on the other manufactures, ie not Honeywell? I like Honeywell but if I can save £50 on another that will do the job just as well I will.

Honeywell I imagine account for 9 out of 10 valves fitted in domestic installations and for this reason I usually replace them on a like for like basis. The Honeywell valves unlike others are metal cased which makes them more robust possibly, but I wouldn't say they are superior in any other way.

I always offer a cheaper valve to customers and some choose this option. Sometimes the customer is on a budget, other times it is because the fitting of a new boiler in the near future will make the new valve redundant so lifespan is not a particular issue.

If we go the route of a cheaper valve then I just buy whatever model the merchant has on offer.

by **nailed812** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 12:16 pm

Ok, thanks for your help.

by **collectors** » Mon Feb 24, 2020 5:12 pm

Not sure what they are like, but there are many on ebay "tower" that look the same as the honeywell @ around £35.00
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=honeywell+3+port+valve&_sop=12

by **ericmark** » Tue Feb 25, 2020 12:14 am

John Ward does some very good videos, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5m8f6HN2Us it seems they are not all the same, in the main the motor stalls in the mid and fully over position, it is engineering a bad practice, but they have worked that way for years without much of a problem, they default at domestic hot water, they do not stay where left, the main problem is the micro switches can stick, and they all seem to use V3 micro switches, although very cheap, getting into them to change is not easy, so I would want a valve where you can swap the head, many allow you to remove head to fit them, so clearly even if you have to buy whole valve, you can swap a head without dropping the water, so as long as you can remove the head I would not really worry about which make.