Newbie Heating question

[AlanB27]

Ok, so basically when we bought our house a few years ago, we inherited a fairly new CH system, which was purchased by the previous owner. It comprises of a Riello oil boiler, a Megaflo, Danfoss controller and after moving in it took a bit of messing about to figure out how to get it to work (yeah I said, newbie) Anyway, for years now we have used this setup without any problems, and just recently are planning selling the house, and have almost got to the stage of running out of oil. Due to being nearly summer, we decided not to get a refill, but instead to use the Immersion (which we have never used since day one) and use the oil for the heating only when we need it. So the switch in the kitchen which is always off, I switched on the other day to try it out, but after leaving it on overnight I tried the next day to see if there was any hot water but there wasnt.

What Im wondering though is, have I done something wrong? Although I have switched on the main isolator switch for the immersion, I wondered do I still need to switch on anything at the programmer? But then I thought surely not as this would start the boiler right?

totally confused

 

[DanTheGas]

Ok, if you put the programmer on; the boiler will come on.

The "switch in the kitchen" I'm presuming is your immersion; if it hasn't been used for a long time; it may have tripped the MCB or blown a fuse... It could be that it's rotted through and simply needs replacing.

First stop; check them fuses

 

[compheat]

There are normally 2 switch's on the immersion
the first is local to the immersion heater and the 2nd will be in your kitchen.
So check that there both on

 

[AlanB27]

Thanks for the quick replies guys, the switch in the kitchen when we first moved in was one of those big white ones with red switch and it had heater on it, so we kinda knew thats what it was. Anyway 2 years ago we had the kitchen completely refitted and it now has a black metal type switch on it, so basically it was replaced not that long ago. When I flick the switch the red light comes on, so must be getting power. As far as the local switch, on the immersion theres a small plastic door that opens to the immersion stat, and it has a small red button at the top which I assume is a reset, but i tried pressing this already and it didnt seem to make any difference, the front of the stat itself is blue with a small red dial with 4, 3 and 2 on it whatever that is and a tiny little hole with safety under it, again i tried pressing it but I dont hear anything happening

 

[SimonH2]

Follow the flex from the immersion heater, and where it reaches the wall should be another switch. If there isn't, then it sounds like the installation isn't up to standards.

If you still have no luck, then the next step is confirming that power is actually available at the imm. heater - and from the wording of the question I'd politely suggest you may be better getting someone in. The bits you've been pushing etc are the thermostat and safety cutout for the immersion heater - and very close to potentially live and exposed terminals.

 

[AlanB27]

Ah ok, ill have a look for that then. I looked earlier, and although theres not a great deal of room to see, it looked like the white power cord coming from the immersion goes down into a 6 inch square box with Danfoss written on it, and then out of that there is grey and white power with "feed" "programmer" etc written on them?

I'll go and have another look for this switch.

Thanks

 

[AlanB27]

Hallelujah!! I went and had another look, and followed the cord and seen it went up and behind the back of the Megaflow, and there hidden at the back (for some reason) is a white boxed power switch in the off position!!!

Yippee, thanks for your help guys

 

[Agile]

Glad you have got it working.

Not sure what to think about leaving the purchasor with no iol!

But could you at least warn them to get some oil BEFORE it runs dry as thar can cause all sorts of problems and usually needs an engineer to visit.

Of course thats unless you have ears made out of asbestos!

Tony

 

[AlanB27]

Hi Tony, yeah last time it didnt run dry as such, and it still had about an inch or so of oil in the bottom. This caused the boiler to cut out, and I phoned a local heating engineer who advised me to jack up the tank slightly or get at least some new oil, then open the boiler and bleed the system. I did this and it worked after a few attempts. I also got 2 x 20 litre containers of oil and topped it up. Now that we are going to be using the immersion for the hot water, Im hoping the oil will last much longer.

what did u mean about asbestos ears tony?