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I have a confusing issue with my gas central heating boiler.
Heating and hot water are both off (hot water heating is electric).
The boiler appears to use about 5 kwh of gas on a regular pattern every 46 hours. This is according to my smart meter.
The manual does not contain any information as to why this might be.
I plan to try and be at the boiler for the next expected event to see what is happening. Very first world problem but annoying to me.
Does anyone know why a boiler would burn gas in the manner described above?
Cheers, Dave p
Pilot light?
Or some combi boilers have a kind of instant heat option where an amount of water is kept hot so you get hot water quicker without running lots.
Frost protection system maybe set incorrectly or cutting in when it shouldn't?
Gas leak or a dodgy smart metre?
Turn your boiler off and see if it still measures usage?
Your wife keeps the house warmer than you think to make your willy look bigger?
Thanks for the ideas, I will sit by the boiler tomorrow when it is expected to fire. (The joys of working from home).
Crikey, thanks for think of my welfare but not sure if that is the answer....
The boiler appears to use about 5 kwh of gas on a regular pattern every 46 hours. This is according to my smart meter.
I'm sure I've read before that the way they bill the standing tariff, eg 50pence per day for being connected, is to spoof a usage value in some smart meters.
Most tarrifs are a mix of daily rate and per kWh usage rate....
My newly installed Worcester boiler did this and it was traced to a dodgy signal or something about the external ambient temperature reading making the boiler think it was not as warm as the signal suggested was cold therefore thinking it was warm when it was cold so it was warming itself on a trickle to stop being cold.
We had a wireless thermostat and some setting somewhere was changed and it stopped doing it. It was very annoying, hearing gas being burnt in the height of summer when there ought to have been no demand on the boiler.
That's about three minutes a day for a 36kWh boiler. Many boilers (the Worcester in my place runs for about 2 minutes every 24 hours) will fire for a short period when there's no demand in order to complete self-testing and exercise the valve.
Is the boiler casing warm?
4kWh of gas is roughly 0.1 cubic metres. I'd be inclined to switch the boiler off for a few days and see if this helps. If it doesn't, then you potentially have a small leak or a faulty meter, but the troubleshooting is obvious for this.
Thanks all for the thoughts above.
The boiler fired up this afternoon exactly when I expected it to, the cycle is every 50 hours.
I am pretty certain that this is a boiler test cycle of some sort, not a faulty meter, pilot light, frost protection or similar.
The manual provides no clues do I have asked the manufacturer for assistance.
Unfortunately, as I sad engineer I just can't let go of things like this, I need to understand.....
My Worcester Bosch boiler fires up during the early hours to keep the system temp up for quicker hot water after a long period of rest.
Check to see if you have an Eco button as that stops the pre heating faze.
What boiler is it and what type of system do you have ?
Unfortunately, as I sad engineer I just can’t let go of things like this, I need to understand…..
You would make it a lot easier for other people to help if you at least hinted at the manufacturer and model of your boiler.