Gas Boiler Time Settings

tntcoder · 28 May 2013 at 16:37

Hi,

Trivial question, but just moved into new place with a gas boiler and don't really have a clue what timer settings I should go with (always had off-peak electric) It's got two time windows per 24-hours to come on. Boilers hooked up to an insulated tank that should survive the day.

So if I just want hot water in the AM and some in the evening, should I just run it for 3 hours about 3am and 3 hours mid afternoon? No idea if that's too much or too little?

Thanks!

MrMoonX · 28 May 2013 at 17:39

Mine does 530-7 which is plenty for us all in morning and 5-9

Lartyconshayo · 28 May 2013 at 18:33

I run my boiler for 20 mins in the morning @ 6.50 and that does a family of three all day including doing the washing up in the evening. Insulated tank also

I would start around the 30 mins mark and see and then add 15 min increments.

Mr.Stu · 28 May 2013 at 18:57

We do 40mins @ 6am, and 20mins @ 6pm - enough hot water for 2 people.

This is with a terrible old boiler and insulated tank.

Anything less and the mixer shower is just warm rather than nice and hot.

[DOD]Asprilla · 28 May 2013 at 20:11

I've got a 250l tank and the boiler runs 6.30-7.30 and 17.00-18.00. Plenty of hot water.

tntcoder · 28 May 2013 at 20:17

Ok thanks guys, this is a 140 litre tank so i'll experiment around those times

Wonder if it will work out cheaper than electric...

roadie · 15 Nov 2013 at 15:12

I wanted to resurrect this thread as I am in a similar situation to the OP.

I moved into a houseshare that has a regular boiler with a tank as opposed to the combi boilers I'm used to. Gas usage for the month of October 11 to November 11 was 131 units which I think is excessive for a 3 person terraced house.

I took a look at the boiler control panel (a British Gas Model Up2) and have set the hot water to run from 05:30-06:30 and 17:30-18:30. This is a massive reduction from what it was. Hopefully this will suffice, as I've no idea on tank size or how long it will keep the water hot. The tank is jacketed though.

PiKe · 15 Nov 2013 at 15:18

I have a combi-boiler and the control panel has time settings for water, why exactly? Its on demand hot water isn't it?

FlyingFish · 15 Nov 2013 at 20:44

Some have a preheat function that keeps a small (or more) quantity of water within the boiler warm. This is to deliver DHW quicker, and so save wasting (running cold off) water.

This can be annoying when the boiler heats itself (only for a minute) up during the early hours. So some manufacturers give you the ability to time this feature.

Mick