British Gas may have broke my heating?

sleepyjones

I decided to sign up to the British Gas Home Care, basically so that I could get a yearly service on my boiler.

The engineer came around a month ago and did "stuff" to the boiler, I've got a checklist of all the things he checked, it turns out they can't cover the boiler because the master power switch doesn't work, so they can't switch the power off to the boiler without flicking the switch on the fuse box. So I've to get an electrician to fix the switch and then they can cover it.
I haven't managed to get an electrician out yet but tonight I went to turn the heating on for the first time and it's not working (hot water is fine).

Now, I haven't had the heating on since probably Feb or something so I'm not sure if the BG Engineer has done something to break it or if it's just a coincidence ... does seem a bit strange though since the last time I tried to use it it worked (albeit this was a while ago).

I phoned BG and they said there's nothing they can do about it unless I want to pay for an engineer to come out, is there anything I can do?, money's a bit tight at the moment so I can't really afford to get an engineer out ... it's tricky because I can't really be sure that the BG Engineer has done something, presumably if the heating wasn't working when he visited he would have made a note of that?

Browntoa

Diverter valve is stuck probably , regular fault on older boilers as the rubber parts fail

Just a coincidence

daveyjp

If you have an older boiler which doesn’t do automated self firing and testing ensure you turn the heating on once a month to stop problems when you do need it.

sleepyjones

Would he not have noticed that when he was checking the boiler though?

You would think on the "First visit Inspection" they would actually check that it works?

Just noticed, there's a DANFOSS thing in the kitchen that I remember being on, but not it's off, no power ... I'm guessing that's something to do with it?
I can't seem to find a switch anywhere to turn it back on, am I being really dumb?

(I just moved in here last October so not really sure how everything works)

molerat

The "Danfoss thing" would I assume control the heating and hot water. How do you heat the water if the boiler does not work. Have you got a wall thermostat that is turned down ? A better description and pictures would help.

sleepyjones

Danfoss thing looks like this, which I now think is the problem ... it has worked before because I have played with it, but I never knew how to work it so I always just ignored it and just turn the wee thermostat knob up if I wanted the heating on (never bothered with timers or anything). The hot water just works when you turn the hot tap on ... still does, it's not affected by the Danfoss thing apparently.

Tonight, I just tried to do what I had always done and turn the knob on the Thermostat thing. (If I don't want the heating on I turn it to 0 and just turn it to 20-ish if I want the heating on (it's a Honeywell thing))

Assuming the problem is this Danfoss box thing, If I sign up for Hive, this should bypass this problem?

I did get a smart Meter installed during the summer, so they did have to replace the meter, don't know if this might be an issue.

molerat

What a strange set up having only a single channel timer, although if diverter valve is stuck in HW then even if the controller failed a combi would still provide HW. I assume the boiler fires up when you turn the tap on ? Or how do you heat the water - electric ? What controls the boiler ? The programmer should have a display on the screen meaning it is either broken or a switch has been flicked off. Are there any switches near this or the boiler ? It looks like you need to get an electrician in to check the system out.

sleepyjones

Yup, boiler fires up when the hot water tap is on.

I did look for a switch that might power the wee Danfoss thing but I can't find anything ... If I contacted British Gas and signed up for their Hive system, this would mean I don't need the Danfoss thing anymore and everything will be fine? ... sorry, just trying to find the cheapest (in the short term) way to get this working ASAP

sleepyjones

Engineer is coming on Saturday, bit the bullet and just paying for it.

Thanks for your help folks.

molerat

The Hive simply replaces your existing timer (Danfoss thing) with its own box. The bigger problem is why the Danfoss thing is not working and your hot water still is. Good luck !

btr30

I would guess from information supplied, that you have a combi boiler, which will provide hot water on demand, and a heating circuit controlled via your Danfoss programmer and Honeywell thermostat, which will open a motorised valve and run the boiler, if temperature in the room is lower than the setting on the thermostat, during an On tine set on the programmer.
From the photo it looks like there is no display on the programmer, which will be due to no power going to programmer, or a fault with the programmer.
A new single channel programmer will cost around £40 - £45, which will be much cheaper than Hive
e.g
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Horstmann-CentaurPlus-Central-Programmer-Timeswitch/dp/B00MEDI82S/ref=pd_sbs_60_10?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=PD40YTD89YS6M2EDPJJE