10 troubleshooting
Kelvinator heat pump hot water system
Before calling for servicing or repair, check the following points:
Troubleshooting
Operation
Problem
Possible solutions
Part of normal
operation
The heat pump is not
running
The temperature inside the tank could be above the set point
and the unit has shutdown. When the temperature drops below
the set point, the unit will start automatically and begin to heat
the water again.
Under colder conditions the heat pump may shutdown in order
to go into defrost mode.
If the heat pump is wired up to an off-peak tarrif it will only run
when this supply is available.
The heat pump will not operate until it has 3 minutes of
uninterrupted power supply as part of its protection.
The heat pump is running
but the water is cold
If this heat pump hasn’t been on for long it will take some time
(allow 4-6 hours) for the temperature inside the tank to get to its
set-point level. If the heat pump is working correctly the output
connection on the heat pump should be warm, indicating that it
is pumping warm water into the tank.
If the heat pump is installed on off peak, check with your power
provider that you are on extended off peak or off peak 2 tarrif.
This appliance is not designed for installation on standard off
peak or off peak 1.
The fan is not running
but the rest of the heat
pump is
The fan speed varies according to the ambient temperature
and may stop entirely during operation for a period of time.
If the fan stops indefinitely while the rest of the heat pump is
operating, please call a service technician.
Boost element in storage
tank is not operating
Power must be available to the heat pump for it to change to
electric heating manual mode. Check that the circuit breaker is
switched on.
Small amount of water
leaking from underneath
heat pump or installed
drainage pipe
Water may collect in the bottom tray of the heat pump due to
rain or condensation as part of the normal operation of the heat
pump. There is a drain hole on the bottom tray of the heat pump
that allows water to run out from underneath it and a drainage
pipe may be connected to this hole as part of the installation. If an
excessive amount of water is coming from this hole/drainage pipe
or anywhere else on the heat pump please call a service technician.
The sound of water flow
inside the heat pump
This is caused by the refrigerant and water flowing inside the
heat pump. It may be louder during the first few minutes of
operation and is normal.
Short 'hissing' sound
coming from the heat
pump
This is made by the heat exchanger as the temperature changes
inside. The heat expands and the cold contracts creating an audible
'hiss' sound. This is part of normal operation and not a product fault.
Abnormal
operation
Water is discharging from
the pressure relief valve
on the storage tank
A small amount of water may discharge from the relief valve
regularly to compensate for water that has expanded upon
heating. However if a large volume of water is being discharged
with steam, then turn off power to the heat pump and call
a service technician. If there is a small but continuous leak,
operate the lever on the relief valve a couple of times to see if
the leak stops, if the leak continues call a service technician.
The water inside the tank
is cold and the heat pump
is not running
Check that power is available at the switchboard supplying the
heat pump and that its circuit breaker is on or that the fuse is in.
If there is an isolator switch for the heat pump installed check
that this is not switched off. If the circuit breaker is tripped or
the fuse is blown call a service technician.
Power is available to the
heat pump but it is not
running and the water in
the tank is cold
The heat pump may have shutdown due to a fault condition.
Turn power off to the heat pump for a few seconds and
then power it back on. This may reset the heat pump from a
protection mode (due to a power surge etc.). If this occurs again,
this may indicate a fault condition, call a service technician.
There is low water
pressure or flow coming
from the hot taps or
fixtures
Check that all isolation valves in the water system are fully
opened (e.g. isolation valve at mains water meter, isolation valve
at inlet to hot water system). Also check that all filters in the hot
water system are clean and free from blockages including any
filters on individual taps or fixtures and the tempering valve.
