evohome ATF600 wall mount cable

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  • prozak1982
    Automated Home Lurker
    • Aug 2019
    • 6

    evohome ATF600 wall mount cable

    Has anyone extended the supplied low voltage cable without using a connector if so how? I need it at least double in length and have a single run/no join but finding the pcb connector on its own for one end of the cable has proved unsuccessful let alone finding a longer cable with that same connector already on it!
  • DBMandrake
    Automated Home Legend
    • Sep 2014
    • 2361

    #2
    Surely it's easier to just buy a longer piece of cable instead of joining it ?? It's just figure of 8 cable with screw terminals to go into at both ends...nothing fancy needed.

    On my install the ATF600 is mounted on a wall without a back box where the thermostat used to be so no room for the transformer so I decided to mount the 5v transformer in the wiring centre in my boiler closet, and use the original two wire thermostat cable that runs through the plaster and under the floor for the 5v supply. Works fine even though the wire gauge and length is near the limits recommended by Honeywell. (For voltage drop etc)

    Comment

    • prozak1982
      Automated Home Lurker
      • Aug 2019
      • 6

      #3
      How did you connect your original two wire thermostat cable to the 5v transformer without using a terminal strip/block to join onto its black and red low voltage cable?

      Comment

      • DBMandrake
        Automated Home Legend
        • Sep 2014
        • 2361

        #4
        Originally posted by prozak1982 View Post
        How did you connect your original two wire thermostat cable to the 5v transformer without using a terminal strip/block to join onto its black and red low voltage cable?
        Ah, sorry you're right - I forgot there was a permanent pigtail coming out of the transformer.

        Mine is mounted inside a spare corner of the wiring centre box well away from any high voltage connections and uses two spare terminal block terminals provided in the wiring centre to join to the cable that runs under the floor.

        In your situation I'd either use a miniature terminal block, or if you want a join that is free of any terminal blocks and tidy use an end to end overlapped soldered joint with heatshrink for insulation - this will provide a strong and very tidy result.

        Comment

        • prozak1982
          Automated Home Lurker
          • Aug 2019
          • 6

          #5
          Good shout thanks although I was just contemplating using the power supply (plug) that came with the ATF800 desktop stand but I’m left scratching my head even more so now as it’s 5v as opposed to 4v on the ATF600!

          Comment

          • DBMandrake
            Automated Home Legend
            • Sep 2014
            • 2361

            #6
            I think the power supply provided with the ATF 600 is just poor - mine measures about 4.6 volts vs the 5.0 volts from the desk stand power adaptor, and when you couple that with voltage drop from a long run of cable it could potentially cause problems. (Although it doesn't seem to for my installation) The specs say it should be 5 volts.

            If it's more convenient I can't see why you couldn't use the desk mount wall wort power supply instead - just solder a DC barrel connector (socket) on the end of your cable and plug it into the desk adaptor. I probably would have done that if there was a 3 pin socket in my boiler closet however as there wasn't it was easier to put the ATF 600 power supply inside the wiring centre as both the cable run to the wall mount and 240V AC were available within the enclosure and I had lots of spare terminals.
            Last edited by DBMandrake; 12 September 2019, 09:19 AM.

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            • prozak1982
              Automated Home Lurker
              • Aug 2019
              • 6

              #7
              I snipped the end/connector off the power supply (plug) supplied with the ATF800 desktop stand and connected the + & - wire directly to the ATF600 wall mount but it error messaged (see below) I’m no electrician however I don’t mind giving it a go and that I thought would have worked wonders especially like you said being 5v so I’m once again scratching my head
              Last edited by prozak1982; 12 September 2019, 03:57 PM.

              Comment

              • prozak1982
                Automated Home Lurker
                • Aug 2019
                • 6

                #8
                FAULT

                MAINS WIRING

                Please check system or contact installer

                Comment

                • DorrisMancer
                  Automated Home Guru
                  • Nov 2017
                  • 129

                  #9
                  It would be far preferable to sink a back-box to house the power supply and to use the old thermostat wiring to provide a mains supply from the wiring centre.

                  Comment

                  • DBMandrake
                    Automated Home Legend
                    • Sep 2014
                    • 2361

                    #10
                    Originally posted by prozak1982 View Post
                    FAULT

                    MAINS WIRING

                    Please check system or contact installer
                    Check the polarity is correct, also from memory there are three terminals on the mount but only two should be used so make sure you're using the correct ones. I can't see any reason why the 5v wall wort shouldn't work just as well if not better than the one supplied with the wall mount.

                    Comment

                    • DBMandrake
                      Automated Home Legend
                      • Sep 2014
                      • 2361

                      #11
                      Originally posted by DorrisMancer View Post
                      It would be far preferable to sink a back-box to house the power supply and to use the old thermostat wiring to provide a mains supply from the wiring centre.
                      Not for me - plaster over solid brick for interior walls. I don't fancy carving out the space for a backbox from brick...it's hard enough just to drill holes in the brick to mount a shelf

                      Re-using the original mains wiring for the low voltage DC has worked just fine for me, but it does depend on how long it is and what wire gauge it is. My run is probably about 8 metres.
                      Last edited by DBMandrake; 17 September 2019, 10:59 AM.

                      Comment

                      • gordonb3
                        Automated Home Ninja
                        • Dec 2016
                        • 273

                        #12
                        Originally posted by DorrisMancer View Post
                        It would be far preferable to sink a back-box to house the power supply and to use the old thermostat wiring to provide a mains supply from the wiring centre.
                        Wow! NO! That is a sure way to set your home on fire. If you really want to install the ATF600 with the transformer mounted to its back you should replace the original low voltage thermostat wiring with 230V installation wire. The simpler approach is to detach the transformer from the ATF600 and connect the blue/red thermostat wiring to the mounting plate instead: red to red, blue to black. Next connect the transformer to the other end of the wires which will typically sit right next to the boiler and which you obviously already disconnected earlier to install the BDR unit.

                        With respect to distance as mentioned by DBMandrake I'm not real sure what route/distance this wire travels in my house, but it has to be at least 10 meters and I have no issues whatsoever with this installation.

                        Comment

                        • DorrisMancer
                          Automated Home Guru
                          • Nov 2017
                          • 129

                          #13
                          Originally posted by gordonb3 View Post
                          Wow! NO! That is a sure way to set your home on fire. If you really want to install the ATF600 with the transformer mounted to its back you should replace the original low voltage thermostat wiring with 230V installation wire.
                          Sorry, that's nonsense (and I hope that anyone considering this is already aware of cable colour schemes). Wiring to the old-style thermostats is typically 6243Y (flat, 3 core + earth) cable ... maybe you misunderstood what I was suggesting (and have done myself).
                          The potential (pun intended) problems with having the power supply remote from the device are: safely mounting the PSU and voltage drop on the cable, and I don't know whether anyone has measured the current drawn by the device, the output voltage range of the PSU and the acceptable minimum voltage for the device ... with that info (and knowledge of the cable resistance) it's just ohm's law.

                          Sinking a back-box into brick is very quick if you stitch-drill with an SDS drill.

                          Comment

                          • filbert
                            Automated Home Guru
                            • Oct 2017
                            • 161

                            #14
                            Originally posted by DorrisMancer View Post
                            Sinking a back-box into brick is very quick if you stitch-drill with an SDS drill.
                            Depends how hard the bricks are. Some of mine are very hard to drill into. Also, the 'plaster' is more like a cement rendering. No fun.

                            Comment

                            • gordonb3
                              Automated Home Ninja
                              • Dec 2016
                              • 273

                              #15
                              Originally posted by DorrisMancer View Post
                              Sorry, that's nonsense (and I hope that anyone considering this is already aware of cable colour schemes). Wiring to the old-style thermostats is typically 6243Y (flat, 3 core + earth) cable ... maybe you misunderstood what I was suggesting (and have done myself).
                              Not where I live. Thermostats are normally connected using a cable that has two 0.5mm cores or in some cases when installed at some later time (e.g. when replacing gas heaters with central heating) using 4 core norm88 telephone wire.

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