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  1. #1
    Junior Member Rank = Fry KOI_SPLY's Avatar
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    Heat Pump .... Electrical

    Good afternoon All...

    I'm buying a DuraTech Dura+ 7 heat pump this week... my question is can I plug it directly into a 13A plug sock or does it need to be hard wired into the main consumer unit?
    I've read a few forums on the net where the Dura+7 has been connected directly to a 13A socket ... with an RCD

    Has anyone tried it? If anyone has any info please let me know !! Many thanks


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  2. #2
    May I ask how much it was?

  3. #3
    Junior Member Rank = Fry KOI_SPLY's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Toffee View Post
    May I ask how much it was?
    The price quoted by "Heatpumps4pools" is £1580 ... however I've found two other Heat pumps with decent performance and warranty ... that is the same class :

    Garden PAC Invertec Type 7 £1575
    Hydro-Pro Inverter 7 £1215

    All of them take 1.2KW input of power

    Return is :
    Garden PAC - 6.5 KW
    Hydro-Pro inverter - 5.1 KW
    Dura+ 7 - 6.4 KW

    All of them are very decent and not sure which one to go for ... I'd probably go for the Hydro pro cos of price ... my pond is no more than 2000 gallons and well insulated so 5.1kw will keep it heated with minimum effort ..

    Just need to work out if I need to get it hard wired or straight into the 13A socket ...




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  5. #4
    Looks the same as the ones that go on the bay for £500-600

    Quote Originally Posted by KOI_SPLY View Post
    Good afternoon All...

    I'm buying a DuraTech Dura+ 7 heat pump this week... my question is can I plug it directly into a 13A plug sock or does it need to be hard wired into the main consumer unit?
    I've read a few forums on the net where the Dura+7 has been connected directly to a 13A socket ... with an RCD

    Has anyone tried it? If anyone has any info please let me know !! Many thanks


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  6. #5
    Junior Member Rank = Fry KOI_SPLY's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dmsims View Post
    Looks the same as the ones that go on the bay for £500-600
    That's what I thought ... but I've been doing home work about these heat pumps and after learning the hard way by installing a 2KW in line electric heater I got an £800 bill from November - march ... and looking at the lower priced heat pumps they still don't offer a huge amount of return for what goes in ... with the pumps listed above will pay itself off within 2 years ... I've compared about 15 different heat pumps based on power input , Efficiency , Max Flow , temperature , size , price , build and Warranty ... all three of the listed above is the best within my budget ... I think it's best I fork out the extra cash and buy something that will see me the next 5 years or so ... and lower my heating bills ...


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  7. #6
    KOI_SPLY

    Fully appreciate what you are saying but there are very few manufacturers!

    What you really need to see is a graph of COP vs temperature for each pump

  8. #7
    Moderator Rank = Supreme Champion Feline's Avatar
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    OK, I can give you the correct answer and the honest answer to your question. Yes, it will work from a standard ring main socket. However you are not really meant to do this, because when the compressor turns on in cold weather it will suddenly draw a large spike of current that can trip RCDs in your house, and some electricians claim will damage your house wiring because it is outside the spec of what it is supposed to cope with.

    The reason some people say you need a separate spur from your consumer unit is so that you can fit a type D circuit breaker that can cope with the millisecond current spike when it first comes on each time.

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  10. #8
    I don't know the detail but I think a different type of breaker might help. I have a log splitter that would trip my breaker every time I started it. My mate who's a sparky changed the breaker for one rated to the same amps but a different type and it was fine and has never tripped since.


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  11. #9
    Only recently have they said it should be wired direct, when I fitted mine five years ago now it was deemed ok to wire it via a 13amp plug which I did and has worked faultlessly.

    My my only problem which is unrelated is should we suffer loss of electric the timer cannot remember the settings and I have to reprogram it, when time allows I'll investigate to see which battery is used as back up to the memory and see about replacing it.

  12. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Doitsusanke View Post
    my only problem which is unrelated is should we suffer loss of electric the timer cannot remember the settings and I have to reprogram it, when time allows I'll investigate to see which battery is used as back up to the memory and see about replacing it.
    Is it a Duratech?
    I've just fixed the problem on mine with losing settings.
    Sadly it wasn't a battery, it was the internal logic board. It's expensive and a bugger to change. Or at least it is when your fingers are as fat as mine and you have almost no patience Heat Pump .... Electrical

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  14. #11
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Sansai canvasmart's Avatar
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    According to the specs the 7+ draws a running current of 4.7A but the max current is 6.4A
    Therefore there must be an inrush current of 6.4A when the unit starts up.
    You should be ok by plugging it in to your socket circuit as this will be protected by a 20a or 32a presumably.
    If it does keep blowing the fuse on startup then you may have to uprate the circuit breaker to a type C.
    Your normal breakers should be a type B.
    If your heater does pop the breaker then it may be worth wiring it on its own circuit 16A type c if you have space in your cu
    Hope this helps.

  15. #12
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Hassai koinewbie's Avatar
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    Hi I have the Hydro Pro+ 10 & fitted a 16amp supply from my consumer unit with a type C breaker. Hasn't missed a beat & I recommend them highly. Easy to install & program with a touch screen. They even do a model where you can change your settings from your phone if you feel the need?.

  16. #13
    Junior Member Rank = Fry KOI_SPLY's Avatar
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    I don't think they make the hydro pro + anymore ... it's apparently been replaced by the inverter model ... so I've been told ... cos I was actually looking for the +7 type and after calling up a number of suppliers they all told me it's been discontinued ... looks like an amazing pump I guess hydro-pro it is then ... thanks for your advice


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  17. #14
    Sounds about right. All the latest updates on fridges washers heaters etc are all on inverters these days. More energy efficient apparently.

  18. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by JohnKitching View Post
    Is it a Duratech?
    I've just fixed the problem on mine with losing settings.
    Sadly it wasn't a battery, it was the internal logic board. It's expensive and a bugger to change. Or at least it is when your fingers are as fat as mine and you have almost no patience Heat Pump .... Electrical
    Yes it is a Duratech, will enquire then regarding the cost, think I may just live with it.

  19. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by JohnKitching View Post
    Is it a Duratech?
    I've just fixed the problem on mine with losing settings.
    Sadly it wasn't a battery, it was the internal logic board. It's expensive and a bugger to change. Or at least it is when your fingers are as fat as mine and you have almost no patience Heat Pump .... Electrical
    Must be contagious, after a quick power blip the temperature set itself to 40°, and all the other settings were corrupted. Fitting the new board was a b***h, most of the wires were the same colour, grey.
    19,000 litres
    Nexus 320 with Dracodrum and submersible UV
    Blue Eco 320
    Eazy Pod on skimmer
    Dura+ 10kW Heat Pump
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  20. #17

    Heat Pump .... Electrical

    I put the new one as close as I could to the old one and swapped the wires one by one ... it tricked me by having a gap in the middle!
    Luckily could see where the gap should be in the wiring diagram in the manual.
    I came close to launching the heat pump and letting the fish go back to natural temperatures a few times!
    I gave up trying to get the board back in the housing. Just put the cover back on, I'll soon forget I did that and be quite happy.


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  22. #18
    Do you mind if I jump in here.... You mentioned a bill of £800 Nov-March for a standard election heater. If you make the change to an inverted pump heat exchanger as you are suggesting, what sort of price do you think that bill would cut down to? I appreciate I'm asking for a very approximate estimate but I am interested to know what sort of savings you can make and this is the first post that quoted an initial bill for a standard heater! What is interesting is that I've just come off eBay looking at standard heaters to read this post and £800 - that's a definite no chance! I'm curious to know what an expected equivalent bill would be for a pump exchange,..

    Cheers! Chris

  23. #19
    craynerd I'm going to jump in on that one

    there are quite a few variables that affect the efficiency of a heat pump: mainly the ambient and water temperature - you need to read the graphs carefully!

    Some boast of a COP of "up to 6.3" but you have to watch the pea carefully

    So as a practical example

    Assume ambient is 10C and water 15C the COP is about 4.2

    Ambient 5C and water 18C COP is about 3.3

    Ambient 0C water 18C COP is about 2.6

    You get the idea

    Anyway to answer your question leccy bills will be roughly a quarter/third of a conventional heater


    PS

    "The efficiency of refrigeration systems and heat pumps is denoted by its Coefficient Of Performance (COP). The COP is determined by the ratio between energy usage of the compressor and the amount of useful cooling at the evaporator (for a refrigeration instalation) or useful heat extracted from the condensor (for a heat pump). A high COP value represents a high efficiency. Most of the electric energy needed to drive the compressor is released to the refrigerant as heat. Therefore more heat is available at the condensor than is extracted at the evaporator of the heat pump.
    For a heat pump a COP value of 4 means that the addition of 1 kW of electric energy is needed to have a release of 4 kW of heat at the condensor. At the evaporator side 3,0-3,5 kW of heat is extracted."

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  25. #20
    Junior Member Rank = Fry KOI_SPLY's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by craynerd View Post
    Do you mind if I jump in here.... You mentioned a bill of £800 Nov-March for a standard election heater. If you make the change to an inverted pump heat exchanger as you are suggesting, what sort of price do you think that bill would cut down to? I appreciate I'm asking for a very approximate estimate but I am interested to know what sort of savings you can make and this is the first post that quoted an initial bill for a standard heater! What is interesting is that I've just come off eBay looking at standard heaters to read this post and £800 - that's a definite no chance! I'm curious to know what an expected equivalent bill would be for a pump exchange,..

    Cheers! Chris
    The savings are quite significant ... depending on the type of Heat pump you purchase ... if it offers a higher COP , obviously you'll get more heat for your money ...
    I had a Cloverleaf 2KW in line electric heater ... my pond was well insulated ... I heated the pond to 18 degrees from November -march ... it cost me 240£ and did the job fairly well ... however the heater would keep itself on about 12-15 hours a day to keep the water warm ... that sucking 2KW upto 15hours a day ...

    Heat pumps will achieve the same temp in about 20% of the time in the right conditions


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