Trying to Understand Heating System

Gambler

We moved house a couple of months ago from a new house to a seventies house.

In our previous house we had gas central heating using a non-combi boiler, controlled by a timer which we used to programme to come on at certain times of the day. Hot water was also programmed to heat up at certain times of the day.

All rads also had individual thermostats and we also had a thermostat in the hall which we usually had set between 20 and 22 degrees.

This set up worked fine for us as once the house was heated to the required temp the heating would go off.

Now at our new house we have a combi bolier which supplies constant hot water. The timer is more basic than before but we can programme the heating to come on at certain times of the day. The rads also have individual thermostats (although some dont work as rads are always full on regardless of setting).

The only problem we have at the moment is that there is no thermostat to enable us to control the 20, 22 degrees etc. We miss this as in the previous house if we were feeling cold we could just knock up the temp and vice versa.

Can we have one fitted? Is it a big job? Or is it just a case of getting the faulty rad thermos replaced and having to control each rad seperately. Semms a bit of a pain to keep changing them all the time.


Thanks

hewhoisnotintheknow

yes you probably can. On mine there is just an input that you join the thermostat too, this could be a wireless one, which would mean you could move it about, which could be handy as you could move it from the lounge to the bedroom etc

andrew-b

Shouldn't be too big a job fitting a thermostat. We opted for a wired one (around £10 a time) over more expensive wireless one (more to go wrong IMO!) but we were having an old wired thermostat replaced so there was already a wiring route (literally just through the wall to the wiring centre of our non-combi system).
With the TRVs on the rads there is a small trick you might want to try. You should be able to remove the head of the TRV (you'll likely need a small spanner to release the collar holding it on). Once the head is removed you should see a small pin sticking up...the pin links the thermostat in the head of the TRV to the valve and can sometimes get stuck. Get a small hammer and give it a sharp (but not too hard!) tap or two (careful not to damage the rest of the trv!) which may be enough just to unstick it, connect the TRV head back on and retest.

If you need to replace the TRVs then it involves draining down the system. To have them fit for you expect to pay £25-30 each one (including parts) plus probably an additional charge for labour to drain down system and refill/repressurise including inhibitor. You can buy TRVs yourself for around £10 each and could DIY it.

Andy

ic

Should be really easy - go for a wireless version so that you don't have to go having cables run to wherever the thermostat is located. I got a honeywell wireless thermostat off eBay for about £85 - wireless, seven day timer (set different programmes for different days), optimising (you set the time you want a temperature to be achieved, the timer figures out when before that time to actually switch on the boiler), also has holiday and party modes for temporarily adjusting the programme.

Canucklehead

Hi

Consult your boiler manufacturers web site and see what controls might be suitable for you.
Is the TRV head loose?

Corgi Guy

Gambler

andrew-b wrote: »

Shouldn't be too big a job fitting a thermostat. We opted for a wired one (around £10 a time) over more expensive wireless one (more to go wrong IMO!) but we were having an old wired thermostat replaced so there was already a wiring route (literally just through the wall to the wiring centre of our non-combi system).

Andy

Thank you all for your advice. We know a very good plumber who has done lots of work for us in the past without ripping us off. I just wanted to get an idea if it was a major job before speaking to him about the list of little jobs we would like him to do.

There is actually an old wired thermostat on the dining room wall. When we first moved in I turned it and it just came off in my hand ! On speaking to the vendors they said it wasn't in use anymore and they just hadn't got round to removing it. After 2 months in our new home there are a lot of things they never got round to doing :rolleyes:

welda

Interesting, I didn't know you could buy wireless thermostats! I have just had a look at some of them on the bay, I still can't figure out how the receiver fits to boiler? I do not have a thermostat at all, it was going to be pretty difficult to find a proper place to install a wall mounted one, so I opted to use the stat on boiler, TRV's are fitted to all rads, except one, so not to put pressure on the pump. With reading this interesting thread, and with soaring gas prices, I am now wondering if I should purchase a wireless unit? One problem could be, my boiler is outside in the boiler house (had oil initially) boiler house is well insulated, do you surmise a cost effective benefit to have wireless stat installed?

Thanks in advance......

Gambler

Currently having the work done. A Worcester wireless room thermostat is being fitted as we have a Worcester boiler.