Glowworm hot water express 80 Any help on this control appreciated

[JohnsHughes]

Hi there, I am trying to take care of my mum's house as she has gone into a care home, and I have to keep the heating going through the winter, her Central heating control is as old as the boiler, approx 30 years. And there is a dial on it 1 to 5, I have no idea what it does, any help would be great, the last time British gas came here they said it had a thermostat in the hall, but it has no adjustment, I have posted the control and would appreciate any advice on the dial setting. As the house will be sold and money going to care home, I don't want to change the control but just want to keep it going, so any help appreciated. Thanks!

 

[steadyon]

1. I'm not familiar with that control, but suspect its a thermostat built into the programmer.
2. If so, I'd expect 3 to equate to around 18 to 20 degrees. If the property is going to be empty, altering it down to 2 should reduce the heating costs without causing damage.
3. Does it click round 1 2 3 4 5 or just rotate smoothly. If the latter it would further suggest a thermostat.
4. Intrigued by the non-adjustable thermostat in the hall. If you could post a picture of said thermostat that might help determine what the numbers on the programmer are for.

 

[Chuck]

The thing in the hall is a temperature sensor not a 'thermostat'. The thermostat set point is determined by the knob with numbers 1-5 on the controller. "1" corresponds to a temperature of 16°C, "5" is 28*C.

According to Ray Ward's book, the CT174 is a seven day programmer with two on/off periods. It contains three AAA batteries, so you might want to check these are okay.

If you hunt around the you'll probably find the instruction book stashed somewhere in the house. Or you could get it replaced with a modern programmer.

P.S. Speaking from experience, looking after an unoccupied house is much harder than one might initially imagine. Unless the care home stay is temporary, I'd recommend getting an estate agent involved and letting it out as soon as possible.

 

[JohnsHughes]

1. I'm not familiar with that control, but suspect its a thermostat built into the programmer.
2. If so, I'd expect 3 to equate to around 18 to 20 degrees. If the property is going to be empty, altering it down to 2 should reduce the heating costs without causing damage.
3. Does it click round 1 2 3 4 5 or just rotate smoothly. If the latter it would further suggest a thermostat.
4. Intrigued by the non-adjustable thermostat in the hall. If you could post a picture of said thermostat that might help determine what the numbers on the programmer are for.

That is exactly what the British gas engineer said, but he had also never seen one, the problem with the suspected thermostat in the hall is that it is just a box with vents and a screw visible as my mum liked to paint over everything and it was only last year that I knew what it was after the BG engineer mentioned it, but I can't see any visible markings, so I plan to scrape the paint off and clear the vents.

 

[JohnsHughes]

The thing in the hall is a temperature sensor not a 'thermostat'. The thermostat set point is determined by the knob with numbers 1-5 on the controller. "1" corresponds to a temperature of 16°C, "5" is 28*C.

According to Ray Ward's book, the CT174 is a seven day programmer with two on/off periods. It contains three AAA batteries, so you might want to check these are okay.

If you hunt around the you'll probably find the instruction book stashed somewhere in the house. Or you could get it replaced with a modern programmer.

Thanks for that, I thought about getting it upgraded bit when the house sells it will get replaced with a new boiler as well, so I am not keen on throwing money at it, thanks for the info!

 

[JohnsHughes]

Thanks for that, I thought about getting it upgraded bit when the house sells it will get replaced with a new boiler as well, so I am not keen on throwing money at it, thanks for the info!

Thanks for that, I thought about getting it upgraded bit when the house sells it will get replaced with a new boiler as well, so I am not keen on throwing money at it, thanks for the info!

So with that info, if I left the control on permanently and set it to 1, it would keep the house at a steady 16 Deg?

 

[Chuck]

So with that info, if I left the control on permanently and set it to 1, it would keep the house at a steady 16 Deg?

Once you've scraped the paint out of the vent, yes. But I suggest you check, e.g. by leaving a max/min thermometer in the house that it's working okay.

 

[JohnsHughes]

Yes, I had previously thought about setting the programmer to come on at 5 am till 10am and 7pm till 12am to keep the house heated, but with the temperature sensor it will be better left on '1', I will test it out, here is a photo of the sensor, would it be safe to open it up? Or will bits jump out of it?

Once you've scraped the paint out of the vent, yes. But I suggest you check, e.g. by leaving a max/min thermometer in the house that it's working okay.

D

 

[JohnsHughes]

Yes, I had previously thought about setting the programmer to come on at 5 am till 10am and 7pm till 12am to keep the house heated, but with the temperature sensor it will be better left on '1', I will test it out, here is a photo of the sensor, would it be safe to open it up? Or will bits jump out of it?

D

 

[JohnsHughes]

1. I'm not familiar with that control, but suspect its a thermostat built into the programmer.
2. If so, I'd expect 3 to equate to around 18 to 20 degrees. If the property is going to be empty, altering it down to 2 should reduce the heating costs without causing damage.
3. Does it click round 1 2 3 4 5 or just rotate smoothly. If the latter it would further suggest a thermostat.
4. Intrigued by the non-adjustable thermostat in the hall. If you could post a picture of said thermostat that might help determine what the numbers on the programmer are for.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Tbh I would set to on and 1 on dial as it’s winter

 

[JohnsHughes]

I have tried that now, it's about 18 Deg inside the house at the moment, but it seems inconsistent, as I heard it going off and on during the night, will watch it during the day, I was thinking about getting a simple programmer and thermostat to replace it, would it be a voltage free contact going back into the boiler or switching live? And any recommendations? I need something simple, reliable but not too expensive.

 

[JohnsHughes]

 

[ShaunCorbs]

You will end up spending around 80-100 on it ?

 

[JohnsHughes]

The boiler is a glowworm hot water express 80, what would be a suitable reliable replacement for the programmer and thermostat?

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Drayton lifestyle twin and a Honeywell 6360b

 

[JohnsHughes]

Thanks for your help! Most appreciated

Drayton lifestyle twin and a Honeywell 6360b

 

[Lou]

How did you get on with this issue?