water temperature controller, thermostatic mixing valve or Intellifaucet?

[OrangeBulk]

I'm having problems with the water staying at the temperature I set it to when refilling tanks. We have just got a new boiler so I'm not sure what the problem is. Iv been looking for a solution for a while now and I found thermostatic mixing valves. The only thing is i cant find a good one that can go to a low enough temperature. Then I saw that Dean uses a Intellifaucet in his fish room, the only thing with that is it costs £800 with £100 shipping to the UK. They do cheaper ones but I would like the digital one.

Has anyone else had this problem and how did you fix it?

[Daniel]

When I first setup my big aquarium I was concerned about the temperature and used a manual mixing valve for automatic water changes (the yellow cap in the red circle).

But over time I came to realize changes in temperature or pH didn't seem to matter to the fish, even large changes, and that this was more of a concern to me. So I don't use my mixing valve anymore.

 

[OrangeBulk]

yeah I see your point but my temps go from freezing cold to boiling hot.  Is the thing circled a thermostatic mixing valves and if so what temperature does it go down to? 

[Coronal Mass Ejection Carl]

Do you have a tank water heater? Is it old?

Edited December 29, 2020 by Coronal Mass Ejection Carl

[OrangeBulk]

3 minutes ago, Coronal Mass Ejection Carl said:

Do you have a tank water heater? Is it old?

Do you mean heater in my fish tank or boiler?

[Coronal Mass Ejection Carl]

Just now, OrangeBulk said:

Do you mean heater in my fish tank or boiler?

Boiler.

[AdamTill]

I used a mixing valve from shower, think it was less than $50. Not thermostatic, but I used it daily and only had to tweak monthly or so as the groundwater temp changed (or cold supply water technically). That and a cheap temp gun is more than sufficient.

No way in heck would I use a thousand dollar valve to do that job personally.

Ive used it on both a hot water tank and tankless continuous supply system. Just have to monitor the tank in case it runs out.

The grey cover on the bottom picture is where the shower handle would have attached.

Edited December 29, 2020 by AdamTill

[OrangeBulk]

2 minutes ago, Coronal Mass Ejection Carl said:

Boiler.

We just got a new boiler so its not that 

 

 

[Daniel]

14 minutes ago, OrangeBulk said:

yeah I see your point but my temps go from freezing cold to boiling hot.  Is the thing circled a thermostatic mixing valves and if so what temperature does it go down to? 

It is a manual mixing valve. It can go from pure cold water which is about 55°F to pure hot water which 125°F. Before I had an automated system, my water would start off very cold from a well, but because I always aged it for a day or two prior to using it, by the time I used it, it was room temperature.

[OrangeBulk]

2 minutes ago, AdamTill said:

I used a mixing valve from shower, think it was less than $50. Not thermostatic, but I used it daily and only had to tweak monthly or so as the groundwater temp changed (or cold supply water technically). That and a cheap temp gun is more than sufficient.

No way in heck would I use a thousand dollar valve to do that job personally.

I have a mixing tap but the thing is the water temperature changes after I set it after a couple of minutes.

[Coronal Mass Ejection Carl]

I don't know what kind of boilers you use but in the US most have tanks and begin corroding from day one. I use cold water, fill a barrel, and heat it with aquarium heaters to avoid whatever might be in the hot water.

[OrangeBulk]

1 minute ago, Coronal Mass Ejection Carl said:

I don't know what kind of boilers you use but in the US most have tanks and begin corroding from day one. I use cold water, fill a barrel, and heat it with aquarium heaters to avoid whatever might be in the hot water.

We have a combi boiler. I do the same thing for my smaller fry tanks. but I would need a 300-400 litre water tank for my bigger tanks 

[AdamTill]

Good shower mixers are designed not to drift in supply temp or people would be constantly fussing with the temp and get frustrated. That said, if your temp is drifting a ton you should call the plumber that installed your boiler and figure out why.

Most thermostatic valves don’t go below 80F in product water output, so if you need less than that it’ll be a challenge to find.

[ChefConfit]

@OrangeBulk if I'm understanding this correctly the problem is that you are actually draining your hot water heater enough that is begins refilling. Then the water temp drops because the hot water isn't fully heated? Is that the issue? 

If so how large of a water change do you usually do? How large is the tank?

[OrangeBulk]

10 minutes ago, AdamTill said:

Good shower mixers are designed not to drift in supply temp or people would be constantly fussing with the temp and get frustrated. That said, if your temp is drifting a ton you should call the plumber that installed your boiler and figure out why.

Most thermostatic valves don’t go below 80F in product water output, so if you need less than that it’ll be a challenge to find.

80f would work but I cant find one that goes bellow 86f. the temps don't fluctuate any where else in the house just where I get the water for my tanks. I'm not sure if its because its so far from the boiler.

[AdamTill]

Google Apollo mvb 34b

[OrangeBulk]

2 hours ago, ChefConfit said:

@OrangeBulk if I'm understanding this correctly the problem is that you are actually draining your hot water heater enough that is begins refilling. Then the water temp drops because the hot water isn't fully heated? Is that the issue? 

If so how large of a water change do you usually do? How large is the tank?

I didn't think of that, the biggest water change i usually do is a 300 litre one.

Edited December 29, 2020 by OrangeBulk

[gardenman]

Some of the effectiveness of any temperature mixing system is how far away the hot water heater/boiler is. It probably takes two minutes for hot water to reach my kitchen sink. (It's not a big house, the water just takes a circuitous path.) Until that colder water has been flushed no temperature mixing valve will be effective. My tap water comes out in the fifties and no matter how much a valve ties to add hot water to get it to 75 degrees, until the colder water in the hot water line is flushed out, it's not happening. You can add a recirculating pump to a hot water system to keep the hot water lines constantly full of hot water, but it's kind of complicated and tends to be expensive. My shower, which is pretty much directly above the hot water heater gets hot water in seconds. A mixing valve on that branch would work great. 

The shower valve option is very smart and cost effective. They rely on water pressure differences to make sure the temp stays the same and are often called pressure balance shower faucets. You can still sometimes find the older ones which are not pressure balanced and the water can turn freezing cold or scalding hot if someone opens a tap elsewhere. (I grew up with one of those shower faucets and you'd often get an unpleasant surprise while showering.)

 

[Cory]

Dean went with the intellifaucet, and that is what I bought after seeing his for my new fish room. 

[Coronal Mass Ejection Carl]

BTW, people who do a lot of water changes should consider a heat exchanger to recover some of the heat from the water before sending it down the drain.

[StevesFishTanks]

The "lo-temp" models by watts. They are 60-120 temp range.

 

This crazy link opens a spec sheet for the valve.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.markssupply.ca/ASSETS/DOCUMENTS/ITEMS/EN/Watts_LF1170-US-M2_Manual.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjlzMSn9fPtAhULVK0KHRqEA74QFjAMegQICBAB&usg=AOvVaw2tONWDGVtGv910CBpFZC24

[OrangeBulk]

2 hours ago, s1_ said:

The "lo-temp" models by watts. They are 60-120 temp range.

 

This crazy link opens a spec sheet for the valve.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.markssupply.ca/ASSETS/DOCUMENTS/ITEMS/EN/Watts_LF1170-US-M2_Manual.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjlzMSn9fPtAhULVK0KHRqEA74QFjAMegQICBAB&usg=AOvVaw2tONWDGVtGv910CBpFZC24

They have changed the temperatures to between 90-160f 

http://www.watts.com//Areas/Watts/Content/images/favicons/watts/favicon.ico LF1170

WWW.WATTS.COM

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[StevesFishTanks]

They offer both

[OrangeBulk]

3 minutes ago, s1_ said:

They offer both

do you know where i can find the lower temperature one?

[StevesFishTanks]

LF1170 models can be set to any temperature between 90 degrees F and 160 degrees F with flow rates as low as 0.5 gpm and as high as 23 gpm. LFL1170-M2 models can be set at a range between 60 degrees F and 120 degrees F. Available with threaded (-UT), solder (-US), PEX Quick-Connect (-QC) or CPVC connections. Maximum Pressure: 150psi (10 bar). Lead Free* cast copper silicon alloy body construction.

 

this is info directly from the manufacturer.

search google for LFL1170-M2 0559110

another valve option is the honeywell sparco am-1 its range is 70-180

search google for AM100-US-1LF

im trying to help as much as I can without violating forum rules. there are lots of different sku combinations based on size of pipe and type of pipe, the valve part stays the same.