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MidnightR

OK I have a boiler & a tank. There are four pipes coming out of my boiler, two are very hot, two are cold (well neutral). My bills are very expensive at the moment and I think its because every time we want the heating on (radiators) the tank is heated up too. My understanding is the central heating and tank heating (for baths etc) are completely separate, however I cannot find any way to turn the tank off.

The boiler only has the option to turn it off (for everything), change its temperature, and turn it on/off at a set time. There are not two timers for heating & water just one central timer.

All the radiators have thermostats & there is a thermostat on the water tank too (although I'm not sure what that does? I've just turned it down to see if it makes a difference). There is also a sort of valve closure next to the water tank (basically a bit of metal comes out then down like an L shape with the I part covered in plastic, I can turn it but again not sure what it does).

Any suggestions?

EDIT: The valve near the water tank is like this:

Natural_Gas_Valve.jpg
 
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yeah that valve thing your turning, all that will do is stop water going where its supposed to go, it would be best to turn that valve back to its original position. as for your heating system if you havent a clue best bet is to either call in your local plumber or be alot more specific about what system you have so we can help you.

:)
 
I've basically told you everything that I can see, I thought perhaps you'd know from that :S

I didn't turn the valve as I didn't know what it did :p I did turn the thermostat near the tank though.

Would it help if I took a picture of the boiler & water tank?
 
OK I have a boiler & a tank.
I think you mean cylinder rather than tank? Cylinder stores hot water, what is normally referred to as a tank is the header tank, which provides low pressure to the cylinder, or central heating.
There are four pipes coming out of my boiler, two are very hot, two are cold (well neutral).
Probably for CH, HW, vent pipe.
My bills are very expensive at the moment and I think its because every time we want the heating on (radiators) the tank is heated up too.
It is not uncommon for the HW to be heated when the CH is on, and it should not be excessively expensive this way as once the HW is heated up it will not cost much more to maintain it hot.
My understanding is the central heating and tank heating (for baths etc) are completely separate, however I cannot find any way to turn the tank off.
It should not be necesary to do this, unless you no longer want hot water. Some programmers provide separate channels for HW and CH, I assume that yours does not.

The boiler only has the option to turn it off (for everything), change its temperature, and turn it on/off at a set time. There are not two timers for heating & water just one central timer.

All the radiators have thermostats & there is a thermostat on the water tank too (although I'm not sure what that does? I've just turned it down to see if it makes a difference).
The cylinder stat regulates the temperature to a set amount, normally 60 C. This may control a motorised valve which shuts the water supply to the cylinder off once this temperature is reached. By turning this down / up while the system is running you may be able to hear a valve operating, or feel the flow through the pipes. That way you can be assured that your system does not waste any further energy once the set temp of the HW is reached. If you did not have this facility, the water would reach your system temp, ie the temperature of the water in the boiler - about 80 - 85C.
There is also a sort of valve closure next to the water tank (basically a bit of metal comes out then down like an L shape with the I part covered in plastic, I can turn it but again not sure what it does).

Any suggestions?

Hope this info helps.
 
yes it would help quite a lot to see what you're describing.
 
Increase the insulation on the tank/cylinder it will save any money you intend to spend on controls
 
Boiler

img7740.jpg


Timer

img77410.jpg


Pipes into boiler

img77420.jpg


Cylinder

img7744u.jpg
 
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the pipes on the boiler are feed and return for heating, gas pipe and pressure relief valve outlet (i think)
 
I agree big ones are for heating and hot water. middle pipe gas PRV to right.

System is pumped via a single channel programmer so cylinder is on all the time and controlled via that big danfoss thermo valve although somewhat cruedly. Looks like the yellow handle will manually turn off the heating in the summer leaving you with hw only via the programmer. What do you currently do in the Summer? Switch the rads off?

In summary: very old hat easy to upgrade which will save you a bit of inconvenience and a bit of money but not huge amounts.
 
its old and clapped out,big thermostat type thing on the cylinder is a cyltrol,or thermostatic priority valve gives priority to dhw then it goes to heating,boilers a 200 year old vailent , time-clock fitted by noah of the ark
 
I agree big ones are for heating and hot water. middle pipe gas PRV to right.

System is pumped via a single channel programmer so cylinder is on all the time and controlled via that big danfoss thermo valve although somewhat cruedly. Looks like the yellow handle will manually turn off the heating in the summer leaving you with hw only via the programmer. What do you currently do in the Summer? Switch the rads off?

In summary: very old hat easy to upgrade which will save you a bit of inconvenience and a bit of money but not huge amounts.

So if I turn the danfoss thermo to the minimum setting (1) can we have low temperature hot water and high temperature radiators? Doing this would save some power at least.

Yea we switch the radiator off, although the new radiator in my flatmates room does not have a thermostat so this is useful information for future.
 
The Gold valve is a Sunvic thermostatic cylinder valve. (never saw one for years). Works on the same principle as a thermostatic radiator valve. (There should have been a bypass fitted too)

Danfoss still do them
http://www.bhl.co.uk/uploads/article331/Danfoss_RAVI.pdf

These used to be fitted along with one motorised valve on the heating side. That allowed HW only or HW and CH but as you have a single channel timer it is unlikely you have a motorised valve. The heating will be closed manually with the yellow lever valve.


Very basic 1980's cost cutting system. Can be easily upgraded to an S plan by fitting a control pack and a bit change to the wiring. You can buy the materials for around £90. This will pay for itself on your next gas bill.
Link
http://www.plumbnation.co.uk/site/danfoss-randall-fp715si-hpp-heat-plan-control-pack-087n850040/

Fit one motorised valve in place of the Sunvic valve and the other in place of the yellow handled valve and wire it up as the diagrams.

Either that or get yourself a bit of debt and get a new boiler and system upgrade which will cost you a lot more.
 
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I'm only renting short term (will be gone in less than 6 months) so just wanted to know if there was a short term fix at zero cost. I'll try turning down the thermostat.
 
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