Can I turn boiler down?

[Susie]

I am going away for four weeks and want to avoid any frozen pipes but don't want to pay for more gas than necessary.

I have a condensing combi boiler (WB), the radiators have thermostats on, except for the 3 towel rads(which get red hot). When the plumber fit the boiler he told me to leave it on full but do you guys think that it would be OK to lower the boiler and just have it running at night? I don't want to turn it off given how cold it might yet get.

 

[oldplumber]

leave your roomstat on 10deg and trv on about 1-2 and boiler on constantly, that way youll have gentle heat all the time. if you leave it off during the day the pipes can still freeze if it turns cold. dont save pennies if you could end up flooding your home, its not worth the risk. do howevr isolate your incoming main to orevent floods if that froze.

 

[Susie]

Thanks Oldplumber but there is no roomstat.

 

[royston]

As above keep boiler running on a low constant temperature while away in these cold periods, not worth the risk, trust me ive seen plenty over the winter.

 

[royston]

There must be some kind of tempreture stat on the boiler then.

 

[oldplumber]

ok so turn down the boiler stat and when you come back have a room stat fitted if you want to save money and have the boiler working most efficiently, cost £50-60 for wireless stat and an hours labour

 

[Bartdude]

When was the boiler fitted? A room thermostat has been a requirement of a new installation for quite a while now

 

[Susie]

It was fit about four years ago. I had an extension built and the plumber was brought in by the builder as part of it.

 

[Dannypipe]

As said, a roomstat is really easy to install, and could give you benefits of more control. In answer to your original question, my opinion is the same as everyone else. Leave the boiler turned on, but very low. You can adjust the controls on the boiler.

That said, it has been very mild down here of late. Wonder if we'll have another cold snap before spring arrives?

 

[Susie]

Thanks every one for your advice. I will go away happier knowing the boiler doesn't mind being set on low.