Oil boiler timer difficulties

nesssie1702

We've got a Boulter Camray oil boiler that has a timer on the front of it for setting the CH and HW times.

There's a thermostat on the wall in the hallway, but the radiator there also has a TRV on it, which I understand it shouldn't?

My problem is that the heating won't come on as timed if the thermostat is too low. If the thermostat is at 16/17 ºC just now, it comes on and off as it pleases (according to the temperature in the hall?) and not as per the programmed times at the boiler.

Can anyone advise on what to do? Given the current cost of oil, I'm trying to cut down our reliance on the heating and the amount of time that it's on, but having it kick in when it feels like it isn't helping me! :mad:

thrifty_mike

Nessie - how long have you lived with this system? Is this a new probelm, or something that you have been landed with?

Indeed, there should not be a TRV on the rad that heats the area where the room thermostat is - best set it to MAX so that it does not trick the room stat into thinking that more heat is needed.

If the prgrammer/clock is not working correctly, best get an engineer to check it out (maybe as part of your annual service?). This will save you money in the long run.

nesssie1702

We've lived with this for 18 months now. Got through last winter by controlling the central heating with the wall mounted thermostat. Given the oil price rises we thought that if we could rely on the timer for the central heating to kick in then it would help us be more economocal.

But if the room stat is set to 18 - 19 ºC then the heating is on all the time and only goes off once the temp is above that of the thermostat. Which is fine, but we both work and are out between 8.30 and 5.30, so no point in heating the house just for the dog. Likewise, don't want it coming on in the middle of the night either.

The radiator in the hall (the one with the TRV on it) is set to Max

The programmer clock is working fine for the hot water, as it's been used all summer when the CH is off, but I suspect it's got something to do with the thermostat and the TRV?

malc_b

It sounds like the wiring is wrong. The TRV should be set to max otherwise the rest of the house will overheat WHEN the timer says the boiler should be on. But when the timer says the boiler should be off then it should be off whatever. It sounds like that is not the case. Boiler wiring can be complex. Typically you can have a timer that controls heating and hot water and these can have separate time settings. Are you sure you don't have a dual timer and are just setting one side?

nesssie1702

I have a dual timer and I'm setting both sides (HW and CH). I was used enough to doing this when we lived in properties that had GCH.

Now that the colder weather is nearly upon us, I'd like the CH to come on before I get out of bed in the morning to have my shower! Sounds as though I'll need to get someone in to have a look at it, but am I better with a plumber or a sparky?