Quick Thermostat Question

[Ste Crook]

Don't think so,

Basically the combi boiler is upstairs, and downstairs I have that thermostat, then in another room I have a Drayton SM1, and a big power switch to turn it all off.

I am just baffled as to why the other day I had the Drayton Box set to 24 hours but the thermostat set right down the heating was still on

 

[Ste Crook]

The new thermostat is a Salus RT300RF, would this be compatible or do I need to go for something a little higher budget?

 

[Meggerman]

Using a little bit of logic he has not said anything about the fault only affecting downstairs or upstairs heating or any mention of the heating of a specific area.
And the colour of the existing cables gives a good guide to the age of the installation, sometime before multi-zoned installations became popular.

He did not mention it was combi either, and that is probably converted from a old Y Plan that got ripped out. Also I did plenty of multi zoned systems on the old colours. Maybe I operate in a more desirable area

 

[rdelectrical]

Get a Honeywell one far better than salus I fitted one for a customer lasted 2years Honeywell far better and easy to fit

 

[davesparks]

Ah well I started my apprenticeship right at the point of changeover, wholesalers were just selling off their last drums of old colours and starting to sell new colours.

I've never yet done a multi zoned system on a combi, done a couple with two boilers in paralell and two heating, two hot water cylinders and a towel rail zone though.

 

[davesparks]

Get a Honeywell one far better than salus I fitted one for a customer lasted 2years Honeywell far better and easy to fit

I've removed plenty of honeywells because customers find them a bit too complicated when all they want to do is just turn their heating on and off!

In my experience the average person just wants their heating to work without any fancy gadgets and such nonsense, keep that for the non essential things

 

[Ste Crook]

I have a feeling its using existing wiring from an old system, we only bought this house last year and the previous owner said they got the Combi boiler 5 years ago.

Could this be why I am having issues? Because there wasnt enough existing cables running through the walls?
I know when I was having some work done a workman took the Drayon box off the wall, and when he put it back on the heating wouldnt work at all, turned out there was this really short wire which had come out which had just made the boiler refuse to work. He seemed pretty puzzled by it because everything looked as if it should be working but it wouldnt.

Whats the best solution and how much is it likely to set me back? I know someone who is a gas fitter but I'm just not sure what it actually needs

 

[davesparks]

The new thermostat is a Salus RT300RF, would this be compatible or do I need to go for something a little higher budget?

That will be fine, if possible the receiver part of the thermostat would be easy to install next to the timeswitch (drayton SM1 unit) with a short bit of 5 core linking the two (or two twins)

 

[Ste Crook]

I've removed plenty of honeywells because customers find them a bit too complicated when all they want to do is just turn their heating on and off!

In my experience the average person just wants their heating to work without any fancy gadgets and such nonsense, keep that for the non essential things

Well said, I try and use as little gas as possible, which is why the thermostat was in a bad place, who in the right mind put a thermostat in a hallway near the front door?

 

[davesparks]

I have a feeling its using existing wiring from an old system, we only bought this house last year and the previous owner said they got the Combi boiler 5 years ago.

Could this be why I am having issues? Because there wasnt enough existing cables running through the walls?
I know when I was having some work done a workman took the Drayon box off the wall, and when he put it back on the heating wouldnt work at all, turned out there was this really short wire which had come out which had just made the boiler refuse to work. He seemed pretty puzzled by it because everything looked as if it should be working but it wouldnt.

Whats the best solution and how much is it likely to set me back? I know someone who is a gas fitter but I'm just not sure what it actually needs

That will be the link between permanent live and the common terminal of the timeswitch, any electrician should have known this, and if he wasn't an electrician he shouldn't have been messing with it!

 

[Ste Crook]

That will be fine, if possible the receiver part of the thermostat would be easy to install next to the timeswitch (drayton SM1 unit) with a short bit of 5 core linking the two (or two twins)

Fantastic, thanks for that, yes if thats got the correct contacts it shouldnt be too much hard work then.

 

[Ste Crook]

That will be the link between permanent live and the common terminal of the timeswitch, any electrician should have known this, and if he wasn't an electrician he shouldn't have been messing with it!

Hahah, I think he had just missed it because for some reason it was much shorter than the others....or wanted to get home

 

[davesparks]

Well said, I try and use as little gas as possible, which is why the thermostat was in a bad place, who in the right mind put a thermostat in a hallway near the front door?

The theory as I was taught it:
Thermostat in coldest room (not in a draught though) so that when that room has got up to temperature all others must already be up to temperature and so switches boiler off. All other rooms are controlled by the thermostatic radiator valves so that they each shut down as they reach temperature. The radiator in the room where the thermostat is should not have a thermostatic valve.

 

[davesparks]

Fantastic, thanks for that, yes if thats got the correct contacts it shouldnt be too much hard work then.

Easy job for someone who knows what they are doing, but be careful there are too many people selling themselves as electricians who will be incapable of a simple task such as this.

 

[Ste Crook]

The theory as I was taught it:
Thermostat in coldest room (not in a draught though) so that when that room has got up to temperature all others must already be up to temperature and so switches boiler off. All other rooms are controlled by the thermostatic radiator valves so that they each shut down as they reach temperature. The radiator in the room where the thermostat is should not have a thermostatic valve.

That makes sense and explains a few things, for example where the thermostat is, there is no longer a radiator in the room, we created a small additional room. Then in the living / dining room radiators don't have thermostatic valves....so basically the living room is just getting hotter and hotter as they have to valves to turn them off and the thermostat in the hallway just isnt getting any warmer.