Need advice, heating broken - do we do hotel?

Home emergency cover (boiler not working emergency accommodation costs) is a bolt on to my home insurance policy, covered by separate underwriter they told me that claims on that don’t need to be declared and won’t effect renewal quote. It’s worth checking if yours is the same. Obviously if leaky radiator has caused damage you may need to claim on home insurance policy.

It might also be worth considering booking a room and skipping along for breakfast / hot showers. I did this when our water supply stopped and needed repairs. I cut a deal with a local hotel. We ( the insurance company) paid full rate for a twin room but we didn’t stay just rocked up to have showers etc but for five people rather than two. It lasted for three eeeks. As we weren’t staying they let us save up all the breakfasts and have them on the weekend.

You could all go out early and have breakfast in a cafe before school/work

Oh, well. I was basing my answer on my 30+ year old conventional boiler. Things have clearly moved on and I stand corrected!

It's okay, I got corrected on a couple of points too, apparently there's all sorts out there in the world of heating systems!

We had heating issues awhile ago and electric blankets (under sheet or the fleecy ones that you put over you) were fab! Use them instead of heating some days!

I grew up in a house without heating too. Flipping tough in the tropics in 30 degrees every day.

Back to a q you asked about premiums. IME, Home Emergency cover is separate to your insurance premiums (and is often actually run by a different company) so doesn't affect your main insurance premium.

Oh, well. I was basing my answer on my 30+ year old conventional boiler. Things have clearly moved on and I stand corrected!

Yes, you are right. I recently changed boilers from conventional to combi. it is only combis that need the pressure topping up.

I had a system with a hot water cylinder and an expansion tank and it had a pressure guage/way of topping pressure up.

Our heating goes off at dinner time too.

I also grew up in a house without central heating and no heating upstairs.

electric blankets and suck it up for sure.

We are the same . A new part for the heating isn't arriving until Friday . Dh is worried about the pipes freezing in the loft so we have the hatch open in the garage with a oil filled radiator on underneath it to protect it all a bit out there.
No little ones in the house , but expect to wake up to a chilly house .

Their point is one day without heating is hardly cause to move out into a hotel, or even starting an MN thread! It happens to everyone at some point or the other.

Yes, you are right. I recently changed boilers from conventional to combi. it is only combis that need the pressure topping up.

Blimey, you can barely move for the supercilious posts on here. Maybe all those very proud of their many years without central heating could start a Four Yorkshiremen thread specifically to reminisce?

When our boiler broke British Gas gave us a couple of fan heaters. Also we asked friends and family if anyone had an oil filled radiator we could borrow. You will survive though, hiuses didn't have cental heating when I was little.

I've looked it up - all the systems I have used have a header/expansion tank in the loft. They do not have pressure gauges on the boiler. They don't need topping up or adjusting.

Yes, unless there's some reason why the pressure can't be topped up, this is absolutely just normal boiler household maintenance 101.

If it's at 0 it's likely that it's maybe been low for a long time if they don't know how to top it up (or that they even had to). Or could be a leak but it would be a hell of a leak if you couldn't get one night out of topping it up!

I’m baffled why so many people are suggesting she goes and buys heaters, or pays for a hotel and the many other suggestions, rather than just increasing the pressure in 30 seconds like a few of us have suggested!

we had no heating for two weeks two years ago - it went on Christmas day 🥶and because of public holidays it took as days to get someone out, then the new year holiday made it difficult to get parts.
but we survived - lots of clothes, so leggings under jeans, t shirt, long sleeve tops, jumper then a cardigan - it felt a bit like that episode of Friends where Joey wears all his clothes!
but we also bought and borrowed some oil filled plug in radiators, had old duvets and blankets on the sofa to snuggle under and we survived...
we did at least still have hot water, as it was the pump that took it from the tank to the radiators that broke, so could wash.
got it fixed, then two months later the hot water went 🙄
we're getting a whole new heating system installed first week of december- but the company doing that promise to keep you warm while the work is being done 🤞

Yes I was going to suggest this too.

Or if you have a heated airer I'd turn that on to generate some heat.

We had a shitty boiler that we were trying to get through another winter with at one point, so we had electric blankets and an oil filled radiator with a built in fan heater, so instant heat and then a reliable heat source. We also bunked down in one room, the children saw it as an adventure luckily.

Now you know it can happen you can prepare for the possibility of the next time.

I've had gas boilers all my life and not one of them was the pressurised type.

I don't think this is possible.
It's the pressure in the closed water system in your central heating pipes. I promise you it's there.

I've had gas boilers all my life and not one of them was the pressurised type.

Big difference between not having the central heating on overnight and being in a house that hasn't been heated for a a few days.

That said I would suck it up for the sake of one night. It's depressing though.

Our house is freezing and the heating is working. The hotel may not be very warm either.