M
MattWeth
Got asked to take a look at an old couple's heating system today (both in their late 70's).
It's oil fired and was installed 45 years ago and has nothing but a mechanical time clock - no room stat, no TRV's. It has gravity hot water and pumped heating - the current boiler is about 6 years old. They'd like some form of control as they're either too hot and opening windows or forever turning the boiler on and off manually. The rads have a fairly conventional looking lockshield and a little dumpy valve with a domed cap and no handwheel.
Trouble is, given the age of the system, the rads and valves are caked in 45 years of paint and don't appear to have conventional screwed in tails? The feeds to the rads are bent right up to the rad valve compression and that funny little valve with no handwheel doesn't look like a TRV will be a direct swap (looks like the TRV will be too big). The pipework might even be 1/2"?...
I've a feeling that if I started attacking the rads and valves, I'd open up a can of worms (pale carpets everywhere and they said they were 'too old for any disruption'!).
I'm inclined to leave the rads alone and source and fit a very simple wireless thermostat (simpler the better but despite their age, she was happily looking for holidays on the internet, so I think a wireless stat wouldn't faze them too much). At least they could then carry it around and have some control based on the room they're in...
What would you do?
It's oil fired and was installed 45 years ago and has nothing but a mechanical time clock - no room stat, no TRV's. It has gravity hot water and pumped heating - the current boiler is about 6 years old. They'd like some form of control as they're either too hot and opening windows or forever turning the boiler on and off manually. The rads have a fairly conventional looking lockshield and a little dumpy valve with a domed cap and no handwheel.
Trouble is, given the age of the system, the rads and valves are caked in 45 years of paint and don't appear to have conventional screwed in tails? The feeds to the rads are bent right up to the rad valve compression and that funny little valve with no handwheel doesn't look like a TRV will be a direct swap (looks like the TRV will be too big). The pipework might even be 1/2"?...
I've a feeling that if I started attacking the rads and valves, I'd open up a can of worms (pale carpets everywhere and they said they were 'too old for any disruption'!).
I'm inclined to leave the rads alone and source and fit a very simple wireless thermostat (simpler the better but despite their age, she was happily looking for holidays on the internet, so I think a wireless stat wouldn't faze them too much). At least they could then carry it around and have some control based on the room they're in...
What would you do?
