central heating timer& thermostat

lapat

i am having my boiler changed in the next two weeks and it put into my garage,i have an old clock style timer with two on and off periods per day and my thermostat in the didning room is the old dial type that i dont think is working properley.

firstly i have been quoted £200 plus parts to change the timer to a 5/2 day electronic timer and a new thermostat.

my first question is is this over expensive

secondley i have been told by a reputable heating supplier that the timer is a simple change over as is the thermostat.i am very good at diy and i was hoping that one of the plumbing/electrical experts could confirm this as i dont mind paying if its going to be tricky.but i dont want to be ripped off.

bilbo_2

its easy peasy find the one you need on ebay at half the price

programmer for mine was £25 and i fitted it in 10 minutes

lapat

and if they are easy to install could anyone recomend a good make/model for both timer and thermostat

moneysavingplumber

Changing a programmer is not always that straightforward, especially if the system is being updated. The room stat should be a straight swap.

I use the Honeywell 6400C, around £50 including the VAT. Very reliable and easy to use. I would also use a Honeywell room stat, if you want a digital display then I would go for a Drayton.

Does the price include wiring up the new boiler and all controls in the new position? If so I would say the price is a little heavy, but not extortionate.

lapat

ive just bought a honeywell 6400c and i was looking at the honeywell digital room stat at £20 are they anygood and no its on top of wiring the system up to the existing as he is saying it will be a lot more work for him

mattt44

What I think you need is a programable thermostat.

Leave the old programmer where it is and leave it set to be on 24 hr's, then program the new thermostat when you want the heating to go up and down, should be a 2 wire change over from your present thermostat if you only have one heating zone in the house.
The hot water will still have to be controlled by the old programmer, but as long as it works, then that should be fine.
I should add I am not an expert, but I wired up my new boiler and fitted all of the bits I am talking about.

moneysavingplumber

If you're going to fit a programmable room stat, then you should change the existing two-channel timer to a seven day single channel time switch to conrol the hot water only.

Part L dictates that all central heating and hot water controls should be fully timed and thermostatically controlled. The installation will have to be self-certified to building control for gas and electrical work and to confirm it complies with energy efficiency guidelines under Part L.

moneysavingplumber

lapat wrote:

ive just bought a honeywell 6400c and i was looking at the honeywell digital room stat at £20 are they anygood and no its on top of wiring the system up to the existing as he is saying it will be a lot more work for him

On my heating jobs, labour cost alone for complete rewiring of heating controls isn't often much over £150. Occasionally it can be alot more in bigger properties and with more elaborate control systems, but I have to say it does sound a little iffy.

The Honeywell digital room stat will be fine.

Bossyboots

Just to clarify, could anyone competent with electrics change a room thermostat then? We are having a devil of a problem at work as we have had a new boiler put in and the old stats don't work and despite having asked for a new room stat downstairs, it wasn't fitted. The office is a battle ground with the staff on the first floor getting too hot because the staff on the second floor are cold. Most of the heating on the first floor has now been turned off because of this.

Is changing the stat an electrician's job or a DIY one?

moneysavingplumber

If it's a commercial building the Part P regs don't apply in the same way as they do for domestic anyway as far as I know. Obviously if in doubt use a qualified electrician, but even in a domestic property simply changing an existing room stat would be allowed anyway as it doesn't involve any new wiring.

alanobrien

lapat wrote:

i am having my boiler changed in the next two weeks and it put into my garage,i have an old clock style timer with two on and off periods per day and my thermostat in the didning room is the old dial type that i dont think is working properley.

firstly i have been quoted £200 plus parts to change the timer to a 5/2 day electronic timer and a new thermostat.

my first question is is this over expensive

secondley i have been told by a reputable heating supplier that the timer is a simple change over as is the thermostat.i am very good at diy and i was hoping that one of the plumbing/electrical experts could confirm this as i dont mind paying if its going to be tricky.but i dont want to be ripped off.

If you think thats bad i recall being quoted something like.........wait for it.......£340 to replace a programmer by BG and by replace i mean the new one used the standard wired back panel already in place.

This was when i got them to quote for a new heating system last year just to see how much i could save getting it done elsewhere.

Suffice to say, overall i could have had a nice holiday in the bahamas with the savings