Central Heating - Gas consumption

FreeBear

acl_r said:

jvjack said:

What is the boiler temperature (flow rate i think) set at. I had to put mine up from 50 degrees to 60 degrees to get living room up to just 19 degrees last winter and have left it at that so far. It's all a bit different for everyone depending how long it's on for etc but just a thought 

It’s on 60 too… I think it’s just the insulation and the radiator size that isn’t good… but I can’t do anything about that… 18 is alright but still takes ages to warm up… I will probably buy thermal curtains as suggested above.

Try setting the boiler temperature to 70°C - If the landlord just had the 50 y.o. boiler replaced without  changing any radiators, it is not that surprising you are not getting up to temperature. The old system would have been designed around a flow temperature of 70°C or even 80°C, so the old radiators could well be marginal at 60°C.

Alnat1

You will be able to fit standard plastic curtain hooks through the small hole in the bottom to attach thermal liners.

MultiFuelBurner

FreeBear said:

acl_r said:

jvjack said:

What is the boiler temperature (flow rate i think) set at. I had to put mine up from 50 degrees to 60 degrees to get living room up to just 19 degrees last winter and have left it at that so far. It's all a bit different for everyone depending how long it's on for etc but just a thought 

It’s on 60 too… I think it’s just the insulation and the radiator size that isn’t good… but I can’t do anything about that… 18 is alright but still takes ages to warm up… I will probably buy thermal curtains as suggested above.

Try setting the boiler temperature to 70°C - If the landlord just had the 50 y.o. boiler replaced without  changing any radiators, it is not that surprising you are not getting up to temperature. The old system would have been designed around a flow temperature of 70°C or even 80°C, so the old radiators could well be marginal at 60°C.

And the radiators could be nicely rusted and gunked up inside.

Recipe for less heat.

acl_r

@MultiFuelBurner @FreeBear the radiators are
not as old I think, they must have been changed as some point because they look « new » (by new I mean not 60 years old) 
i will try to increase the boiler temp… it took from 8 am to now (12h40) to go from 16º to 17.5º…… and I checked it’s been consuming like hell since last night so at this point I don’t know if something is wrong with the boiler/radiators or if it’s just the flat that is a complete joke 😅

FreeBear

Would be worth checking that the radiators are properly balanced and you are getting an appropriate temperature drop across them. To do that, attach a thermometer to the flow and return pipes, and adjust the lockshield to suit. If you are using a flow temperature of 50°C, you should be aiming for a temperature differential of 8-10°C. At 60°C flow, aim for a 12°C differential, and at 70°C, 15°C difference.

I use a pair of these - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B6TND1BZ/ (widely available from other sources) and use a pipe clip to hold the sensor in place.

jvjack

Had new boiler myself last winter. The radiators i have are single without fins etc. Loooking into that.
acl_r  If i hold squeeze my hand on top of radiator in main room when it's at hottest have to release hand after 2 to 3 seconds. Is your radiator as hot as that.

acl_r

@jvjack hi thank you all for your replies.
the radiators were super hot at 60 already but I increased the boiler to 65 to see, and it seems to be working better. At least today. It heated the rooms quicker… before that it could take ages to go 0.5° higher and it seems to be much quicker. 

I will keep an eye on it in the next few days and will check how much it consumed today too… 

matelodave

FreeBear said:

Would be worth checking that the radiators are properly balanced and you are getting an appropriate temperature drop across them. To do that, attach a thermometer to the flow and return pipes, and adjust the lockshield to suit. If you are using a flow temperature of 50°C, you should be aiming for a temperature differential of 8-10°C. At 60°C flow, aim for a 12°C differential, and at 70°C, 15°C difference.

I use a pair of these - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B6TND1BZ/ (widely available from other sources) and use a pipe clip to hold the sensor in place.

I've also got some of these and the temperature difference between them is in the order of around 3-4 degrees so you need to make a calibration chart to at least be able to do some relative measurements and non of them are close to the temperature measurement from my heat pump. Just because they are digital it doesn't mean that they are accurate or linear.

I hold them in place with a bit of pipe insulation and a releasable tywrap (zip tie)

FreeBear

Alnat1 said:

You will be able to fit standard plastic curtain hooks through the small hole in the bottom to attach thermal liners.

For curtains that use header tape, you can get hooks specifically for attaching liners. See here for instructions on fitting - https://www.tonystextiles.co.uk/guides/attach-blackout-linings/index.phtml

MultiFuelBurner

Would it be better to use all  the measuring devices on one radiator and put a sticky label on them to let you know if their were differences in their readings before placing them all on different radiators. That way they have been calibrated with the factor of inaccuracy noted.