*Klaxon for pigletjohn* Swapping timeswitch on vaillant boiler

[HeyMacWey]

Can I swap a timeswitch 130 for any of the other vaillant timeswitches?

It looks like they are just simple plug in and go.

Current one is on the blink so want to change it to one that's a bit more reliable on these cold mornings.

I've done it myself on my own boiler, and it was easy - as you say, plug in and go. I was in such a sweat about it but needn't have worried in the end!

Did you replace like with like our did it not matter? They seem to have brought out newer versions. I don't want a digital one though.

Like with like. Can't remember where I bought it, some online retailer for about £10-£15 I think. Not digital, it's another little clock one. And I just popped it right in and went "is that it?!"

Can I ask a really stupid question - where is the thermostat if the timeswitch is only for central heating on or off?

it should be screwed to the wall, preferably in the living room you use most (as long as there is not a stove or other major heat source there)

there are a few, usually very old, installations where there is no room stat. This is bad for economy and comfort.

Thank you PJ - how does it communicate with the boiler?

Usually with a cable.

You can get wireless ones, though IMO they are less reliable.

I don't have a thermostat. Just have the heating on for an hour in the morning and hour in the afternoon so not sure if it's worth having one as the heating isn't on for long enough to need to be regulated iyswim. Woodburner heats the house in the evening.
Do I need a thermostat? I'm prepared to be convinced of the benefits

a stat will bring your home to the temperature you want. So it will not be too cold, and it will not waste energy making it too warm. If you use a woodburner, it will automatically turn off the gas boiler when the room is up to temperature (although it is preferable to put the stat in a different room, then it will heat the other rooms to the desired temperature). Used with a timer, it can warm the house before you get out of bed in the morning.

If your home has never had a room stat, I deduce the CH must be very old, or formerly belonged to an old person who liked to turn the CH on and off like an electric fire.

If it did have one, which has broken, it is very easy and cheap to replace it.

More modern practice is to fit a programmable stat, which warms your house to different temperatures at different times or day and days of the week, should you so desire, to match your lifestyle.

I might get one fitted then. No sign of a stat anywhere.
When we moved in it had one boiler for heating and an immersion heater for hot water. Have since replaced with a combi boiler but didn't think about a room stat.

Honeywell CM907 is I think the best on the market. There are a small number of brands, some of them rather cheap, but I think Honeywell range of various programmable stats bears the others.

You could however get a simple dial one more cheaply.

Wireless ones go wrong more often.