Boilermate 2000 Excessive Cost

[smulx]

I moved in to a house last year that has a Boilermate 2000 installed. After reading about them, I wasn't exactly thrilled about it, but we liked the house so decided to proceed anyway. In the first couple of months we were spending no more than £20 per month on gas. When the temperature started to drop around November-December we set the heating to come on for a couple of hours per day with only two of the radiators in the house being turned on. I was surprised at how much this cost for a small modern house with only two occupants as the monthly gas cost increased to around £50 per month.

In mid January we turned the heating off the timer and only used it a couple of times. My most recent bill that covers Jan 16th - Feb 16th says we used £65 worth of gas though. I don't understand how it has increased so significantly when our usage dropped so much. During this month, we also had a smart meter installed, and I assumed it was some kind of issue with the readings being recorded incorrectly. I contacted the supplier though and they insist there's no issue in that regard.

Our gas usage pretty much consists of a couple of showers per day and occasionally using a gas hob on an evening. I expected the cost to go up a bit in the winter regardless of central heating usage, due to the colder temperatures causing more heat loss from the system, but it still seems excessive. The smart meter isn't much help as it gives limited detail in the readings. It just shows I'm using a relatively consistent amount day-to-day.

Are these units usually that expensive to run? Does anyone have any idea why the cost may have increased despite my usage decreasing? Thanks in advance.

 

[garygvl]

looking at your usage your better off with a combi than a thermal store

 

[garygvl]

your heating an awful lot of water first just to get hot water before you even start using the heating

 

[Harvest Fields]

And they are hot water priority

 

[smulx]

I would like to get rid of it and have a regular combi boiler installed, but I just don't think I could afford that at the moment.

 

[chris watkins]

Does it have a separate boiler or is one of the self firing thermal stores ?
It may be that you have it set to maintain the store temperature continually & the timer is just switching the heating pump on & off.
Do you understand how these thermal stores work?

 

[Harvest Fields]

It is probably a Suprima in the kitchen.

 

[smulx]

I have a basic understanding of how they work. There's a separate boiler in the kitchen. It's called an Ideal Classic or something.

 

[garygvl]

Does it have a separate boiler or is one of the self firing thermal stores ?
It may be that you have it set to maintain the store temperature continually & the timer is just switching the heating pump on & off.
Do you understand how these thermal stores work?

gledhill boilermate with seperate boiler heating store excessive if all you need to run is a shower and then wait for it to heat up and do heating

 

[garygvl]

I have a basic understanding of how they work. There's a separate boiler in the kitchen. It's called an Ideal Classic or something.

ideal classic old workhorse boiler, pretty reliable but not what youd call efficient anymore

 

[AMGasServices]

Put your hot water on a timer to come on twice a day. See if that makes a difference.

 

[garygvl]

Put your hot water on a timer to come on twice a day. See if that makes a difference.

you've still got to warm up the store before you can have a shower

 

[AMGasServices]

you've still got to warm up the store before you can have a shower

That’s a bit rubbish then.

I’m sure you can get a module to make the ideal classic a combi boiler. In the short term I’d do that.

 

[garygvl]

That’s a bit rubbish then.

I’m sure you can get a module to make the ideal classic a combi boiler. In the short term I’d do that.

no

 

[smulx]

I do understand it's not a very efficient system and it's not suitable for my needs and I will hopefully be in a position to get it replaced at some point. Does anyone have any idea why my gas cost would have increased by 30% when my central heating usage reduced significantly? I'm taking a meter reading every day now to try and gauge my usage, but I'm not sure if it could be indicative of some kind of fault.

 

[Scott_D]

It’s colder so the store of hot water cools faster

 

[garygvl]

I do understand it's not a very efficient system and it's not suitable for my needs and I will hopefully be in a position to get it replaced at some point. Does anyone have any idea why my gas cost would have increased by 30% when my central heating usage reduced significantly? I'm taking a meter reading every day now to try and gauge my usage, but I'm not sure if it could be indicative of some fault
From memory the store temp is set to 70c. Make sure your running the boiler on its max setting or it won’t satisfy the store demand and just run for however long you have it timed for

from memory the store temp is set to 70c. Make sure your running the boiler on its max setting or it will just run for however long you have it timed for as it can’t satisfy the store demand

 

[chris watkins]

As above, you need to leave in on all the time & have the boiler stat on max the store will need to be heated to 70deg C for it to work efficiently it might sound counterintuitive but try it for a couple of days & keep taking the gas readings. You will use more until it is heated up but then it will settle down to just maintain the standing losses. The timer just controls the central heating pump which draws primary water from the store to the rads.
https://www.gledhill-boilermate.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/BoilerMater2000switch_User.pdf

Hot water to the taps is only heated when the hot tap is opened.

 

[Vee]

I'd prefer a thermal store any day to a combi. Sadly misunderstood by most and therefore not used correctly or ousted due to lack of knowledge. Thermal store far outstrips the hot water performance of any combi boiler both on flow rate and consumption.

 

[chris watkins]

I'd prefer a thermal store any day to a combi. Sadly misunderstood by most and therefore not used correctly or ousted due to lack of knowledge. Thermal store far outstrips the hot water performance of any combi boiler both on flow rate and consumption.

I agree Vee.
I went to look at 2x Harcopak's that could ideally be replaced with one as not a chance of getting a discharge waste installed.
Whose all electric store would you recommend?

 

[Vee]

If you got the space you'd be better off with Gledhill Boilermate 125L BMBP and an electric boiler if you haven't got gas.

 

[smulx]

The boiler definitely is on the highest setting and it has been since we moved in. I took the cover off the Boilermate and I can't find any way to specify a temperature setting. Whatever temperature it's set on though is enough to heat up the tap water to a good temperature.

I'd prefer a thermal store any day to a combi. Sadly misunderstood by most and therefore not used correctly or ousted due to lack of knowledge. Thermal store far outstrips the hot water performance of any combi boiler both on flow rate and consumption.

Do you think that's the case even for someone with light usage? I thought it was a great idea at first, but maybe the specific unit isn't very good. It's not very well insulated so my boiler is having to work frequently to maintain the temperature in the store. It's costing over £2 per day to maintain the hot water store and all it's really used for is to heat water for a couple of showers per day.

 

[chris watkins]

If you are not using the heating side of the store then it isn't going to be very efficient I am afraid just doing Hot Water but the boiler shouldn't be firing all the time, so maybe something wrong.
You can't adjust the temperature of the stored water in the store which should be at least 70deg C to allow the good hot water production. It will be what ever the boiler stat is set to produce, which is why Users Instructions say make sure it is on max.
However the BoilerMate should switch the boiler off when it gets up to temperature & not switch it back on until a good quaintly of the stored heat has been used so that the boiler runs for a longer time without cycling on & off.
At least that is my understanding of how they work.
Insulation is worth adding to pipes & around the store if you can.

 

[garygvl]

I'd prefer a thermal store any day to a combi. Sadly misunderstood by most and therefore not used correctly or ousted due to lack of knowledge. Thermal store far outstrips the hot water performance of any combi boiler both on flow rate and consumption.

not when your heat source is an ideal classic

 

[garygvl]

The boiler definitely is on the highest setting and it has been since we moved in. I took the cover off the Boilermate and I can't find any way to specify a temperature setting. Whatever temperature it's set on though is enough to heat up the tap water to a good temperature.

Do you think that's the case even for someone with light usage? I thought it was a great idea at first, but maybe the specific unit isn't very good. It's not very well insulated so my boiler is having to work frequently to maintain the temperature in the store. It's costing over £2 per day to maintain the hot water store and all it's really used for is to heat water for a couple of showers per day.

the store setting should be 70c and it should let the store back to 60c before firing the boiler again to top up the store. these are preset on the pcb but it is supposed to change these slightly to accomodate the boiler max temp. as youve taken off the front cover of the boilermate and had a look youll see there is no knob to set temps. if you download the full manual it tells you how to see store settings using sw1 and sw2 on the pcb. it shows you how to view current store temp, max store temp setting and temp store should refire boiler again

 

[Allgoode]

I have one which is 20yr old & still going strong.
As previously mentioned in another post powered by a potterton suprima (was a pile of crap until potterton sorted out issues with boiler).
As long as your boiler mate has had a regular clean/flush & treatment then you should have no real issues & the bonus of potable hot & cold water through the house.
Make sure you insulate the pipework in airing cupboard though as you will lose a lot of heat there,
Hope this helps,
Andy

 

[Vee]

not when your heat source is an ideal classic

There is no reason the boiler could not be updated and thereby efficiency improved without removing the thermal store.

 

[Zippymark]

Were you giving monthly readings prior to the smart start being fitted? It could be that the previous bill was partly estimated/averaged for the year and now you're paying what you actually used that month? I've had a couple of people say their bill went up immediately after having a smart meter fitted and I think this is the reason.

 

[Stu-B]

i've got a boiler mate Ov, powered by a potterton promax, its the same type of thermal store but smaller than the boilermate2000, been running for 15years no hassles at all.
If i were you i'd change gas suppliers or at least look into your bill structure, those nasty energy companies have a habit of upping your costs when you're out of your tariff

 

[smulx]

I was giving monthly reading to my gas supplier, so there's definitely no issue with incorrect estimated usage. Their prices aren't that bad either as I'm currently on a fixed tariff; it's just the amount that I'm using that's the issue. My most recent bill was £45 for gas and the heating hasn't been on once.

Someone mentioned trying to add insulation. How would I go about this? Not much of the pipes are exposed and it seems a lot of heat is being lost through the entire unit. The insulation inside must be quite poor. I attached a couple of pics show show how it looks.

 

[Harvest Fields]

But you are permanently heating the hot water mate. Sounds not far off to me.

 

[Stu-B]

The thermal store needs to be kept hot for the DHW pump to run, so you’ll be using gas that way, plus if your boiler is 20 years old it’ll not be as efficient as modern equivalent

 

[Allgoode]

Most of these systems will heave a timer for when you don't want the boiler to run.

E.G - Overnight during the small hrs when a noisy older boiler would wake you up by using the timer function it would not allow the boiler to fire up until maybe an hr before you got up for work.

That way you would get up, the hot water functionality would be at it's best & maybe have a nice warm house if the radiators kicked in.

Other option which is maybe a bit drastic is turn it all off at night but be aware that the PCB's can sometimes be a bit sensitive to constant power switching off/on.

If the system is that bad then other option is to replace with an alternative but make sure you have been made aware of different systems/setup's & there limitations.

Hope this helps,

Andy

 

[Mastermixlee]

Also another thing to note would don't base energy usage on £ value. Instead measure it as kwh usage on your bills or m3 as that is what will remain a constant. Otherwise its a very difficult thing to measure and accurately say the system is using more gas etc as it could be cost codes etc wrong on the energy supplier end.

Provided the meter isnt inaccurate (which could be tested by performing a gas rate check on the boiler and seeing if kW rating lines up) then I'd go off your previous reading you'd have on your statement and go off of real measurable usage rather than the costs alone.