3 Questions about Boiler settings and controls

[Fiona12]

Hi Guys,

I have Warmflow Bluebird 70/90 boiler to heat my 900 square feet semi.
The radiators are old single panelled with no fins and no thermostatic controls. There is no thermostat in the house, only on the bolier which is outside in a metal boiler house. In this season it looks like 500l of oil will last around 3 months.

I wondered of anyone would be able to help me with three questions.

1. Is there anyway I can stop heating the domestic hot water and keep heating the radiators when the bolier is on? I have an electric shower and cold water feed dishwasher and only need a little warm water at night for a wash before bed. I would be happy to use the immersion for this water. At the moment tanks of hot water are just being wasted.

2. There is a thermostat on the boiler which I have at 2 at the moment. Is this the best setting for the winter months?

3. How easy and costly would it be to fit a modern 7 day digital timer for the heating as I have an old time clock with little red and blue plugs that need manually inserted.

Thank you in advance for any advice offered. I have scarred the internet for answers to this and haven't been able to make much sense out of my findings.

Fiona

 

[D_Hailsham]

1. Is there anyway I can stop heating the domestic hot water and keep heating the radiators when the boiler is on?

Does you time clock have switches for heating on/off and hot water on/off?

Does this problem only occur in the winter; i.e you can set the boiler to produce just hot water in the summer.?

If the above is true, you have gravity hot water, pumped heating system and there are two ways you can achieve what require:

1. Convert it to a "C Plan", this inserts a motorized valve in the pipe from boiler to HW cylinder and a thermostat on the cylinder so you can control the times and temperature of the HW. This is the cheapest option.

2. Convert to a "fully pumped" system. This means altering the pipework at the boiler and the HW cylinder, installing one or two motorized valves and a thermostat on the HW cylinder. This is a more expensive option, but your system will be more efficient.

2. There is a thermostat on the boiler which I have at 2 at the moment. Is this the best setting for the winter months?

It really should be higher, particularly in very cold weather. Presumably you have it set so low as the water coming out of the tap would be too hot if you set it any higher. This is because there is no independent control over the HW temperature. The two options above would give this.

It also sounds as if you have no thermostat on the wall of your house to control the house temperature. You need to get one.

3. How easy and costly would it be to fit a modern 7 day digital timer for the heating as I have an old time clock with little red and blue plugs that need manually inserted.

You need to get the other problems sorted and this can be taken care of at the same time..

 

[Fiona12]

This is a great help, thank you very much.

In answer to your question

"Does your time clock have switches for heating on/off and hot water on/off?"

I don't think so. I think the timer is very basic, it has the name Grassilin on it. I think it just turns the boiler off and on. With this in mind would your suggestion still work for me?

 

[D_Hailsham]

In answer to your question

"Does your time clock have switches for heating on/off and hot water on/off?"

I don't think so. I think the timer is very basic, it has the name Grassilin on it. I think it just turns the boiler off and on. With this in mind would your suggestion still work for me?

That only answers my first question! I also asked:

Does this problem only occur in the winter; i.e you can set the boiler to produce just hot water in the summer.?

If not, how do you get hot water in the summer without the radiators heating up?

You also did not say if you have a thermostat on the wall of the house.

If you system is as basic as you suggest, in addition to the motorized valve etc and possible piping change to control the HW times and temperatures, you would need to get a programmable thermostat to control the central heating.

As all this is a fairly major task, it might be better to get the name of a reliable installer from friends/neighbours and get a quote for the work.

 

[Fiona12]

Thank you for this.

Yes think it must be very basic. It seems all my timing system does is switch on the boiler that heats radiators and domestic hot water and the boiler turns itself off and on based on its own thermostat on the front of it until I turn the boiler off again at the timer.

I have tracked down the number of the guy who fitted the boiler and hopefully I can get him out and discuss my needs.

Your advice is very welcome and wise and I hope I can get this system dragged into the 21st century without breaking the bank. Thankfully I believe the boiler was installed in the last 3-4 years and is a reasonably reliable one.

Just on the off chance you may know.. there is a set of 2 on/off electric switches in the boiler housing one labelled P and the other labelled B. At the moment they are both on. Would you know what those labels may mean and what they may turn off and on?

Big thanks :

 

[D_Hailsham]

there is a set of 2 on/off electric switches in the boiler housing one labelled P and the other labelled B. At the moment they are both on. Would you know what those labels may mean and what they may turn off and on?

My guess is that P = Pump and B = Boiler.

The B switch should turn the complete system off. Give it a try.

If you turn the P switch off you should find that the boiler still runs and you get hot water, but the radiators do not heat up. Give it a try

The idea behind this antiquated system is that you switch the pump off in the summer so you can continue to get hot water.

 

[Fiona12]

Hi,

Sorry for the delay in reply, I was waiting until the boiler man came out today. You are absolutely right about the P and B buttons.

In summary, it is a basic system with a 4 year old boiler that seems to have never been serviced so lots of rust and in need of a new nozzle and gasket seal.

It seems that the cost to upgrade it to a more efficient 21st century system seems to be out weighted by what I might save .

Thank you for your help. I am much more boiler and central heating aware now and will save up for a new electronic timer and maybe a finned radiator in a colder room as a treat for myself in the New Year .

Best wishes

Fiona