I hope someone can help, I've been freezing my arse off for the last week
:-}

I have a Saunier Duvall SD620F combi boiler. The central heating pressure
gauge is reading zero and the little documentation I have on it says it
needs to be refilled by a qualified engineer.
Thing is though I'm out of work and engineers charge more per hour than I
get in a week. Can anyone tell me what valves or taps need to turned to fill
it back up ?
I've bled the radiators and there was a heck of a lot of air in one of them,
but it hasn't made any difference. The central heating timer's been switched
off for a couple of days but the pilot light is still lit. There's no
running hot water either, goes without saying I suppose.

Can anyone help, please ? I'm *freezing* here!

"Draxen" wrote in message
.. .
I hope someone can help, I've been freezing my arse off for the last week
:-}

I have a Saunier Duvall SD620F combi boiler. The central heating pressure
gauge is reading zero and the little documentation I have on it says it
needs to be refilled by a qualified engineer.
Thing is though I'm out of work and engineers charge more per hour than I
get in a week. Can anyone tell me what valves or taps need to turned to
fill
it back up ?
I've bled the radiators and there was a heck of a lot of air in one of
them,
but it hasn't made any difference. The central heating timer's been
switched
off for a couple of days but the pilot light is still lit. There's no
running hot water either, goes without saying I suppose.

Can anyone help, please ? I'm *freezing* here!


There should be a flexible hose somewhere on your system. Either under the
boiler or somewhere along the pipework. If it isn't already linked up,
relink it & open the tap until the pressure on your boiler reads just over 1
Bar. Re-bleed your rads & if the pressure has dropped again, repressurize to
just over 1 bar again.
You might have to do this a couple of times over the next couple of weeks as
the hydrogen is driven out of the fresh water you have introduced into the
system.

Brad.


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On Sat, 4 Oct 2003 09:48:59 +0100, "Draxen"
wrote:

Thing is though I'm out of work and engineers charge more per hour than I
get in a week. Can anyone tell me what valves or taps need to turned to fill
it back up ?

You need to go down the unemployment office and explain your
circumstances. They can pay for an engineer to provide you and your
family with heating, it's one of those rights which you have to plead
for.

PoP

"Cerberus" wrote in message
...
There should be a flexible hose somewhere on your system. Either under the
boiler or somewhere along the pipework. If it isn't already linked up,
relink it & open the tap until the pressure on your boiler reads just over
1
Bar. Re-bleed your rads & if the pressure has dropped again, repressurize
to
just over 1 bar again.
You might have to do this a couple of times over the next couple of weeks
as
the hydrogen is driven out of the fresh water you have introduced into the
system.

Thanks very much man The pipe actually had two taps, one labelled
Failsafe Valve and the other was labelled Filling Valve (hit my head and
call me Shorty!). I opened both of them about a quarter turn, a bit of
gurgling and clanking later the pressure gauge read roughly 1.5 (it's tiny,
hard to see exact).
Then I closed both the valves again. Was this the right thing to do or
should I leave them open slightly ?

On Sat, 4 Oct 2003 14:34:12 +0100, "Draxen"
wrote:

Seriously ?? I never knew that. Is there anywhere you can enquire about
these things ? Or is it a case of going down to the Job Center and filling
in every application form they've got ?

Absolutely spot on. I had a cousin (no relation to me under the
circumstances....) who was married to a ne'er-do-well (actually, a
ne'er-do-any-work). They survived entirely from the handouts offered
by the job centre and/or social services. Given cheques totalling
several hundred pounds to cover purchase of things like a new oven and
so on. B'stards, should've chucked him out on his ear or given him a
job of work in the job centre emptying the litter bins or something.

Every citizen of this country (including the illegal immigrants who
have never paid a penny in tax or NI) has a right to basic necessities
such as food and lodging. With lodging comes the need to heat the
premises to make it liveable and basic services. Obviously when the
weather is comfortable it's a non-issue, but as we get into the winter
months then it is necessary to heat the house or flat. Social services
will pay for that, because the fallout of having someone who is
supposed to be under their care dying of hyperthermia is something
they will wish to avoid at all costs.

Extracting the money from them is another matter entirely. They have
this game called "it's our money so sod off!". You have to counter
their arguments with strong reason "okay, well my wife and baby are
dying from the cold, who's name should we leave on the note?".

One thing to remember about this situation is that if you do manage to
get money out of them (and it is possible), that money is taxable. So
if you go and get a job during the tax year which takes you over the
minimum band limit you then get to pay tax on the money that was
provided to you. Which is another reason why people who have fallen on
hard times find that it can be lucrative not being employed.

Note: I haven't been thru the above experience, I was told that by
someone who was familiar with the circumstances.

PoP

"Draxen" wrote in message
.. .
"Cerberus" wrote in message
...
There should be a flexible hose somewhere on your system. Either under
the
boiler or somewhere along the pipework. If it isn't already linked up,
relink it & open the tap until the pressure on your boiler reads just
over
1
Bar. Re-bleed your rads & if the pressure has dropped again,
repressurize
to
just over 1 bar again.
You might have to do this a couple of times over the next couple of
weeks
as
the hydrogen is driven out of the fresh water you have introduced into
the
system.

Thanks very much man The pipe actually had two taps, one labelled
Failsafe Valve and the other was labelled Filling Valve (hit my head and
call me Shorty!). I opened both of them about a quarter turn, a bit of
gurgling and clanking later the pressure gauge read roughly 1.5 (it's
tiny,
hard to see exact).
Then I closed both the valves again. Was this the right thing to do or
should I leave them open slightly ?


Close them again, but keep an eye on the pressure in case you have a leak in
the system somewhere, or the pressure relief valve is blowing off. + Don't
forget to bleed the rads over the next week or two (usually the nearest to
the boiler is the most affected).

Brad.


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.522 / Virus Database: 320 - Release Date: 29/09/2003

"Draxen" wrote in message
.. .
"Cerberus" wrote in message
...
There should be a flexible hose somewhere on your system. Either under
the
boiler or somewhere along the pipework. If it isn't already linked up,
relink it & open the tap until the pressure on your boiler reads just
over
1
Bar. Re-bleed your rads & if the pressure has dropped again,
repressurize
to
just over 1 bar again.
You might have to do this a couple of times over the next couple of
weeks
as
the hydrogen is driven out of the fresh water you have introduced into
the
system.

Thanks very much man The pipe actually had two taps, one labelled
Failsafe Valve and the other was labelled Filling Valve (hit my head and
call me Shorty!). I opened both of them about a quarter turn, a bit of
gurgling and clanking later the pressure gauge read roughly 1.5 (it's
tiny,
hard to see exact).
Then I closed both the valves again. Was this the right thing to do or
should I leave them open slightly ?


Yes, it is the right thing.

Also, water regs say you should leave the pipe disconnected to stop your
radiator water getting into the drinking supply. It would also stop your
system getting overpressured if the valve on the tap failed.

Bob

PoP wrote:
On Sat, 4 Oct 2003 14:34:12 +0100, "Draxen"
wrote:

Seriously ?? I never knew that. Is there anywhere you can enquire
about these things ? Or is it a case of going down to the Job Center
and filling in every application form they've got ?

Absolutely spot on. I had a cousin (no relation to me under the
circumstances....) who was married to a ne'er-do-well (actually, a
ne'er-do-any-work). They survived entirely from the handouts offered
by the job centre and/or social services. Given cheques totalling
several hundred pounds to cover purchase of things like a new oven and
so on. B'stards, should've chucked him out on his ear or given him a
job of work in the job centre emptying the litter bins or something.

Every citizen of this country (including the illegal immigrants who
have never paid a penny in tax or NI) has a right to basic necessities
such as food and lodging. With lodging comes the need to heat the
premises to make it liveable and basic services. Obviously when the
weather is comfortable it's a non-issue, but as we get into the winter
months then it is necessary to heat the house or flat. Social services
will pay for that, because the fallout of having someone who is
supposed to be under their care dying of hyperthermia is something
they will wish to avoid at all costs.

Extracting the money from them is another matter entirely. They have
this game called "it's our money so sod off!". You have to counter
their arguments with strong reason "okay, well my wife and baby are
dying from the cold, who's name should we leave on the note?".

One thing to remember about this situation is that if you do manage to
get money out of them (and it is possible), that money is taxable. So
if you go and get a job during the tax year which takes you over the
minimum band limit you then get to pay tax on the money that was
provided to you. Which is another reason why people who have fallen on
hard times find that it can be lucrative not being employed.

Note: I haven't been thru the above experience, I was told that by
someone who was familiar with the circumstances.

PoP

You don't get such grants from the Job Centre directly but the first step is
to get income-related Job seekers allowance.
To get this you have to sign on every 2 weeks.
From this other benefits such as income support and housing benefits will
flow.
If you have any kind of savings of a few £k, or your partner has or is
working then you won't get any of these.

If you're incapable of work due to some disability then you should claim the
benefit appropriate to that, these are medically investigated.

On Sat, 4 Oct 2003 16:50:59 +0100, "BillR"
wrote:

You don't get such grants from the Job Centre directly but the first step is
to get income-related Job seekers allowance.
To get this you have to sign on every 2 weeks.
From this other benefits such as income support and housing benefits will
flow.

That is exactly right. In fact I thought that they recently changed
the rules so that the sign-on was every week?

If you have any kind of savings of a few £k, or your partner has or is
working then you won't get any of these.

It's worse than that even. If you have children and the grandparents
have given them sizeable funds for their building society accounts
then the terms are that you have to spend that money before you go
claiming off the state.

Having been thru claiming the dole (or JSA as it is today) a couple of
times this is a fiendish exercise at best - you get treated like a
criminal for claiming JSA, assumed to be a no-gooder who doesn't want
to work.

Interestingly, if you have money in shares then you don't have to own
up to it when you claim JSA. They crawl all over your bank and
building society accounts, but not shares. Little wonder that better
off people get preferential treatment compared with the average guy on
the street!

If you're incapable of work due to some disability then you should claim the
benefit appropriate to that, these are medically investigated.

For sure. And I understand it can be a long and painful (literally
perhaps!) process to get awarded anything. Their starting position is
that you are fit for work and it is for you to disprove that.

PoP

On Sat, 04 Oct 2003 18:03:12 +0100, PoP
wrote:

On Sat, 4 Oct 2003 16:50:59 +0100, "BillR"
wrote:

You don't get such grants from the Job Centre directly but the first step is
to get income-related Job seekers allowance.
To get this you have to sign on every 2 weeks.
From this other benefits such as income support and housing benefits will
flow.

That is exactly right. In fact I thought that they recently changed
the rules so that the sign-on was every week?

If you have any kind of savings of a few £k, or your partner has or is
working then you won't get any of these.

It's worse than that even. If you have children and the grandparents
have given them sizeable funds for their building society accounts
then the terms are that you have to spend that money before you go
claiming off the state.

Having been thru claiming the dole (or JSA as it is today) a couple of
times this is a fiendish exercise at best - you get treated like a
criminal for claiming JSA, assumed to be a no-gooder who doesn't want
to work.

Interestingly, if you have money in shares then you don't have to own
up to it when you claim JSA.

Yes you do. You have to declare all negotiable valuables such as money
in bank/BS accounts property and shares. Includes money you have in
your pocket too. I've been through this a few times since being made
redundant in 96.

They crawl all over your bank and
building society accounts, but not shares. Little wonder that better
off people get preferential treatment compared with the average guy on
the street!

If you're incapable of work due to some disability then you should claim the
benefit appropriate to that, these are medically investigated.

For sure. And I understand it can be a long and painful (literally
perhaps!) process to get awarded anything. Their starting position is
that you are fit for work and it is for you to disprove that.

Indeed.
I'm disabled but not sufficiently so to make me incapable of *any*
work. But if you have a health problem you can kiss goodbye to regular
work unless the employer is desperate. Fortunately my pension matures
in a few years time so they can stuff it.



--
Alan G
"The corporate life [of society] must be
subservient to the lives of the parts instead
of the lives of the parts being subservient to
the corporate life."
(Herbert Spencer)

PoP wrote:
On Sat, 4 Oct 2003 16:50:59 +0100, "BillR"
wrote:

You don't get such grants from the Job Centre directly but the first
step is to get income-related Job seekers allowance.
To get this you have to sign on every 2 weeks.
From this other benefits such as income support and housing benefits
will flow.

That is exactly right. In fact I thought that they recently changed
the rules so that the sign-on was every week?

If you have any kind of savings of a few £k, or your partner has or
is working then you won't get any of these.

It's worse than that even. If you have children and the grandparents
have given them sizeable funds for their building society accounts
then the terms are that you have to spend that money before you go
claiming off the state.

Having been thru claiming the dole (or JSA as it is today) a couple of
times this is a fiendish exercise at best - you get treated like a
criminal for claiming JSA, assumed to be a no-gooder who doesn't want
to work.

Interestingly, if you have money in shares then you don't have to own
up to it when you claim JSA. They crawl all over your bank and
building society accounts, but not shares. Little wonder that better
off people get preferential treatment compared with the average guy on
the street!

If you're incapable of work due to some disability then you should
claim the benefit appropriate to that, these are medically
investigated.

For sure. And I understand it can be a long and painful (literally
perhaps!) process to get awarded anything. Their starting position is
that you are fit for work and it is for you to disprove that.

PoP

Here one way of getting grants towards heating systems if you fall within
certain categories.
http://www.eaga.co.uk/Grants%20avail...ov-grants.html
They will even go as far as fitting a new boiler if yours is "not working"
although this can take 3 months so you maybe don't want to start a claim
this time year.
What happens is a "surveyor" comes to your home and first checks your
entitlement.
Then he ask you about the heating , cavity wall insulation etc. Seems to
take your word for whatever you tell them.
Then sometime later contractors fit cavity wall & loft (to enormous
thickness) insulation, window draft excluders etc and eventually new boiler
if you're lucky. NB contractors are not interested if old boiler is really
u/s as its in their interest to change it anyway.
All for nothing...
Oh, and they send you a big box of quite decent low energy light bulbs...