Hello,
our heat pump just displayed an error message: high gas fault, error code 704. We have a heat pump from the brand Novelan. What should we do?
Would you call an emergency service immediately? I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed right now. It is -11°C (12°F) outside.
Thank you very much and best regards
our heat pump just displayed an error message: high gas fault, error code 704. We have a heat pump from the brand Novelan. What should we do?
Would you call an emergency service immediately? I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed right now. It is -11°C (12°F) outside.
Thank you very much and best regards
D
Daniel-Sp9 Jan 2023 15:29Hello @chewbacca123
I finally managed to review the data.
The operating pattern of the heat pump looks good. You had 22 compressor starts over 2 days. For the size of the heat pump relative to your house, this is a reasonable number. What stands out are the frequent domestic hot water cycles during the day. This is caused by the continuous circulation during daytime, which empties your hot water storage tank. Reducing this is more a matter of comfort, but it could also save some costs.
Unfortunately, I cannot give a clean bill of health. During hot water production at around 2°C (36°F) outdoor temperature, the maximum discharge gas temperature is close to 108°C (226°F). During the recorded period, the highest discharge gas temperature was 109.1°C (228°F).
Back in January 2021, at comparable outdoor temperatures, your maximum discharge gas temperature was around 85°C (185°F). I am concerned that at significantly lower temperatures, the heat pump will again face issues with excessive discharge gas temperatures during hot water operation.
What can be done? Not much. Settings to protect the system would be:
- Reduce the target domestic hot water temperature to the lowest acceptable value. In 2021 you had a target of 49°C (120°F), now you are at 50.5°C (123°F). Every degree reduction helps. Maybe you could try 48 or 48.5°C (118 or 119°F)?
- Reduce the circulation. This decreases the number of hot water cycles and thus reduces stress on the heat pump.
- Keep an eye on the maximum discharge gas temperature as outdoor temperatures fall, and if necessary, switch the domestic hot water production to the electric heating element. If you load the DTA data into OpenDTA, you can easily check the maximum discharge gas temperature in the Statistics tab.
In general, there have been many reports recently of compressor failures in the LAD series. Other series operate very reliably. Exact information from Novelan/Alpha Innotec is, of course, not available. If a compressor failure requiring replacement does occur, you should openly discuss this issue with Novelan customer service. When replacing the compressor, insist on an acid test of the refrigerant to prevent another compressor failure in a short time.
Other causes could be refrigerant loss or a faulty expansion valve.
For discharge gas temperature problems, customer service through your heating installer is usually the first contact during the warranty period. Alternatively, a specialized refrigeration technician (if available nearby) who also services heat pumps is often more competent than the heating installer.
Despite everything, have a nice day.
I finally managed to review the data.
The operating pattern of the heat pump looks good. You had 22 compressor starts over 2 days. For the size of the heat pump relative to your house, this is a reasonable number. What stands out are the frequent domestic hot water cycles during the day. This is caused by the continuous circulation during daytime, which empties your hot water storage tank. Reducing this is more a matter of comfort, but it could also save some costs.
Unfortunately, I cannot give a clean bill of health. During hot water production at around 2°C (36°F) outdoor temperature, the maximum discharge gas temperature is close to 108°C (226°F). During the recorded period, the highest discharge gas temperature was 109.1°C (228°F).
Back in January 2021, at comparable outdoor temperatures, your maximum discharge gas temperature was around 85°C (185°F). I am concerned that at significantly lower temperatures, the heat pump will again face issues with excessive discharge gas temperatures during hot water operation.
What can be done? Not much. Settings to protect the system would be:
- Reduce the target domestic hot water temperature to the lowest acceptable value. In 2021 you had a target of 49°C (120°F), now you are at 50.5°C (123°F). Every degree reduction helps. Maybe you could try 48 or 48.5°C (118 or 119°F)?
- Reduce the circulation. This decreases the number of hot water cycles and thus reduces stress on the heat pump.
- Keep an eye on the maximum discharge gas temperature as outdoor temperatures fall, and if necessary, switch the domestic hot water production to the electric heating element. If you load the DTA data into OpenDTA, you can easily check the maximum discharge gas temperature in the Statistics tab.
In general, there have been many reports recently of compressor failures in the LAD series. Other series operate very reliably. Exact information from Novelan/Alpha Innotec is, of course, not available. If a compressor failure requiring replacement does occur, you should openly discuss this issue with Novelan customer service. When replacing the compressor, insist on an acid test of the refrigerant to prevent another compressor failure in a short time.
Other causes could be refrigerant loss or a faulty expansion valve.
For discharge gas temperature problems, customer service through your heating installer is usually the first contact during the warranty period. Alternatively, a specialized refrigeration technician (if available nearby) who also services heat pumps is often more competent than the heating installer.
Despite everything, have a nice day.
Hi
We have exactly the same problem. Just before Christmas, when it was very cold outside, error 704 appeared for the first time. After 2 days everything was fine again, and the heat pump ran without any issues until 3 days ago. Then it snowed, and the temperatures dropped below freezing – suddenly the error message showed up again. Not all day long, mainly in the evenings and at night.
About 2 hours ago, I installed a software update since it was outdated, and since then the heat pump has been running again. However, I don’t think this was the real solution, so I’m planning to check again later.
I also noticed some fluid running along the pipes to the buffer tank. Could that maybe be refrigerant?
We’re currently quite puzzled, especially since it’s the weekend again and, of course, nobody is available to help. 🙁
@chewbacca123 Did the error on your heat pump come back now that it’s colder?
We have exactly the same problem. Just before Christmas, when it was very cold outside, error 704 appeared for the first time. After 2 days everything was fine again, and the heat pump ran without any issues until 3 days ago. Then it snowed, and the temperatures dropped below freezing – suddenly the error message showed up again. Not all day long, mainly in the evenings and at night.
About 2 hours ago, I installed a software update since it was outdated, and since then the heat pump has been running again. However, I don’t think this was the real solution, so I’m planning to check again later.
I also noticed some fluid running along the pipes to the buffer tank. Could that maybe be refrigerant?
We’re currently quite puzzled, especially since it’s the weekend again and, of course, nobody is available to help. 🙁
chewbacca123 schrieb:
Good morning, yes, Christmas was great. I hope all is well with you too and that you had a nice holiday.
Unfortunately, I don’t have any current logs. We’re on ski vacation right now, so everything was pretty tight before Christmas and quite stressful.
The error hasn’t occurred again. I agreed with our heating technician that if it happens again, a specialist company would be called. Our plumber can’t do anything about error 704.
The heat pump has been running perfectly since then. The error definitely occurred when it was -11°C (12°F) outside. It probably had something to do with the location, but that wasn’t normal. Luckily, we have a second heat source we can switch to.
@chewbacca123 Did the error on your heat pump come back now that it’s colder?
Good evening
I have the same problem but with an Alpha Innotev LWD90A from 2013.
Could someone please help me? Last week, a refrigeration technician came to check the compressor. He said the compressor is okay but thinks there might be too little refrigerant in the compressor. Could that be possible?
I have the same problem but with an Alpha Innotev LWD90A from 2013.
Could someone please help me? Last week, a refrigeration technician came to check the compressor. He said the compressor is okay but thinks there might be too little refrigerant in the compressor. Could that be possible?
A refrigerant shortage is also possible, but this can be fairly easily checked by a refrigerant technician.
In general, the internet is full of compressor damage reports for your model series, as @Daniel-Sp mentioned.
Do you know how many compressor starts you have had, as well as the average runtime of your heat pump?
In general, the internet is full of compressor damage reports for your model series, as @Daniel-Sp mentioned.
Do you know how many compressor starts you have had, as well as the average runtime of your heat pump?
This device is really frustrating…. We constantly get an error message 760 defrost fault, and nobody can tell us what’s causing it…. I find 11 compressor starts per day quite a lot, we have about 4 or so….
The device broke down so often that we managed to get an extended warranty… However, I don’t trust this unit.
The device broke down so often that we managed to get an extended warranty… However, I don’t trust this unit.
D
Daniel-Sp18 Feb 2023 18:57Snowy36 schrieb:
11 compressor starts per day seems relatively high to me, we have about 4 or so...Hello,
Whether that's "good" or "relatively high" depends on the specific conditions. For the size of the house, it’s acceptable. Using the LAD 5 instead of the LAD 9 could have achieved better results. Reducing the domestic hot water circulation would also save another 3-5 compressor starts. However, achieving only 4 starts with the LAD 9 would require a large heating circuit hysteresis, which would then lead to bigger temperature fluctuations inside the house. That wouldn’t be ideal either...
Regards
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