Help with old boiler

tonywhyte87

Hi all,

I have one of these old boilers and lecky bills have gone from around £50-60 to over £150 for the last 5-6 months. I am thinking it might have something to do with these plugs. I turned them both off last night but prior to that, they were both on. 

Should the plug on the boost thing on the left be off of the plug on the right is on? I tried turning the water temp down on the dial at the bottom but costs still seem to be high.

I read the boost only heats the top 10%, so would that be most cost effective? It only is used for heating water for taps.
Any tips would be great as I have no idea what I am doing with this thing but don’t think it should be costing this much.

MattMattMattUK

tonywhyte87 said:

Hi all,

I have one of these old boilers and lecky bills have gone from around £50-60 to over £150 for the last 5-6 months. I am thinking it might have something to do with these plugs. I turned them both off last night but prior to that, they were both on. 

That appears to be a hot water tank not a boiler, I think you mean the tank is heated by the immersion heater? Is it set on a timer and does it cut out when the water is up to temperature? How warm is the cupboard the tank is in, is it warm/hot or is the tank well insulated? 

tonywhyte87 said:

Should the plug on the boost thing on the left be off of the plug on the right is on? I tried turning the water temp down on the dial at the bottom but costs still seem to be high.

It is hard to tell as from the picture it is not clear what is connected to it. What is your annual usage in kWh? That figure will be on your energy bill. I am guessing you live in an electricity only property?

tonywhyte87 said:

I read the boost only heats the top 10%, so would that be most cost effective? It only is used for heating water for taps.
Any tips would be great as I have no idea what I am doing with this thing but don’t think it should be costing this much.

Probably not, or at least not to any significant saving. It would only heat water that was used, there is a slight caveat in that it depends how well insulated the tank is and so how much heat is lost throughout the day, but those losses are quite low.

What makes you think that the full cost of your electricity bill is the water heating? Have any other usage patterns changed? Do you have a debt that you need to pay back and what tariff are you on and were you previously on a fixed deal?

Alnat1

What do you actually use the hot water for? If it's only hand washing and doing dishes you can get away without it. 

Wash hands with soap and cold water, research has proved it's just as effective at removing bacteria. If you need hot water for a shave or doing the dishes, boil a kettle. Heat the tank for maybe 40 mins if you want a bath or if the shower works off the tank, time will depend on how many in household.

pochase

Have you come off a fixed tariff recently and gone onto SVT? Alone the higher cost from that might have doubled your electricity bill.

markin

Trace the wire from the new switch, is it the top or bottom element?

Ectophile

If you're on Economy 7, then the bottom element heats the tank overnight on cheap rate electricity.  The boost function is only intended for those times when you've run the tank cold, and you can't face a cold shower.  It runs on standard rate electricity.  If you're not on Economy 7, work out if you should be.

The tank looks like it's well insulated, but the pipes aren't.  You could slip some of the foam pipe lagging onto the pipes around the boiler to keep a bit more heat in.  It's available from all good DIY stores.  Make sure you buy the right size.

Beware of leaving the tank just warm for long periods.  Legionnaire's disease loves warm water.  It's very rare in domestic plumbing, but it's recommended that the tank is heated to 60 degrees (or at least 55) from time to time.