Hi -

I am renting a flat with a mate and it has the above boiler in one
cupboard and a big tank in another.

Now I am worried it is using a lot of gas, it fires up regularly even
when no hot water is being used. We don't use the heating any more so
its just for hot water. The heating thermostat is turned right down.

On the big tank is a timer system which was on "On" before, but I have
switched it to "Timed" , however even though the timer was not On the
boiler was stiill firing up.

Also there is a dial on the front which I assume is a temperature dial
for the hot water. Is it best to keep this low or is it more efficient
to have it full turned round ???

Any tips appreciated as the gas bill for 2 months was over £70

Thanks,Ben

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
ben wrote:

Hi -

I am renting a flat with a mate and it has the above boiler in one
cupboard and a big tank in another.

Now I am worried it is using a lot of gas, it fires up regularly even
when no hot water is being used. We don't use the heating any more so
its just for hot water. The heating thermostat is turned right down.

On the big tank is a timer system which was on "On" before, but I have
switched it to "Timed" , however even though the timer was not On the
boiler was stiill firing up.

Also there is a dial on the front which I assume is a temperature dial
for the hot water. Is it best to keep this low or is it more efficient
to have it full turned round ???

Any tips appreciated as the gas bill for 2 months was over £70

Thanks,Ben

Would you care to upload some photos of the relevant bits (timers, stats,
motorised valves, etc) somewhere - and post a link here - so that we can get
a better clue as to how the system is configured? Do the radiators ever get
warm, even though the heating stat is turned down?

Is there any possibility that the boiler could be used for things beyond
your flat - such as heating other flat(s) in the same building? Have you
verified that the gas bill is correct in terms of meter readings,
appropriate tariff, etc.?
--
Cheers,
Roger
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On Feb 26, 1:55 pm, "Roger Mills" wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion,





ben wrote:
Hi -

I am renting a flat with a mate and it has the above boiler in one
cupboard and a big tank in another.

Now I am worried it is using a lot of gas, it fires up regularly even
when no hot water is being used. We don't use the heating any more so
its just for hot water. The heating thermostat is turned right down.

On the big tank is a timer system which was on "On" before, but I have
switched it to "Timed" , however even though the timer was not On the
boiler was stiill firing up.

Also there is a dial on the front which I assume is a temperature dial
for the hot water. Is it best to keep this low or is it more efficient
to have it full turned round ???

Any tips appreciated as the gas bill for 2 months was over £70

Thanks,Ben

Would you care to upload some photos of the relevant bits (timers, stats,
motorised valves, etc) somewhere - and post a link here - so that we can get
a better clue as to how the system is configured? Do the radiators ever get
warm, even though the heating stat is turned down?

Is there any possibility that the boiler could be used for things beyond
your flat - such as heating other flat(s) in the same building? Have you
verified that the gas bill is correct in terms of meter readings,
appropriate tariff, etc.?
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hi Roger
I have uploaded photos to
http://www.asdu04.dsl.pipex.com
they are rather big sorry if loading times are slow
the boiler has just fired up again even though I have not touched hot
water all day and the timer is set to Off.
I am worried what you suggested about a neighbour using the same
supply is true, but I thought renting a flat we would have been told
that, and how would bills be worked out ?
I have decided to switch the boilder to the * position just before off
so that it should fire up at all until I turn it up (I'm guessing?)
Any help appreciated, hope the pics load ok and are of some use
Thanks
Ben

to answer your other question - i havent noticed the radiators being
warm - i dont think the heating is coming on unless we turn up the
room stat..

On 26 Feb, 15:19, "ben" wrote:
On Feb 26, 1:55 pm, "Roger Mills" wrote:



In an earlier contribution to this discussion,

ben wrote:
Hi -

I am renting a flat with a mate and it has the above boiler in one
cupboard and a big tank in another.

Now I am worried it is using a lot of gas, it fires up regularly even
when no hot water is being used. We don't use the heating any more so
its just for hot water. The heating thermostat is turned right down.

On the big tank is a timer system which was on "On" before, but I have
switched it to "Timed" , however even though the timer was not On the
boiler was stiill firing up.

Also there is a dial on the front which I assume is a temperature dial
for the hot water. Is it best to keep this low or is it more efficient
to have it full turned round ???

Any tips appreciated as the gas bill for 2 months was over £70

Thanks,Ben

Would you care to upload some photos of the relevant bits (timers, stats,
motorised valves, etc) somewhere - and post a link here - so that we can get
a better clue as to how the system is configured? Do the radiators ever get
warm, even though the heating stat is turned down?

Is there any possibility that the boiler could be used for things beyond
your flat - such as heating other flat(s) in the same building? Have you
verified that the gas bill is correct in terms of meter readings,
appropriate tariff, etc.?
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hi Roger
I have uploaded photos tohttp://www.asdu04.dsl.pipex.com
they are rather big sorry if loading times are slow
the boiler has just fired up again even though I have not touched hot
water all day and the timer is set to Off.
I am worried what you suggested about a neighbour using the same
supply is true, but I thought renting a flat we would have been told
that, and how would bills be worked out ?
I have decided to switch the boilder to the * position just before off
so that it should fire up at all until I turn it up (I'm guessing?)
Any help appreciated, hope the pics load ok and are of some use

This is the same boiler as I have (I have the 60FP). I think it has an
anti-freezing function, so that it turns on periodically in very cold
weather to prevent pipes from freezing. I guess the thermostat that
activates that function could be shot???
Jon.

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
ben wrote:

I have uploaded photos to
http://www.asdu04.dsl.pipex.com
they are rather big sorry if loading times are slow
the boiler has just fired up again even though I have not touched hot
water all day and the timer is set to Off.
I am worried what you suggested about a neighbour using the same
supply is true, but I thought renting a flat we would have been told
that, and how would bills be worked out ?
I have decided to switch the boilder to the * position just before off
so that it should fire up at all until I turn it up (I'm guessing?)
Any help appreciated, hope the pics load ok and are of some use
Thanks
Ben

Blimey - you've got enough pipes, pumps and valves there for a small nuclear
power station! g

The labels seem to indicate that it's a mains-pressure unvented hot water
system. My guess is that it's also some sort of heat bank - where a tank of
hot water is constantly maintained, with the DHW and CH being supplied from
it via heat exchangers. There are certainly at least two pumps - presumably
one for circulating water between the boiler and tank and the other for
pumping secondary water round the radiators. Judging by the cables at the
bottom, there are presumably also some electric immersion heaters -
providing an alternative source of energy input.

Again, according to the labels, the timer only seems to be for the CH - the
primary circuit is intended to run as needed on a 7 x 24 basis - which is
probably why the boiler fires up when you don't expect it to. You may not be
*using* any hot water, but if the water in the tank cools below its stat
setting the boiler will come on to heat it up again.

Such a system *can* be very efficient provided the tank is *very* well
lagged. It's difficult to tell from the photos whether yours has any
lagging - if so, it would have to be inside the outer skin.

Maybe others will recognise the actual system you have, and shed a bit more
light on exactly how it's supposed to work.
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Roger Mills wrote:


Maybe others will recognise the actual system you have, and shed a
bit more light on exactly how it's supposed to work.

I've since found this http://www.miketheboilerman.com/Thermalstores.htm
which may be of interest - particularly the paragraph which says:
"I most commonly repair PulsaCoil 2000s and PulsaCoil IIIs, but I am
familiar with other Gledhill thermal stores too, including the BoilerMate,
the ElectraMate, the systeMate, the GulfStream and the (long obsolete)
Cormorant."

Note the "long obsolete" bit! It's pretty obvious from the pictures that the
cylinder and pipework is a *lot* older than the boiler - the latter
presumably being a relatively recent replacement. If you're renting for
anything other than a very short period it would be worth trying to persuade
(force?) the landlord to replace the lot with something more modern and
efficient.
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Tournifreak wrote:


This is the same boiler as I have (I have the 60FP). I think it has an
anti-freezing function, so that it turns on periodically in very cold
weather to prevent pipes from freezing. I guess the thermostat that
activates that function could be shot???
Jon.

I wondered at first whether it was coming on due to a frost stat - but am
pretty sure that it's just the stat for topping up the thermal store which
is activating the boiler.
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!

Thanks for the replies, so if the timer function is just the central
heating then I can leave that permanently off?

You're probably right that it is just topping itself up when it goes
below a certain temperature. Is there a way to make this process more
efficient? Is it better to have the dial on the Baxi turned up
higher so the water is hotter and it wont have to top up as regularly?

We have put the heating on a few times through the winter as some days
has been sub zero temperatures, but its not been on a lot, and hasnt
been on at all for about 2 weeks. I was just surprised at the
bill.... We mostly just have showers and very few baths as well.

Will be moving out in May, so not worth chasing the landlord. However
next property is going to have to appear a lot more efficient than
this one. Can anyone advise on what kind of system I should look
for? I do own a flat and recently had a Combi boiler fitted I was
told they are pretty efficient, heating on demand... not constantly
topping up when you aren't even using water?

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
ben wrote:

Thanks for the replies, so if the timer function is just the central
heating then I can leave that permanently off?

Yes.

You're probably right that it is just topping itself up when it goes
below a certain temperature. Is there a way to make this process more
efficient? Is it better to have the dial on the Baxi turned up
higher so the water is hotter and it wont have to top up as regularly?

The boiler temperature needs to be *high*. If the water coming out of the
boiler is cooler than the stat setting on the tank, the boiler will cycle
constantly on its own stat but will never meet the tank's demanded
temperature. The system works most efficiently when the boiler runs
continuously until the water in the tank is hot, and then goes off for a
long time.

Carefully read the user instructions printed on the side of the tank, and do
what they say!
--
Cheers,
Roger
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ok - i have switched the timer to off, and turned the boiler to full

as you mentioned it advises to do this on the big sticker on the tank

i will see how it goes.... thanks for your help!