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Very basic question about how boilers work

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  • going off topic a bit, but i was wondering would them calor gas bottles cheaper than mains gas
    i only use gas for heating and hot water 9500kw per year, the heating sys is a worcester 5yrs old and i know the internal settings can be changed (gas safe fitter) its a cpl of internal jumpers that need moving inside the sys to accept a change in gas type
    putting the gas bottle outside and run a pipe from heating sys to the gas bottle


  • Mstty
    Mstty Posts: 4,209 Forumite
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    going off topic a bit, but i was wondering would them calor gas bottles cheaper than mains gas
    i only use gas for heating and hot water 9500kw per year, the heating sys is a worcester 5yrs old and i know the internal settings can be changed (gas safe fitter) its a cpl of internal jumpers that need moving inside the sys to accept a change in gas type
    putting the gas bottle outside and run a pipe from heating sys to the gas bottle


    LPG and a tank was mentioned somewhere as becoming a cheaper option but you need space outside for the tank.
  • northernstar007
    northernstar007 Posts: 1,047 Forumite
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    edited 3 September 2022 at 8:42AM
    Mstty said:
    going off topic a bit, but i was wondering would them calor gas bottles cheaper than mains gas
    i only use gas for heating and hot water 9500kw per year, the heating sys is a worcester 5yrs old and i know the internal settings can be changed (gas safe fitter) its a cpl of internal jumpers that need moving inside the sys to accept a change in gas type
    putting the gas bottle outside and run a pipe from heating sys to the gas bottle


    LPG and a tank was mentioned somewhere as becoming a cheaper option but you need space outside for the tank.
    saying that i`m on a  low cost fix till feb24, but how big would the tank be, how large of a hole would be needed to dug out to put it underground in the garden, i dont think i would go to that lengths
  • macman
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    edited 3 September 2022 at 10:41AM
    What rate is your low cost fix then? why would you even contemplate the cost of converting to LPG if you have a cheap fix to 2/24?
    LPG is liquified gas, it comes from the same sources as gas delivered via the mains, and will be subject to the same long term price movements as mains gas. probably more, since the cost of delivering it is so much higher.
    You can't run a CH boiler off a small gas bottle intended to fuel a cooker.
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  • macman said:
    What rate is your low cost fix then? why would you even contemplate the cost of converting to LPG if you have a cheap fix to 2/24?
    LPG is liquified gas, it comes from the same sources as gas delivered via the mains, and will be subject to the same long term price movements as mains gas. probably more, since the cost of delivering it is so much higher.
    You can't run a CH boiler off a small gas bottle intended to fuel a cooker.
    unit rate 8.24 sc 20.35 inc vat gas
  • macman
    macman Posts: 53,129 Forumite
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    So you are fixed at 8.24p per kWh for another 18m? Almost 2 winters. I envy you.
    Do you feel lucky in predicting the price of LPG in early '24?  It's currently around 8p I think. Do you reckon it will get cheaper?
    And that's before you take into account the cost of conversion of the boiler and fitting a tank and supply line.
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  • QrizB
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    macman said:
    LPG is liquified gas, it comes from the same sources as gas delivered via the mains, and will be subject to the same long term price movements as mains gas. probably more, since the cost of delivering it is so much higher.
    LPG is a completely different product to natural gas.
    LPG is a product from the oil industry, not the NG one, and tends to move more in line with the oil price than the NG price. Bulk retail LPG is currently slightly cheaper than Ofgem-capped NG (around 40p/litre, 6p/kWh) but is not expected to rise significantly in October. Gas in 47kg bottles/cylinders is more expensive (around 70p/litre, 10p/kWh) but will still be cheaper than the Ofgem NG cap from October.
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  • Ectophile
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    Going off on a tangent for a bit - there's a temperature knob on the front of the boiler that is set nearly to "MAX".  You can make the boiler run more efficiently by turning it down a bit.  You could keep turning it down a bit at a time, checking each time that hot water still gets hot enough, and the house is still warm enough.
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  • Ectophile said:
    Going off on a tangent for a bit - there's a temperature knob on the front of the boiler that is set nearly to "MAX".  You can make the boiler run more efficiently by turning it down a bit.  You could keep turning it down a bit at a time, checking each time that hot water still gets hot enough, and the house is still warm enough.
    Thanks, yeah to be honest even at max in the winter a couple of my rooms cant get up to 20, but im hoping this winter with the newborn being over 1 we can lower the temp in the bedrooms so the rest of the house gets a chance! Also hoping this idea of insulating the water tank might also help.

    have to say im very lucky to have done a 3 year fix last summer when we moved, so 2 more years of 4.06p/kwh, but am trying to get into good habits in case this goes on beyond 2024


  • FreeBear
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    edited 3 September 2022 at 4:49PM
    Geography_rox said: Thanks, yeah to be honest even at max in the winter a couple of my rooms cant get up to 20, but im hoping this winter with the newborn being over 1 we can lower the temp in the bedrooms so the rest of the house gets a chance!

    Worth checking to see if the radiators are properly balanced - You should be aiming for a temperature drop of around 12°C between the inlet & return pipes with any TRV set on max.

    I picked up a couple of cheap LCD thermometers and clipped a sensor on to each radiator pipe. After tweaking the lockshield on every radiator, my house now gets up to a comfortable temperature in a reasonable time. Before hand, bedrooms were always cold.... (also been doing a bunch of other work which has contributed to warmth).


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