no heating

[short1]

any advise on heating please, we have a very old parkray backboiler system that does not work since we moved in June this year, it does not have a emersion so we have no hot water either.
We own the home.
Have tried grant schemes but keep getting refused as house already has sufficient roof insulation and external installation.
We get universal credit , I get pip and husband gets carers allowance.
My condition is worse in cold weather and its going to be a struggle.

Council wont help as need to be living in the house for a year before they will help with loan or similar, tried CAB nothing given has come through, tried age UK again none of there suggestions have progressed, Wrote to local MP got nowhere all information they sent has already been exhausted.

Have you had anyone in to look at the boiler to see if it can be fixed?

Looks like any grants available are to fit an air source heat pump boiler. Could you get a boiler and pay monthly installments instead? British gas offers interest free credit on boilers

British Gas would come out and give you advice without any obligation to buy. Getting a new boiler and paying it up might be an option?

Get back to the CAB, you will have a caseworker and they can chase up the grants etc.

Try Turn2us, there may be cash you are entitled to.

The council may have a "household support" or "local welfare scheme" .

Can you contact a company to fix it and arrange to pay it in installments?

Check out charities for your illness, they may provide grants.

Can you sell anything to raise money on Vinted or eBay?

A heated throw costs a few pence a day and would keep you warm.

Hi
thanks for replies , im currently searching for someone who could possibly repair but not many even know what the system is as its that old.
I have tried for heat pump but again as no insulation needed they say its not within the criteria of the grants.
As far as im aware British Gas wont look at it as its not electric or gas its coal and they dont deal with it.

username3678 thanks will try that.

No problem. Here's Check a Trade. You can find someone in your area to fix it and negotiate repaying in installments.

As you own the home you need to pay you are responsible for this..get interest free pay in installments
Do you have a mortgage? Can you increase term and get a?secured loan?

Try grants like family fund for low income

Boxt boilers also do monthly pay plans.

cestlavielife as I cant work right now its not possible to get loan or extend mortgage due to no funds. thanks for replying though.

Can you at worse take mortgage holidays to get the funds to pay for new one before winter fully hits?
Was it working when you bought and stopped right after?

OP, ring your local chimney sweep and ask if they are aware of anyone local who can provide a service.

Back boilers are pretty basic systems, the flue will need sweeping and the boiler itself needs checking, plus the water supply. It will all probably need a good clean.

Something to look at thanks, was told working but was barely, when we lit it the smoke filled the room initially , which if a worry and the radiators only got luke warm , water did not heat at all. We have no tried it since.

Meadowfinch thanks I will try that option didnt think of doing that.

Op, sounds like your flue is blocked (jackdaws nest?) Start with getting the chimney swept. Should cost about £75 depending on where you are.

Really old backboilers still working today are in most cases extremely inefficient so getting it fixed may not be a great idea. Ex and I had a Baxi Bermuda back boiler installed in 1985. In 2021 when he died it was still working but the gas bills were eye watering.

How are you managing without hot water? I had none for a week recently and it drove me mad, having to boil the kettle all the time.

In the short term I'd concentrate in getting the boiler working. Put a post on your local FB group, see if anyone can recommend and engineer for this type of boiler.

In the long term, sounds like you'll have to save up for a new boiler.

OP you say you moved in June, did this not come up as part of surveys etc? If buying unfortunately you do need to allow some money for this sort of thing, its part and parcel of being a homeowner.
What was your plan for the boiler - it must have been apparent when buying the property that it was very old and would need replacing pretty soon?

Freshersfluforyou , yes to replace at a later date , sadly sooner than expected . Im only asking for suggestions to see if ive covered everything. thanks for the reply

Is a parkray like a stove? If so get the chimney swept, then when you light it, it needs to be all opened up at the top to make sure the smoke can go up the chimney - and you need to look at what you are burning. Don't burn anything wet or damp. Wood needs to have been properly dried ie kiln dried or dried outside for 6-12 months depending on type of wood. Get smokeless coal - although this won't mean it doesn't smoke at all! Have the windows open a little while you light it.

We have a rayburn from the 50's that works perfectly and heats our water, it's amazing. We don't have radiators off it unfortunately though. How long did you leave the fire going for? You'd need to give it a decent amount of time to heat water and radiators and you'd need to keep it in at night so you'd definitely be wanting coal. Also do the radiators need bleeding?

I think you need to do all of the above and then give it another go and keep it in with coal for a few days at least, day and night (takes a bit of practise to know how much coal with keep it in from last thing at night till first think in the morning) and see if it works then. As I say ours in from the 50's and it's built to last, it's the hot water tank and chimney liner that go every 10 or so years.

Disc0mbobulated yes boiling kettle and we have a little electric camper type shower temporarily , not ideal but making do.
Will sort eventually im sure , its good to ask as never know some suggestions to the solutions from others.
thanks for replying

Jessie1259
I am looking at getting it cleaned and serviced see if that sorts it till we are in a better place to replace. Thanks for replying and all the suggestions I will have a search to see if any options near me.

In the meantime, I really recommend getting a glass panel heater. You only need to put it on for twenty minutes or so and it will heat up an entire room by a few degrees. They're amazing.

That, plus an electric blanket throw to have over you should keep you warm enough to help your condition.

Ok, so it’s a solid fuel stove that has a back boiler? As others have said, your first port of call should be a sweep, they will be able to check the chimney/ flue and give you advice.

Most solid fuel stoves are very basic and you can go online, look up your model (or phone the manufacturer, most are v long term businesses) then order replacement parts and just fit them yourself- basic consumables that need replacing from time to time are generally easy to swap out.

We live in a house heated entirely by our solid fuel Rayburn (hot water and warms the air, we don’t have any radiators in the house and can’t afford to fit them). As someone said above, the thing with solid fuel heating is that you need to keep it running pretty much 24hrs/day, and it takes a good 24hrs for your house to get noticeably up to temperature.

Depending on the size of your house, you might well get through a 20kg sack of smokeless fuel every couple of days in cold weather - if money is tight, you might want to consider if you can afford it before shelling out for a sweep etc….

If you’re not on mains gas at all, there are a number of different grant and loan schemes available - see this link : https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/find-energy-grants-for-you-home-help-to-heat