Boiler Breakdown

SHEILA54

Hi

I could do with some advice please. My boiler filled with water somehow when there was heavy rain and wind last week. On advice from a plumber we have exposed the pilot to dry out as it will not fire but that is not working. I have a Potterton Suprima 80 boiler.

They are starting a loft extension next month and I am having to pay a lot to have a new boiler installed but it may be May before they reach that point.

I have an old immersion heater that will heat the hot water but it takes forever and there is not a timer switch on it.

To call out somebody just to look at the boiler will cost me £60 - 80 + vat and if I read the manual right this could lead to a lot of expense.

Everyone complains that it is cold but it is really just the evenings and early mornings that are a problem.

So what I really would like advice on is:

1) Would you call out a plumber when there will probably be a lot of expense involved for just a few weeks?

2) Is it more cost effective to leave the immersion on all of the time or control it yourself. The downside is that it seems to take 90 minutes to heat a tank of water?

3) What is the cheapest way of heating a room without central heating as there are small children in the house?

Any advice / comments would be appreciated.

Thank you

countingthepennys

I could be wrong here someone else on here may be able to tell you if im right but i do believe that british gas do a service apart from the regular so much per month insurance incase of breakdown they do a one off fee for repairing bolier breakdowns i dont know how much it is but if you go on there website im sure it will say i think its https://www.yourhouse.co.uk?

Cardew

Firstly it is cheaper to switch the immersion heater off when not required. That said, if it is well insulated, leaving it on for long periods if you have young children - baths etc - will not work out a huge amount more.

Assuming your only option is to heat rooms by electricity(with your boiler out of action,) there is no real cost advantage between any form of heating. Electrical heating is 100% efficient, it is just the way they deliver the heat that differs. i.e. a 1kW halogen, fan heater, oil filed radiator, panel heater etc will all produce the same amount of heat.

If you are to get a new boiler in 2 months, I would think the cheaper option would be to put up with very high electrical bills for a couple of months rather than spend what could be a couple of hundred pounds on a repair on a boiler that will be ripped out in May.

mattogier

SHEILA54 wrote: »

1) Would you call out a plumber when there will probably be a lot of expense involved for just a few weeks?

No - the same happened to me last year - we survived on the immersion heater.

SHEILA54 wrote: »

2) Is it more cost effective to leave the immersion on all of the time or control it yourself. The downside is that it seems to take 90 minutes to heat a tank of water?

Spend £20 on a timer and £10 on another jacket for the tank to minimise your losses.

SHEILA54 wrote: »

3) What is the cheapest way of heating a room without central heating as there are small children in the house?

Wear an extra layer of clothing, huddle up and go to bed earlier - all ways you'll win. :-)

Canucklehead

Hi

Does the boiler run at all??
Does the fan run but that's all?

Immersion heater.. this should have a thermostat inside the lump sticking out of the cylinder.(with the cable coming out)
It should be set at about 55 degrees.If the water is hot use a small screwdriver and turn the stat both ways and you should hear a click.Before you do that see below!!
If you delve inside the cover TURN IT OFF.!!! 230 volts!!
If your water is slow to heat you either have a large cylinder or the immersion is breaking down.(maybe) Although how slow, is slow?

Corgi Guy.

mattogier

Canucklehead wrote: »

It should be set at about 55 degrees.

I thought (and am sure) that stored hot water needs to reach 60 degrees C to ensure that bugs (re legionnaires) are killed off?

Paul_Varjak

countingthepennys wrote: »

I could be wrong here someone else on here may be able to tell you if im right but i do believe that british gas do a service apart from the regular so much per month insurance incase of breakdown they do a one off fee for repairing bolier breakdowns i dont know how much it is but if you go on there website im sure it will say i think its www.yourhouse.co.uk?

Actually, you will find it here: http://british-gas.house.co.uk/homecare/

Canucklehead

mattogier wrote: »

I thought (and am sure) that stored hot water needs to reach 60 degrees C to ensure that bugs (re legionnaires) are killed off?

Yes you're right.

Corgi Guy.

wilcogas

Hello, this is my 1st time on a forum....your boiler sounds like the flue is not positioned properly( the pipe is running up instead of down....this would need professionally altering. The cheapest way to heat a room is probably an electric convector heator, with thermostat control

Wilcogas

TMFTP

We've just had a similar problem with the same (I think) boiler. Apparently the flues USED to need to be level - with the new Pottertons they need to be slightly angled downwards. Most plumbers (according to the Potterton guy who ended up coming out to fix it) haven't realised this yet...

Over 18 months, water leaked backwards into the fan and ruined it. We got our flue redone by the plumber who installed it at no cost, and he also refunded the cost of the fan and the Potterton callout charge (£300).

Space heaters are definitely a cheap option, narrowly beaten by moving in to your mother in laws. Whilst cheap, not necessarily recommended....