Creda Comfortaire warm air heating system - not warm enough!

[michaeldfallis]

Hi,
We've just moved into a house with a Creda Comfortaire warm air heating system. Looks like in from the 70's. It seems to heat up alright over night, but the air it produces is barely warm, and doesn't come out of the vents in the floor with much force. I've included a photo of the front control panel, if anyone's familiar with this system and can shed any light as to how I can get the best out of it that's be great.
Thanks

Untitled

• michaeldfallis
• 10 May 2015
• 1

Untitled

• michaeldfallis
• 10 May 2015
• 1

 

[ericmark]

From 2005 there is a thread where it seems questions have been asked many times about the system.

It seems there is a central heat store I first saw these in around 1975 in council housing the idea was that with a large central store less heat escapes during the day leaving more stored energy to use at night.

Today we use large water tanks to do the same thing but using water means solar energy can also be fed into the system.

From what I remember there is like most old heated brick systems a method of controlling how much energy is stored. Which is really down to the brick temperature. There may be a control near the store which controls how much heat (temperature of the bricks) is stored, but so many years ago can't remember.

I had gas hot air central heating and the major problem was the ducts were installed then covered with insulation then a few days before floor boards were laid in which time builders had stepped on the ducts so when commissioned they leaked. This is a problem where leaks cause the heat to either escape or cold air to be drawn in depending where the fan is.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Try the CH forum?

Blocked ducts and/or vents?

Claggy fans?

 

[stem]

I had a relative that lived in a flat with a comfortaire system, although it was slightly different from your photographs. There was a filter in the main unit just before the inlet to the fan that had to be taken out and cleaned regularly to ensure a good airflow.

It generally worked OK except that because my relative was home all day, it sometimes ran out of stored heat by the evening, but as she would never set it to maximum for the overnight store, that's probably why. I seem to remember that the air wasn't particularly hot as it came from the grills, but there was a good flow, and it warmed the flat up quickly.

The problems were that it was noisy, and you had to decide the night before how much heat you would need to store for the following day. Controlling the temperature in the different rooms was a bit tricky but there were little levers on the grills to allow the bedroom output to be reduced. It tended to get a bit warm and stuffy before the thermostat switched the fan off and then it was starting to get chilly before it came back on again, but that was probably down to an old mechanical room thermostat. Finally because the same air was continually being circulated around the entire property, it was also very good at circulating cooking odours quite effectively too.

 

[Andrew Hamm]

I know this reply is a bit late, but in case anyone is still reading it, here goes!
I still have one of these heating units in my split level maisonette, which was built in 1969.
My maisonette is one of the few (maybe the only one!) that sill has it.
I moved into my maisonette in 1983.
It does heat the maisonette fairly well.
As mentioned in posts above, it is a bit noisy when the fan is running.
To date, I've replaced the motor - the original one burnt out. Also replaced the fan belt with one from a car shop!
To try to improve the efficiency, I draped thermal lagging over the enclosure to reduce radiated heat from the cupboard.
It does appear costly to run.
The offpeak electricity tarrif I'm on was originally called "Warmwise". It provides off-peak power overnight and during the afternoon. A Mmerely overnight tariff is not sufficient for cold weather.
Being a retired electronics engineer, I'm going to install a timer to select variable off-peak charge periods, to reduce running cost in milder weather.
I know it would be best replaced, but I'm not happy with externally-run radiator pipes (my floor is concrete). Also, gas boilers are supposed to be discontiniued in the next decade.