boiler fire up and turn the heating on even the timer is off

[william910]

i woke up another night and found out that the boiler is fire up around 00:10 till 2am and the heating in the whole house is on.

I didn't set anything on the timer for heating and just override it when i need.

and in the morning the radiator is warm so i guess it was on around 5-6am.

the boiler is Potterton Suprema 60 and i got a frost stat also it had a drayton ma1 3 port valve.

can anyone help or guide me on the right direction please?

 

[leakydave]

Do you have a frost stat fitted?

Sorry I didn't read all your post... the frost stat will be turning the boiler on.

 

[45yearsagasman]

Where's the boiler and frost stat fitted?

 

[william910]

frost stat is fitted at where it said boiler (on the wall to outside) please see attached picture

i am not surprise if the frost stat kick off the boiler but it put the heating up on the whole house. is it normal?

many thanks

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• william910
• 3 Feb 2015
• 1

 

[scatmanjohn]

If you have a frost stat you also need a pipe stat.

Frost stat turns the boiler on when its cold. The pipe stat turns it off when the water temperature in the pipes is about 20-30 deg.

Without a pipe stat it will just keep going until the temperature in the area that the frost stat is located has warmed up.

Hope that helps

 

[william910]

i have a quick look online what is a pipe stat look like and it looks there there are a pipe stat as well.

i will take a picture and post it at my lunch to make sure that is a pipe stat.

so you think it heat up the boiler and turn on the heating in the house is normal?

i know its quite cold these days so may be that is the case.

 

[william910]

i saw this next to the boiler and i think it is the pipe stat (the red device)

when i go to take a picture the boiler is on (14:30 pm and its not cold outside)

is there anything else will cause that?

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• william910
• 4 Feb 2015
• 1

 

[stem]

I saw this next to the boiler and I think it is the pipe stat (the red device)

No, that's a pump

Pump

• stem
• 7 Jan 2010
• 2

A pipe stat looks something like this and it should be clamped on the return pipe to the boiler, but not right next to it.

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• stem
• 21 Dec 2010
• 3

As scatmanjohn says, the pipe thermostat is there to work in conjunction with the frost thermostat to switch the boiler off when the water circulating is the system is at 20 to 30 degrees or so.

Sometimes a pipe thermostat is not fitted to the frost thermostat and causes the problems you describe. If you don't have one, it can be added like this.

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• stem
• 22 Dec 2010
• 3

 

[william910]

oh.. oops i thought that is pipe stat.

i will take a few more pictures tonight and show the whole setup.

if there are no pipe stat is it difficult to add one?

it look like the boiler is keep firing until that little room is warm every few hours....

 

[william910]

The whole boiler and tank setup is on the pictures below.

Now i don't think i have a pipe stat. so when the forst stat kick in and turn the heating on the house every 3-5 hours is normal until the room is warm (as i don't have a pipe stat?)

Many thanks,

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• william910
• 5 Feb 2015
• 1

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• william910
• 5 Feb 2015
• 2

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• william910
• 5 Feb 2015
• 2

 

[stem]

Almost, but the frost thermostat doesn't work on time, it senses the temperature where it is located and turns on the heating when it drops below the set temperature to prevent the pipes freezing.

Once the frost stat has turned the heating on, it will turn it off when the temperature where the frost thermostat is located rises, but it will come on again if the temperature falls.

It's easy to add a pipe thermostat, you can get all of the parts and cable for about £25. With one installed, the water in the pipes and radiators would only be kept lukewarm instead of running at full temperature.

 

[william910]

thanks for your reply stem.

how hard is that job to add the pipe stat?

i might able to add it my self but i have no idea what parts i need and what/where i need to add or get the parts.

any suggestions please?

many thanks

 

[stem]

You will need a pipe thermostat available from any plumbers merchants or on line. Click here for an example, and some heat resistant flex to connect it to the frost thermostat. (Some cylinder thermostats like the one strapped to your hot water cylinder can also be used as pipe thermostats if their settings go as low as 20-30 degrees)

The thermostat is strapped on the return pipe to the boiler using the spring supplied with it, so no plumbing required. Don't mount the thermostat too close to the boiler otherwise it will be kept warm by the conduction of heat from the boiler. 1 to 2 metres away is usually fine.

Then it's simply wired in series with the frost thermostat as follows:

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• stem
• 22 Dec 2010
• 3

 

[william910]

so you can I can use the one in the tank for pipe thermostats? ( if the thermostats settings go as low as 20-30 degrees?

or I just need to get a new one and connect to the frost thermostats?

So a couple of questions for this then:

I know the theory of your wiring but i dont know which wire to connect to but i might able to figure it out when i got the product. so i just open the forst stat and connect to the wire which control it to be on or i open the junction box and add the cable there?

another question is that which pipe is the return pipe to the boiler? can you see on my picture and show me which pipe is that?

many many thanks for your help, before hand i have no idea how this works now i kind of do now

 

[stem]

so you can I can use the one in the tank for pipe thermostats? ( if the thermostats settings go as low as 20-30 degrees?

You can't use the existing cylinder thermostat, cylinder and pipe thermostats have different functions.

or I just need to get a new one and connect to the frost thermostats?

Yes

i dont know which wire to connect to but i might able to figure it out when i got the product.

When you get it, tell us what make / model it is, and the same for your frost thermostat and someone will be able to advise specifically what goes where. If you are able to wire a plug, you will be able to do this.

which pipe is the return pipe to the boiler? can you see on my picture and show me which pipe is that?

I can't see from the photograph, but if you have a manual for your boiler, it will tell you which pipe it is. If you don't, have a search on the internet 90% of boiler manuals can be found and downloaded.