Thermostat - faulty ?

jamma-plusser

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Jan 5, 2010, 12:52:29 PM1/5/10

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I think that my boiler's thermostat might be faulty - the oil-fired
boiler is in a cupboard off the utility room and the thermostat is in
the hall.

Noticed about a week ago that the radiators were only warm when the
thermostat was turned up to about 20. Turned it up to 25
and all was well.

Today the same thing happened again, but turning it up to 27 has got
the radiators hot again.

Now it's definitely not my imagination, ie it IS getting colder in the
house when it should be warm, ie it's not just me imagining it's
colder!

So is the thermostat at fault?

It's an old 'Lifestyle' thermostat with a square surround and a round
dial.

Could I perhaps repair/service it myself? Or is it a job for a
plumber?

Or could I replace it? Or is that too a job for a plumber?

Thanks

F

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Jan 5, 2010, 1:27:14 PM1/5/10

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On 05/01/2010 17:52 jamma-plusser wrote:

> Now it's definitely not my imagination, ie it IS getting colder in the
> house when it should be warm, ie it's not just me imagining it's
> colder!

Are you *sure* it's colder? Have you checked with a thermometer? Cold
radiators don't mean the house is cold, they're just not being heated at
the time you check them.

With colder weather, 'cold' spots' in the house suddenly seem more
noticeable. With decent insulation it's possible to have cool or cold
radiators with the house still warm.

Alternatively, is the radiator in the hall oversized compared with the
others in the house? If it is then the thermostat will be satisfied and
turn the heating off before other rooms are warm. If that's the case,
close the lockshield a little to reduce the flow on that radiator.

--
F

Harry Bloomfield

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Jan 5, 2010, 2:09:20 PM1/5/10

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jamma-plusser explained on 05/01/2010 :

> It's an old 'Lifestyle' thermostat with a square surround and a round
> dial.
>
> Could I perhaps repair/service it myself? Or is it a job for a
> plumber?

It sounds like an old mechanical 'clicky' thermostat. Does the stat
click as you crank it up and down?

If it is clicking OK, then probably it is OK. Do you perhaps have a two
port valve, which directs the heat to radiators or water heating? They
frequently stick and or fail.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

jamma-plusser

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Jan 5, 2010, 3:15:32 PM1/5/10

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On Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:27:14 +0000, F <news@nowhere> wrote:

Thanks for the replies.

F - yes, it's definitely colder in the house, but a good idea re
lowering the temp of the radiator in the hall.

Harry - yes, it clicks, but only if I turn it way down or way up. I'm
sure it used to click at more 'intervals' ........

Harry Bloomfield

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Jan 5, 2010, 5:34:00 PM1/5/10

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There should be a small gap between the clicks, maybe a degree or so,
but certainly not a need to swing the dial end to end to get it to
click. There should be just one click on the way up and one on the way
down. Turn it down slowly until it clicks, then as soon as it does turn
it back until it clicks again - the difference between the two points
should be quite small.

jamma-plusser

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Jan 6, 2010, 5:40:24 AM1/6/10

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On Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:34:00 GMT, Harry Bloomfield
<harry...@NOSPAM.tiscali.co.uk> wrote:

>There should be a small gap between the clicks, maybe a degree or so,
>but certainly not a need to swing the dial end to end to get it to
>click. There should be just one click on the way up and one on the way
>down. Turn it down slowly until it clicks, then as soon as it does turn
>it back until it clicks again - the difference between the two points
>should be quite small.

It seems to vary, sometimes it's quite large, but at the moment it
will click on about 16 then on about 19 and vice versa.

Is that too large a gap?