Bosch Compress 3000 Questions & Answers

You may need to open the bleed valve on top of the recirculation pump to vent air in the line. While you're there turn the recirculation motor speed up to "III" with a big flathead screwdriver.

Yes, definitely open the brass bleed valve by a quarter turn, no more than half a turn as the thread is short and it may just fall out and be difficult to get back in.
Turn the purge pump to III (black and located just above the brass valve).
You can also hold a length of hose up to the small outlet located up high and to the right of the brass valve and open the outlet with a small spanner 1.5 rotations. Water should pour out, down the hose. Leave it open about a minute or til the water runs cool (water may be hot initially so be careful).
After closing the outlet with the spanner, turn the purge pump back to III and close the brass purge valve.
The 5n code after initiating Purge in the menu is a countdown starting at 5 minutes in which you should have completed the above steps. Once the countdown ends normal operation should resume.
If the E09 code continues to appear, as it did for us, get the capacitors tested. Our fault was eventually found to be a capacitor which had dropped from 4 microfarads to just 0.2 - not enough to do it's job. We replaced the capacitor and have no more problems! After over a year of this problem getting worse and worse, we finally have reliable cheap hot water again!

When purging do you also open the purge valve on the top? That has to open to clear any air and then activate the purge cycle in the menus. Although it shouldn't matter, is the purge pump set to full speed?
Anti-freeze should only function if the water temperature gets below 5C, and should stop when it reaches 8C. Possibly the temperature sensor is faulty?
I have previously received good tech support from Bosch by raising a ticket through their website to troubleshoot the unit.

If you're still getting the E09 error even with regular purging, get the capacitors tested. Our long running and worsening issue was eventually to be a capacitor which had lost capacitance from 4 to 0.2 microfarads. Apparently this can happen in high temperature environments such as inside a hot water unit!

That's odd, haven't experienced that. Have you power cycled the unit?

Yes, if power cycled just means turned if off & on. It lost about 2.5 hours over night??

Unfortunately this sounds normal, particularly if it's doing the weekly heat cycle. Mine turns on like yours, but then on Saturdays it then goes on a rampage heating up to 75C later in the day and doing this thing for 6-8 hours using the resistive element, not the heat exchanger on top.. Other times the heat exchanger will not run even when it's the right time, I think this is because the top of the water tank it at the desired temp (54C here) but the bottom of the tank may be 15-20C. Sorry that doesn't help but I did find the guys at Bosch are actually helpful if you put in a query in the website.

This from the manual:
If, after a few minutes of operation (up to 20-30 minutes),
display shows „E09“,you should:
▶ Reset the appliance (> page 32, paragraph „Resetting the
system“).
▶ Rotate circulation pump speed selector to position „III“.
▶ Activate „Purg“ function (> page 31, section 5.6.6).
▶ Reopen the purge screw of the circulation pump and leave
it opened until the water leaks uniformly without visible air
bubbles.
▶ Close the circulation pump purge screw.
▶ Reopen the purge valve for a few seconds several times
during the "Purg" procedure to ensure the complete purge
of the system.
▶ After "Purg" function ends, rotate the circulation pump
speed selector to position „I“.

The recirculation pump is in top of the unit and the purge screw is on that.

Will try that thanks

If you're still getting the E09 error even with regular purging, get the capacitors tested. Our long running and worsening issue was eventually to be a capacitor which had lost capacitance from 4 to 0.2 microfarads. Apparently this can happen in high temperature environments such as inside a hot water unit!

The single biggest issue with our Bosch heat pump was the circulation pump, it circulates the water within the tank to even out the temperature, once they go, the thermostat cuts out because it's only sensing a small area of water not the average temperature.

Hi & thanks for your response. For anyone with a Bosch heat pump, here’s some good news…I called a plumber who googled the E11 error code. He told me to hold down the OK button for 3 seconds which I did, & it came back on after being off for over a week. It has been hot ever since, & is the best news I’ve had in a long while!!

FY E11 is a catch all for the following:
Fault in the fan
High pressure loss in the air ducts
Leak in refrigerant circuit
Fault in the compressor
Fault in the expansion valve
Fault in the dry filter
Start up after a long standby period at very low
temperatures

The reset by holding the OK button clears the error and hopefully it functions ok after that

Thank you very much. I had to call a plumber & he googled & held the ok button down for several seconds
(3-5) & it came good. I had tried that myself, but apparently not for the required time.
I was greatly relieved. I’ll make a note of this info for future.
Thank you again for taking the time to help..

Hi Kevin .. why are you asking about thermostats in particular .. has someone diagnosed that’s the problem

1. How old is the unit?
2. Where are you located in relation to area climate.
3. Have you turned off and on the isolation switch or the meter board switch for at least five minutes?
4. What is the fault number or code being displayed ?

HI, we're in Victoria, south of Melbourne. UNit is maybe 2-3 years old, still under warranty- it's done this since it was installed, but usually resets after a few days. No idea where the isolation switch is. No fault or code displayed, only the LEG.

LEG cycle should finish when the required top and bottom tank temperature has been maintained for the specified number of hours as given in the manual. What are the top and bottom tank temperatures? Possibly your water inlet temperature is very low, but this would not likely be the case during summer. Either the top or bottom tank temperature sensor could be faulty, which would be driving the system to continue in the LEG cycle. Or the compressor circuit is not providing best performance which would mean the LEG requirements aren't being met. (My Compress 3000 had a complete compressor failure after 4 years.) Does the electric boost work ok - it helps heat during the LEG cycle? Don't count on a whole lot of help from Bosch - they discontinued the product a while ago now, but given they've got a legal obligation under warranty to remedy the problem, I'd be getting on to the Dept of Fair Trading (don't take no for an answer from them either) if Bosch isn't responsive.

Hi Kaz .. these units have an average life span of 5 years in VIC and TAS climates (not high altitudes).
If the unit has been going into LEG since installation you would NOT be getting any benefits from the power savings at all.
They are a hit and miss unit with most of the issues coming from many installers who forget or don’t read the installation instructions and don’t set up the water pump correctly or don’t fully purge the unit of air at time of installation.
Your best bet is to a) pursue Bosch Hot Water for the warranty cover or b) the installer, BUT don’t get sucked into the after sales $$$ servicing nightmare ..these units are pathetic.
You could also save yourself a lot of grief and just replace it with one of the newer units that have the automatic purge feature such as Rinnai’s 315 litre unit .. and send Bosch the bill.
Hope this helps.

Bosch Hot Water service phone 1300 307 037

How old is the unit?

E04 indicates that the temperature in the storage tank is greater than or equal to 80 degrees C.
What set point temperature have you set using the +/- buttons?
The factory set point temperature is 56 degrees, so this is way too high. From memory, the electric boost thermal cutout is 70 degrees, and the electric element usually operates when in one of the boost modes or the Leg (thermal disinfection) mode - presume you're not getting E04 in either of these modes? If so, the thermal cutout may be defective, but the system shouldn't let the tank temperature get that high.
Therefore, there may be a defective DHW temperature sensor for the tank (#2 on the electrical diagram in your manual).
I really would be sorting this overtemperature issue which is potentially dangerous, if only because of a possibly elevated hot water temperature at the tap, before worrying about changing heating times. Note that the system will do a Leg heating once a week which can't be disabled - you can select the day of the week but otherwise that's a system function which can't be changed at all.

Hi Mark
It is a series two and was installed in 2017
Allan

In response to Bit .. yes the LEG should run weekly for disinfection but not to go into E04 fault.
In response to Allan B .. you are at the five years limited life span of these heat pump units and from now moving forward you will have continual purge problems that I also experienced at that same age. Hot tip: Don't waste any money on service calls just replace it with another brand .. I went with the Rinnai 315 heat pump unit BECAUSE it has an automatic purge feature. Trust me as a license plumbing contractor this is a dud heat pump model .

Thanks gentlemen.
I will source a replacement unit.
Allan

Hi everybody. Replaced the Bosch with an Enviroheat 22 ltr unit.
Mainly because of 5 year warranty on tank and compressor with 1 year on the rest.
Under 5 year bit you get a new unit if warranty is invoked.
Also has two Magnesium rods for corrosion protection.
Got back $ 1100. selLing STC'S

1. How old is it? 2. Where are you located. 3. Have you purged the unit recently?

It’s only 15 months old.
I am in the Macedon Ranges.
I’m not sure what ‘purged’ means.

Most importantly, once the system goes into the LEG cycle, avoid drawing off any hot water at the taps. If you do, the mixed water temperature in the tank will drop, especially if the supply is cold mountain water. If the temperature drops too far, the cycle timer will restart... Again from memory, the LEG cycle uses both top and bottom temperature sensors to determine that the whole of the tank water has been satisfactorily disinfected. Unfortunately, there's no way of disabling the 7-day LEG cycle although you can set it to a 'convenient' day of the week.
'Purged' means to eliminate air from the heat exchanger loop. It's a simple process. Best to refer to the instruction manual, but from memory (I did this ages ago) you remove the top cover, select speed III (?) on the water pump case, and select PURG from the menu to ensure the pump is running. You then open the pump end casing screw slightly to bleed out any air, close it and then open the valve at the top of the water piping on the top of the heat exchanger until a solid water stream runs out. Reselect speed I on the water pump and deselect the PURG mode.
However, the unit will report a purge error code if the system thinks it has a problem there - purging is not a routine maintenance operation. A purge error only happen twice out of four years of operation for me. If you need any information from the user manual, post a question - I still have mine somewhere.

Thanks. I’ll think about a more convenient day than the preset Saturday - how dumb. I’m not sure will get into the whole purge thing though. Way too complicated for me! Cheers.

The point still is .. the Bosch manual only says that the water needs to get to 60 degrees for 30-odd minutes. But that seems not to be true?

Your bosch HWC needs to maintain 60celcius all the time .. the LEG cycle will likely take it up to around 75celcius for disinfecting .. your plumber installer should have given it a good purge at time of installation but you can easily do it if you can get hold of the instruction manual. Download it off an Internet search.

Right. Is there any way I can shorten the time it spends on the LEG cycle? It’s really a problem.

No.

Not unless you want to infect yourself with legionella bacteria ..

Also because you are off the grid and up Mt Macedon you should have been given the better option to use an LPG instant water heater in your location ..

Most of the time we like the heat pump. Except for the one day of the week it goes on to legionella cycle. Surely it should not take longer than the 7am to 5pm period that we run the system.

The 60°c for 30minutes is the temp at the bottom of the tank, not the top temp which is the temp displayed. So if any hot water is used whilst in the leg cycle, the bottom of the tank will drop quickly, but the temp shown wont change much. Results in the leg cycle taking far longer

The Bosch Compress 3000 anodes are currently available on eBay for $69. Use "Bosch Compress 3000" as the search string.

I agree the manual may as well be written in Swahili, followed instructions to the letter but unable to program, only able to get it to run whenever it needs to, we have solar so works out pretty economical as during the daytime it runs off the solar panels.
I wonder if you could put it on an independent timer?

I will look into that David, thanks. Overall I am not impressed at all with the unit, I was
even told by one of the tradies they are better suited to Qld, not cooler Vic, where I live.
Ah well, I will keep trying

We were getting the E10 error daily, replaced the thermostat about a week ago so far so good.

Thanks David. We also changed the thermostat. Fingers crossed, just like you. So far so good

Can I please where did you buy the thermostat?

Update, woke up to no hot water this morning, the unit was in error code E11 (problem in the heat pump system somewhere), so reset it and it has restarted, will see how it goes, but not holding my breath. The unit is less than 3.5 years old, I absolutely recommend that no-one buy this unit, way too many faults and glitches.

I realise this was asked a while ago, but E09 is caused by air in the system or incorrect water circulation. The manual lists the following as causes:

Incorrect system purging
Water pump blocked (water not recirculating)
Hydraulic circuit blocked (water not recirculating)
System unpurged due to water shortage

I had the same problem with mine ,I pulled the pump out and found the connecting pipes and the purge valve severely blocked with corrosion and some deposits. cleaned this out and it is working fine . Also checked the anode ,this was almost welded into place with corrosion .I cleaned and re-installed it . My unit is just short of 3 years old and I have good water.My last hot water system lasted 18 years with no maintenance.

Hi Phil. My unit eventually wouldnt even maintain a heat cycle despite many resets and time manipulations. I am in a remote area and the cost for a callout plus unknown repairs/parts was prohibitive. It had failed just outside the 2 year warranty. So I installed a Sanden unit. The Bosch went to the tip. Good riddance.

I had the same problem with mine LEG going continuously and then E09 and eventually E04 as the pump was not circulating the water and the top of the tank was overheating but the bottom was still 40 degrees. LEG wont stop till both top and bottom reach 60 degrees ,I pulled the pump out and found the connecting pipes and the purge valve severely blocked with corrosion and some deposits. cleaned this out and it is working fine . Also checked the anode ,this was almost welded into place with corrosion .I cleaned and re-installed it . My unit is just short of 3 years old and I have good water. My last hot water system lasted 18 years with no maintenance. I feel there could be an issue with dissimilar metals causing corrosion -just my theory

Same here Phil. It just goes on and on forever even though it gets to over 67 degrees for hours! I am also offgrid and it isn’t good for my batteries. What can we do?

Hi Dave, you may need to try resetting the system. Press the OK key for 3 seconds to reset. If the problem persists, please get in touch with us at 1300 30 70 37 any time between 7:30AM and 6PM (AEDT) on a weekday.

Hi Naomi, we're so sorry to hear about the issues that you've been experiencing with your unit. We would suggest that you reach out to one of our authorised contractors. Please get in touch with our customer service team at 1300 30 70 37 any time from 7:30am - 6:00pm (AEST) during the weekday, and they will be able to assist you in getting in touch with a service agent.

Hi Arpad, the heat pump has a troubleshooting function. In most cases, the unit will return to normal functioning following elimination of the cause of the malfunction and resetting the device. The E09 fault refers to either an incorrect purging, water not circulating (water pump or hydraulic circuit may be blocked), or the system being unpurged due to water shortage. We recommend that you contact your installer regarding this issue.