gas cutting my bill?

[lilly153]

I no its not really a lone parent question but posted it on the money matters forum and didn't have much luck can any of use have a quick look and see if u can help me out
Thanks

I have a pre pay meter and im currently spending atleast £80 per month i need to cut this down big time
i have GCH and my hot water is heated by gas

now i have a little timer box ive set all this up (even resetted it) all the lights click on and off when they are supposed to but my actualy heating and hot water dont go off the just stay on all the time now i have a switch next to this meter (which i did think was to heat hot water but this is on 24/7 yet the min i turn this off i dont have any hot running water what so ever)
i also have a little thermostat box in my living room that controls temp of heating i think this is usually set at 18 i have tried turning it down to 16 but my house ends up freezing as heating hardly ever comes on with it

I have a two bedroom house just me and 3 year old living in it

ive included some picture link of my timer box and what i think may be an emersa switch

can anybody tell me is this an emersa switch if so how do i not have any hot water after ive switched it off i only have hot water when this is on

if i turn it off will it save me money and i could just turn it on an hour before i need hot water and leave it on while im using the water

sorry bout the long post just need to get this sorted asap and im scared to turn the switch off incase its not even an emersa switch and i end up causing damage to something

thank in advance for any help

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Do you have a plumber/ heating friend who could come and have a look for you? It sounds to me like maybe the 3way port is stuck in the open position, meaning nothing ever switches off. The 3 ways are just heating, just hot water or all on. It's only a guess though as this happened to us (we're on oil though). My DH is a heating engineer. I will ask his opinion later this afternoon when I see him and come back to you.

God that is high

If you have a technical question suggest the handyman forum, do a search.

The photo links do not work for me

Do you have a shower or do you take baths?

I set my water to come on for 30 min in the morning which gives me warm water for washing, in the morning and in the evening for one hour.

surprised the heating goes off at 16 I have mine sat at 16 during the day and 20 at night

I suppose you can not go onto billing, that save you a lot

Hi lilly153, have now spoken to DH.

He tried to look at your pics but they seem to have been deleted.

Offhand he says get an electrician to look at the 3-port valve As a heating engineer, DH would call out an electrician)as he thinks it could be stuck on. If so, this could certainly use much more gas than you need to and will be the reason its costing you a fortune. The gas bill for a 2 bed house, even on a prepay meter, should not be anywhere near as high as you are paying.
Once you have had the system checked. Go online to moneysupermarket.com and look at changing your tariff. Even if there's a debt to pay off I bet you will find a cheaper one out there!

Offhand he says get an electrician to look at the 3-port valve (As a heating engineer, DH would call out an electrician)as he thinks it could be stuck on.

Sorry the sentence made no sense first time

sorry wrong links to images

i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee451/lilly153/IMG00136-20110202-1706.jpg

i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee451/lilly153/IMG00133-20110202-1706.jpg

i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee451/lilly153/IMG00132-20110202-1705.jpg

when im switching the switch off (ON THE THING I THOUGHT WAS MY AMMERSA SWITCH) its turning that little box off the one were i set the timer ect...
i cant afford to get anybody out and dont no anybody and my estate agents wouldnt even send somebody out to fix my sons room window that was leaking in water just sai it was the weather so not holding out much hope for this issue either

thanks ethelina and your dh, will definetly phone esate agents monday morning see if they can get somebody out to check it but wont get my hopes up

just a thought....is your pre payment meter set up to collect a weekly 'debt',as alot are?

yes but only £3.30 per week so bout £13 per month

I'm the same as you with a prepay meter and realised I was always cold yet spending a fortune on gas.

I did some research and it's firing up the gas in the first place that costs money. Once it's just ticking over and staying hot, it costs less. If you switch it off after a couple hours (to save money) then have to put it back on again later on - you're spending MORE money than you would have done if you'd just left it on during that time!

I did an experiment over a week and left the gas SWITCHED ON! I ignored the timer settings and just put it to permanently on, and used the thermostat to control the setting. It saved a small fortune AND my house was roasty toasty!

I turn it DOWN when I go to bed or when there's nobody at home, then keep it at around 21C the rest of the time. I spend less than half of what you're spending on gas :-)

Not sure what your switch is for, but obviously controls your hot water. The only separate switch I have is for my shower that runs off the electric. What has your landlord said? I assume you rent!

For some reason my pre-payment meter has an account of £87 in credit!

I'd change supplier and get it ripped out.

If the letting agent doesn't get someone out call shelter or cab cos you need help ascerting your Rights.

well my hot water and heating stopped working on friday night again so i remembered last time this happened plumber man gave me his number n said just to call him coz estate agens are so rubbish (plumbers sister in law owns my flat)
anyways while they were hear i asked them to check it out
i have a combi boiler that works in away the it only takes gas when i turn my hot tap on if that makes any sence so doesnt actually use any gas till i turn my hot tap on as for heating this is just controlled by the thermostat in my living room
i asked how my bill was so dear then but he just said everybodys bills were so dear lately
he also said my little timer box doesnt actualy do anything so just switch it off

i must admit i do leave my heating on pretty much 24/7 so will do my big top up tomoz when i get paid £80 and everytime i go out to college in the morning or indeed shops ect if im going to be out for the full day im going to turn my thermostat down (if i remember) to zero wich apparently burns no gas n see how this works out

thanks ladies for your help and info