Stupid question about radiators

[BabCNesbitt]

If you have the central heating on timed, are radiators meant to be hot during the whole of the 'on' period? Or is it normal for them to heat up and then go back to frigid? I'm a SAHM and so I have the heating on from half eleven to half two, but they've been cold for the last 45 minutes or so. They do go on sometimes during the day, but it's never consistently warm the whole time. Is that normal?

We rent this place, and until recently I was living in another country with central air heating, so I've forgotten how radiators are meant to work!

If the temp on the thermostat is reached then the rads will go off for a while. They'll go back on if the temp drops below that on the thermostat.

So I know this is a "how long is a piece of string?" question, but what would the thermostat need to be set at to stop it shutting off for an hour? (They're back on now, but were stone cold for an hour.) I have the thermostat at 75C!

You'll probably just have to experiment with the thermostat. Unless it's broken (which is not impossible of course) then it will be shutting them off when it is 25C (I'm assuming 75 is a typo...). But if it is in a warm place in your house, then that doesn't tell you how warm other parts are. If they've put it right above a radiator, or next to the oven, or on a sunny spot on the wall, it might think the temperature is fine, while you're freezing in another part of the same room.

If it really does say 75, then it must be fahrenheit, which would most likely mean it's really old.

75 isn't a typo - it really does say that on the boiler, in Celsius. It's right on the wall between the back door and kitchen window, but no direct sunlight. It's a Vaillant Eco-something, if that means anything to anyone?

Is that 75C on the boiler (ie heat the water to this temp) or on the heating thermostat? (heat the room to this temp)

If its on the boiler check the heating thermostat.

It it is on the heating thermostat turn it dow nthen check your radiators.

Do you have thermostatic valves on them?

These will turn of the radiators when the room reaches the temperature set on them. Ignoring the temperature on the heating thermostat.

Adjust this up if the room is cold. Turn to max if you want your radiators to pump out heat for as long as the heating is on.

picture of thermostatic radiator valves?

www.google.co.uk/search?q=thermostatic+radiator+valves&safe=off&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=923&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=ZDU9VJnzL8aC7gbQ2oHYCw&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAg

We don't have large dials on the radiators like that - just the old style small ones. I'm sorry for being dense, but I'm not sure where the thermostat is! I'm guessing it's in the boiler unit? There's an LCD panel on the front of the boiler with buttons below that allow us to alter the temperatures for both the water and the radiators - the water is set at 60C and the radiators are set at 75C.

The 75C sounds as if that is the temperature of the water in your heating system. This is not the same as the room / air temperature. Somewhere in your home will be a small box on the wall with the thermostat on it. This is what you need to find.

The radiators will be turning themselves off when the thermostat reaches whatever temperature it is set at.

All the thermostat boxes I have seen are a cream colour and often in the hall or landing area, so that might help your search.

You also need to ensure that all of your radiators have any individual controls set to high.

our thermostat is on the wall in the hall - ours is set to around 18 degrees at the moment. Ours is a dial that you turn although some people have a digital one

Aha, that makes more sense! OK, I've found that (it's in the kitchen) and it was set at about 17 degrees. It's nowhere near a radiator, though, so I don't know why it was cutting out for so long. I've turned it up a couple of degrees now. This house is damp and riddled with draughts, though, so maybe I'd be better off just buying a slanket instead.

OP - everyone is assuming there is a room thermostat somewhere which monitors the temperature and transmits that info to the boiler. There might not be one, simple as that. We never had one in our old house until we had a new boiler fitted and I believe room thermostats became mandatory for new boiler installations after a certain date. Our current house doesn't have one either.

Before your tenancy started, a gas safety check should have been carried out on any gas appliances in the house/flat. Was it and do you know whether the boiler was serviced at the same time? It might need servicing.

I think you need PigletJohn to advise on what to do here to see whether you can sort things.

X post with the OP. The thermostat might have been set to 17 degrees to stop the heating coming on needlessly in Summer.

17 degrees is actually quite cold, so it would make sense that they are cutting out, I'd feel chilly at 17 degrees, so as soon as the room gets up to that temperature, they're going off. Stick it at 22 and see if you notice a difference, if you're too hot turn it down. But 21/22 is about right for sitting around at home.

You want the radiator temp and/or individual controls set lower (75 is probably ok, though) and the thermostat higher if you want it on all the time.

In a modern and well insulated house you can probably get away with the thermostat at around 18-19C, but draft houses seem to need the thermostat set much higher, I'd start at 23 and work downwards from there.

I think your questions have been answered now.
When the area at the thermostat reaches temperature it turns the boiler off.
17 is cold so of course your house was cold, turn it up and adjust until it works for you.

What stood out for me is why didn't your land lord or agent explain or provide info on how to use your heating. I know they often don't but I think they should.

75 is about normal for the water running around the inside of the rads as it leaves the boiler but many people will have it set to a lot lower, especially with a modern boiler.

I was warm until i read thus thread, my thermostat was at 17, had to turn it up now to stop shivering

as it is a rental help is at hand. Your landlord should have left you instructions for the boiler and heating, and as noted if it is gas-fired it should be checked annually.

perhaps radiators need bleeding? Perhaps something else is wrong? Perhaps you just need to be shown how to use it which is not unreasonable.

anyway, contact the landlord and ask.

Thanks, everyone, for explaining. The landlady did show us what everything was, but we were arriving in the house after travelling for 28 hours with no sleep so we weren't best placed to follow what she was telling us!

I spent the last ten years in a house with no controllable heating. I have got so used to being cold that I now have my thermostat set at 17.

It's odd to have the thermostat in the kitchen as the temperature there is far more variable. Still, as others have said turn it up until you are happy with the ambit temperature of the house then turn it back until it clicks.

17 will definitely feel chilly in a damp and draughty house, so you'll need to experiment with what setting makes things feel acceptable to you. And the kitchen is a bad place for the thermostat, as it will get hot if you have the oven on and shut off the radiators, leaving the rest of the house to get cold. But with a rental that's probably just something you'll need to find ways to live with.

At least you know what you're dealing with now!

just ask the landlady again.