On Wed, 04 Jan 2006 01:11:45 +0000, John Stumbles wrote:
On Tue, 03 Jan 2006 23:45:01 +0000, Ed Sirett wrote:
Hi all,
This boiler choice FAQ is nearly twice the size of the original and
has incorporated a number but not all of suggestions.
Great stuff: thanks for your work on this Ed.
There are a few rough edges and typos which I'm assuming you'll fix, but
here are a few more substantial points I hope you'll consider.
"2. Help! Help! The boiler has died! What Next?
...
The fear of having a cold house in winter can push some people to make
unwise or hasty decisions"
Even if the boiler hasn't died .... I had an email discussion with a
client along these lines:
The British Gas man has just serviced the boiler and ... they have
said that if, e.g. any there is any problem with
the case, the flue or the heat exchanger then there are no parts
available for this heater,..... anywhere. ( Potterton Netaheat 10 - 16
( Mk II F ) )
Now, is this scaremongering or fact?
Both :-)
I daresay none of those parts is avalable any longer, but none is
particularly likely to fail either (although cases and heat exchangers
do eventually corrode, so it's curtains for the boiler if that happens).
Parts that are more likely to fail are the fan, PCB and gas valve, all
of which are readily available
To put it in perspective there are failures which can occur on fairly
new boilers which can put them out of action for 2-3 (working) days
while one gets new parts, which isn't a lot less bad if it happens on a
Friday evening in the depths of winter than needing a whole new boiler
(which can be installed in a couple of days).
I think the best preparation is to have a supply of warm woolies, hot
water bottles and a couple of electric radiators or fan heaters. You can
borrow or buy more heaters if you know you'll need them for a few days
or even a week or two, and a modern, well-insulated house like yours
won't cost a fortune to heat even with peak-rate electricity. I think
you've got an electric immersion heater in your hot water cylinder,
haven't you? So you wouldn't be without hot water. That would save you
being panicked into paying through the nose for an emergency boiler
repair or replacement.
4
Where you say:
"If you have a stored HW system you can turn the electric immersion heater
on (if the original installer added one!)"
maybe add: "or even install one to get hot water immediately
(especially if you would be keeping the stored HW system even if you were
replacing the boiler)."
I didn't want to encourage peoples hopes too much here. It may well be
possible to add one, but there may be no electrical supply. Also it may
not be possible to get the blanking plug out with out destroying the
cylinder.
About 12 month ago this happen to a customer, I was able to replace the
failed immersion and check the gas fire over and so buy a few days time
for the replacement.
"3. Why cant I have €˜old faithful back again?
...
[Footnote: There is an exemption procedure but unless you have a
back-boiler in a terraced house or flat you can forget it.]."
This reads (to me) that you have to have a back boiler (in either a
house or a flat) to get an exemption. How about rewording as:
"There is an exemption procedure but unless you are in a
flat or have a back-boiler in a terraced house you can forget
it.]."
No really, AIUI, if you look at the procedure more or less you need a
back-boiler AND a flat or terraced house. A back-boiler in a semi won't
cut it. A flat might do it if the drain is difficult but it probably won't
be.
"6 Conservatory type extensions also must be an independent heating
zone." Where did you get this from? I haven't scoured the ADs but I
don't recall it.
Isn't it about the fact that conservatories are not meant to be year round
habitable spaces. It's something I picked up. It's certainly best practice
even if not mandatory. Since there is some uncertainty I'll just drop it
out.
The next point is a bit OT to the FAQ. "For non-combi boiler systems
where there is stored HW you also will need:
1. Independent time control for the heating of HW. 2. Temperature
control of the HW (usually done by a cylinder thermostat)."
I phoned Gledhill today but forgot to ask about this. I've just done a
job at a flat with a Boilermate installed in it, and that has no time
control on the DHW. I'm not sure it even has a temp control. I wonder
what the position is there?
Does the CH come form the boiler or form the store?
I'll, just change it to a HW cylinder (for which the comment is certainly
true).
Part of my motivation for the work was that I'd be able to use it for
'work'. At the back of my mind this FAQ was written with a view to trying to
persuade, perhaps an older customer, that is very happy with the existing
setup why a lot of things have to be changed.
--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at
http://www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ
http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ
http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html
Choosing a Boiler FAQ
http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/BoilerChoice.html