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Reading all the threads on "what's the best boiler" I've learned that the most important thing is that it's fitted correctly to a flushed system. So if we take the flushed system for granted, what makes the difference between a well fitted boiler and a badly fitted one? Clearly you connect up...

"Is" or "was" a growing industry? I would have thought air con is exactly the kind of thing bankers would have bought during the good times, but the easiest thing to cut back on in the hard times. If it breaks down they'll turn it off and leave it off.

Does anyone have experience of this make of TRV? I recently fitted a bi-directional one to one of my radiators and it seems to have no effect on the radiator at all. The room gets up to 24 degrees, and the valve is set in the mid position, but the radiator is still on. It was quite a cheap...

I'm having my loft converted, and the only sensible location for the bathroom is the opposite side of the house from the soil stack. So a macerator is required. These are the issues: I want to discharge shower, basin and toilet into the macerator The ceiling height is limited - 2.1 m or...

Unless you live in a small glass of water in a freezer then the mpemba effect is irrelevant. A house is a large warm body in a current of air (the wind). Under those conditions, rate of cooling is propotional to excess temperature. On a still day it might be slightly more complex, but would...

Thanks for the useful information Mr Hailsham. The reason I want to work out the size of the old radiators is that I don't want to replace them yet unless they are way off - which I suspect some of them are. The boiler is (will be when we get to the front of the installer's queue) a Vaillant...

The hot glass has more heat to lose. The temperature will fall faster than the cold glass, but as it has further to fall it will take longer. Time for a cold glass to drop by 2 degrees will be longer than for a hot glass. The CH will replace the heat lost during the day. If the house is...

This only causes disagreement because some people can't accept that common sense and science trump doing what you like and trying to justify it later (with respect). Whatever your mate does, it doesn’t change the simple facts: 1. The more you turn your CH off, the less gas you will burn 2...

I've been recommended this little tool for calculating radiator sizing http://www.kermi.co.uk/EN/Information/Computer_Solutions/index.phtml It looks like a fairly sharp tool - and you know what they say about sharp tools in the hands of idiots - but my question is this: If I can work out...

Thanks Gasman. There's no voltage to the fan. No humming.

I have a Potterton Profile 50e which seems to have died. I'm having it replaced in 3 weeks, so I'm not going to call someone out to fix it, but it would be nice to have heating for the next 3 weeks, so can anyone suggest what goes wrong with these boilers that I could check. Symptoms are...

Thanks chaps. I'm having the boiler replaced for other reasons, and I'd booked the job 2 days before the old one packed up (first time it's gone wrong in 8 years). I've got 3 weeks to wait, so I don't really want to spend anything on the old boiler - just hope it doesn't get too much colder...

My boiler's just packed up and I'm having to use the immersion heater as a temporary measure. I've never used it before, so this might be a really silly question, but when I turn it on it makes quite a loud hissing noise. This stops when the tank gets up to temperature. Is this normal, or is...

Sorry, not sure what you mean by "redundant". Are you saying we shouldn't reuse it, or are you saying it won't matter?

The iron pipe is about 6 m to where it would join on. Then we're going to need another 5-6 m of copper to the boiler.

Thanks John. Is 35 years old for a gas pipe? Can you test the capacity before the work is started, or do you just wait till the job is done and find it doesn't work?

I'm changing my boiler for a high power combi (37 kW). The house is about 35 years old and the gas is in an iron pipe under the floor screed. The pipe is about 6 m long and about the same diameter as 22 mm copper (I think that's 3/4"). The plumber says he'll have to test it for leaks - if...

I've been going round in circles trying to understand the Vaillant range, but I'm now considering the ecoTEC937 with the 15 l hot water store at the back. It occurs to me, however, that keeping this water hot is just like having a hot water cylinder going cold in the airing cupboard, and...

Gregers is right - bees are protected. If they're living under the ground they will be bubble bees - fat fury things. They are increasingly rare and should be left in peace until the winter. They hibernate after about November, and they won't come back to the same nest next year. On a...