Central Heating - on yet?
- Thread starter Proto
- Start date
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Alex321
Veteran
- Location
- South Wales
Lounge looked like a story line from London's burning last night.
Chimney blocked and a big lead time for a sweep so looks like we'll be using a shed load of electric or shivering
I always used to sweep ours myself when we had an open fire, in the previous house. Normally twice a year.
We had a very similar set to this, but without the rotating handle
View: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Industrial-Bailey-Universal-Sweeping-Rotating/dp/B01M0VANUQ/ref=sr_1_30?keywords=chimney+sweep+kit&qid=1697549801&sr=8-30
I can't remember how much chimney sweeps cost when we bought the kit, or how much we paid for it, but I do remember thinking it was less than the cost of having it done twice.
Gillstay
Über Member
Jody
Stubborn git
I'm seriously considering it @Alex321 if my partner can't get anything booked today. The only thing putting me off is if I miss something that someone trained would have done. There's bound to be a decent tutorial video on Youtube.
Scoured Face ache market place last night and there are a few brush kits going locally but the kit you posted seems really good value as you say compared to what a sweep would charge.
I like the ide of attaching a drill to it also @Gillstay
Scoured Face ache market place last night and there are a few brush kits going locally but the kit you posted seems really good value as you say compared to what a sweep would charge.
I like the ide of attaching a drill to it also @Gillstay
KnittyNorah
Über Member
- Location
- The Frozen North (of England)
I have succumbed, and I put (one of! I have three, for a tiny flat) my storage heater on overnight to harvest cheap heat. I set it to be 'on' (ie emitting heat) from 7.30 to 8.30am and 7.30 - 8.30pm, with the thermostat set at 19deg. It's an updated, programmable, self-learning lump compared to the things of old, and I am keeping a very close eye on my electricity consumption, both peak and off-peak. So far, so good. The radiator stays hot for a long time after its active 'emit heat' setting ends, so will probably change the timings and durations in the next few days and weeks as I become more accustomed to its use.
I confess it was lovely to get up and eat my breakfast in a cosy room, and the entire flat is staying delightfully warm with the assistance of the morning sunshine.
I confess it was lovely to get up and eat my breakfast in a cosy room, and the entire flat is staying delightfully warm with the assistance of the morning sunshine.
I remember the old storage heaters. A company that I worked for would repair them. Very simple with a heating element and concrete type " bricks " to act as a store of heat. Not really controllable to a great extent, I think there was a simple shuttered grill that you opened and closed, and I think some had a low powered fan to enclose air flow.
They are much different and much more sophisticated now. Like @KnittyNorah has said, they are very controllable with proper thermostats and controls where you can input the amount of heat needed over night. The older ones just heated up to the max and that was is.
We changed our old storage heaters for new ones and its like chalk and cheese in both usage and in cost.
Mo1959
Legendary Member
- Location
- Perthshire,Scotland
I know in general they are not nearly as popular as gas, but I’ve got them too and like them. No intention of changing. As you say, they retain the heat for ages so even in a lengthy power cut you stay warm for several hours.
KnittyNorah
Über Member
- Location
- The Frozen North (of England)
What ianrauk says. I was initially somewhat 'put off' from these flats because of the storage heaters, but I know already knew - tthrough U3A - a couple of people who live here.
So I asked them, and they are both sensible people, and had only positive things to say about the system here.
They are Dimplex Quantum heaters and you can download all the specs, instructions etc on the Dimplex website.
I've not yet managed to decipher the entirity of the bathroom heater/towel rail's programme, which appears to be a different make but on a similar principle, but I've worked out how to make it do what I want it to do.
Yes, I should have been clearer, the ones that I was referring to are similar to the ones that Noah had fitted in his Ark 😉
KnittyNorah
Über Member
- Location
- The Frozen North (of England)
Ah, you mean like the bricks heated at the side of the fireplace, which are then wrapped up in an old blanket and put at the bottom of the bed to warm it up/stub your toe on/set it on fire... or the dafty who is trending on dickory dock (or whatever its called now) or something similar who is heating up bricks in the oven while she cooks the family's dinner, to 'save the heat' ...
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
It would be much better to have a heat store charged up by a heat pump powered by off peak or solar electricity, but that needs more changes to most homes.
The bumph says they need a space 1m x 1m x 2.5m for the HW tank as it's a hybrid tank so taller than a regular HW tank. Our house has 3 bedrooms, an airing cupboard with the HW tank and another cupboard with the gas boiler. The sizes quoted are the " worse case " and the existing cupboards aren't big enough if the largest tank is required. Frustrating to have so much space but nowhere suitable.
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
I'm feeling better - although still testing positive for COVID, just - and the heating has gone off. Chimney sweep is in next week then I'll light the fire if it cools down.
