Protected Content

Please enter the password to view this page:

Murtwell Trouble Shooting

Murtwell Farm Troubleshooting Guide – Heating, Hot Water and Water Pressure

Our services

Here at Murtwell Farm we are substantially off-grid.

1 Spring water

The water comes from a spring on the other side of the road, by the pumphouse.
It is pumped from there to a private reservoir in a nearby field. It is clean, free of harmful bacteria and has a very low mineral content. Each household has its own filter and UV sterilisation system.
It is compulsorily tested every 5 years by the council.

We share our water supply with our neighbours at Murtwell Barn (Liv and Jamie) and Hidden Oak (Nick and Elle). Nick is our resident engineer and designed and built the water management system. Matthew and Nick installed a new water pump in 2025; the reservoir, which had been leaking for over 10 years, has been given a butyl lining and manhole covers, also in 2025.

2 Sewage

We also share a cesspit and soakaway with Murtwell Barn and Hidden Oak.
The cesspit is emptied once or twice a year and there is a charge for this.
It is important not to use a lot of toilet cleaning products, especially bleach, as these chemicals interfere with the natural bacterial breakdown of sewage.

3 Electricity

Our electricity supplier is Octopus ¹ and the distributor is National Grid Electricity Distribution; in case of a general power cut call 105 for more information or check their website ².

We are quite dependent on a power supply for heating, hot water and water supply.
Our backup for heating is the woodburning stoves; in a critical situation,
use wood from the shed outside or share wood with neighbours. As there will be no water pressure inside the house in a power cut, the easiest way to get water is to use the outside tap at the side of Murtwell Farm.

If there is no water pressure in the house

Check the power to the cold water tank: if a switch has tripped, follow instructions below.
Check the pressure pump on top of the cold water tank:
- Look at the pressure gauge (normal is around 3 bar).
- Look at the indicator light on the pump button.
- If the light is solid the pump should be functioning normally: if there is still no water pressure this might mean the main water supply has failed and the water tank has emptied.
- If the light is flashing rapidly and the pressure gauge shows 0 bar, the pump has a temp orary fault: long‑press the Stop/Start button until it changes to a slow flash (stopped), then short‑press to restart.
- If the pump will not restart or pressure does not return, call a plumber or water‑system engineer.
If the water supply from outside has failed, firstly check for frozen pipes, if not then check the outside tap at the far side of the house. If that has no water, the reservoir is likely empty and you need to alert Nick and other neighbours.

If there is pressure but no hot water

Check the ground source heat pump display is on when you touch the screen.
Check other electrics work; if not, it may be a power cut or a tripped circuit in the main board.
At the hot water control press the Advance/Override (left‑hand) button once to call for hot water from the heat pump; listen for the unit starting and give it time to heat the cylinder.
If the return temperature quickly rises to the mid‑40°C range and the heat pump stops, the tank is already hot enough; check if the hot outlet pipe from the top of the tank warms up after running a hot tap for a short while.
If extra hot water is needed and the heat pump has finished its HW cycle, use the solar boost:

press the Boost button to add 15‑minute blocks (up to 2 hours) of immersion heating from solar PV and grid.

If the heating is not working

Confirm the ground source heat pump has power, the touch screen lights up on a firm press and shows no error.
Check the thermostat in bedroom 2:
- Make sure the set point is above the current room temperature by pressing either right hand button. You can increase the set point by pressing the ^ button, and decrease it using the ˅ button.
- Make sure “Manual” or “Frost” modes are not preventing heating. The Frost mode is set by pressing the top button; the Manual mode by pressing the hand symbol on the left. Once Manual mode is set the set point remains where it is until pressed again!
If the pump is running but some radiators are still cold after 30–60 minutes, bleed them: the keys are in the box.

If the power has tripped

Go to the main consumer unit (large circuit board).
If the main switch has tripped (very unsual) try resetting it, if it keeps tripping and you can’t find a faulty device, call electrician.
Check which side has tripped; remember the right‑hand section also feeds the water pump, so if this is off, the reservoir will no longer fill.
Try resetting the tripped switch.
If a specific circuit keeps tripping, switch that individual circuit off so the water pump circuit can stay on, then arrange an electrician to investigate.

Meters

If needed, or interested, there are a number of electricity meters at Murtwell Farm.
Main meter
Solar panel meter
Swallow’s nest meter
GSHP meter

Contacts

We have a Kensa heat pump; installed by EcoTrades

The thermostat controller in bedroom 2 is a Salus RT510TX taking 2 x AA batteries.

EcoTrades contact options ³

In an emergency, please contact the installers.
Main office phone: 01803 393530 (primary contact for Eco Trades South West Ltd).⁴
Address: 224 Torquay Road, Paignton, Devon, TQ3 2HN.
General email: sales@eco-trades.co.uk.⁴⁵

other tradespeople

Plumber / water system support: [PLUMBER NAME + NUMBER – fill in].
Solar PV / solar boost support: [INSTALLER NAME + NUMBER – fill in].
Spring water supply – Nick Franklin: [see folder].