"Off only" option on central heating time switch Help and information on all topics relating to your central heating, air conditioning and ventilation issues.

[scass]

Hi there

I doubt if anyone remembers a previous post I made about CH and Japanese bath:

https://www.diydoctor.org.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4253

It's mostly irrelevant to this question, but I DID get this project finished (works brilliantly) and in the end chose a wood pellet boiler for the heat source. Advice I got at the time gave me the confidence to go ahead and do it myself...

So far we have no remote CH controls. I rely on the controls on the (exterior) boiler unit itself – which include a twice on and twice off per day timer. We have it set to be on for three hours in the morning AND to go off (only) at 11pm. If we want heat in the evening, I manually turn the boiler on (and then it goes off at 11pm).

But going out to the exterior boiler room is getting a bit tiring. I'd like to add a time switch in the house. The boiler has contacts (open/close) for this.

The thing is, with our variable schedule, we like this ability to set only an 'off' time for the evening. Can anyone recommend a simple time switch (no need for thermostats or anything) that can do this? Is it a common functionality or am I going to struggle to find it?

Thanks for any thoughts on this. I'll be in the UK at the end of next month and would like to pick up a unit while I'm there.

Steve

[stoneyboy]

scass,
Simplest would be to add a switch in the house which turns the boiler on - turn on when you want heat, switch off when you go to bed. If you need something more automated a timeclock with manual override will do the job.
Do check whether the boiler is expecting 240v at the contacts you refer to.
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[scass]

Stoneyboy

Thanks for the response.

We like the morning timer and also the auto-off at a set time in the evening.

One point I didn't note... Our pellet boiler has two options. Either I use the built-in timer OR I can use a pair of connections (closed for on, open for off) to control the boiler. It seems I can't mix and match (ie add a kind of override switch in the house).

So in fact I think I need to follow your suggestion for a timeclock with manual override.

For example:

http://www.heatmisershop.co.uk/products ... r-TM1.html

To confirm, 'manual override' would mean that I could set an off time of, say, 11pm, but no prior on time. Then I could press the override button at 6pm and the boiler would come on and stay on until 11pm?

Sorry, it may sound like a stupid question, but I don't see anything in the specs of these time switches that tells me this. I have never lived with central heating in the UK, so the terminology doesn't mean much to me.

Thanks again for taking the time.

Steve


[quote="stoneyboy"]scass,
Simplest would be to add a switch in the house which turns the boiler on - turn on when you want heat, switch off when you go to bed. If you need something more automated a timeclock with manual override will do the job.
Do check whether the boiler is expecting 240v at the contacts you refer to.
end[/quote]

[stoneyboy]

scass,
Heatmiser is good but you will have to set an on time before you can set the off time.
How about using the Heatmiser programmable thermostat to control the boiler - you can even buy a remote IR controller to go with this.
Have a look here http://www.heatmisershop.co.uk/products ... r-PRT.html
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