Hello,
we have a somewhat complex problem and are currently unsure about what to do. Any experiences would be appreciated.
Our house is 23 years old, with a Buderus boiler and control system; the burner was recently replaced. In our living room, there was a kind of "thermostat" that was already broken when we bought the house. We naïvely accepted the sales advisor’s statement that it wasn’t needed and assumed that the heating could be controlled directly at the unit downstairs.
We suspect that something was set up about 23 years ago, after which no one cared about this thermostat, and eventually, it just broke. The water may be a bit cooler, and our bathroom radiator never really gets warm despite bleeding and unblocking. Otherwise, everything is fine for us. When my husband goes into the living room around 7 a.m., it’s still a bit cool, but absolutely okay, and when I come home in the afternoon, it’s warm in there. So far, so good.
Now, we have rented out our granny flat to a young woman for 8 weeks. There is only one heating circuit. Due to her work, she gets up at 4:30 a.m. This was not a problem before, but since last weekend it seems that the flat is freezing cold when she gets up in the morning. Previously, according to her, this was different, and the heating was running in the morning. Now it isn’t anymore. She feels cold and wants this changed, which I can understand.
Today, a technician was here. The problem is: this control unit is broken. The heating is set to something, the sensor is located outside on the north side, but exactly what was set can no longer be read or changed.
The young woman now wants the heating to be set so that it is warm at 4:30 a.m.
Because we have only one circuit, we cannot separate the systems for the granny flat and the main house. This means we would have to set it so that the radiators start heating at 4:30 a.m. for ourselves as well. This makes no sense for us—no one here gets up before 6:30 a.m., the children get up about an hour later, and we may not be as sensitive to cold.
But to do this at all, a new controller is needed. These parts from 25 years ago are no longer available today—you can get “refurbished” ones from various online shops for around 300 euros, but whether we can still set those ourselves is questionable.
The alternative would be a completely new heating control system, which would cost about 1500 euros; a binding offer will be made. That is certainly even more expensive 🙂
For us personally, everything is basically fine, so this is a lot of money. On the other hand, it may also not be very sensible if you have no way to adjust your own heating, and sooner or later, one might have to invest in this anyway?
we have a somewhat complex problem and are currently unsure about what to do. Any experiences would be appreciated.
Our house is 23 years old, with a Buderus boiler and control system; the burner was recently replaced. In our living room, there was a kind of "thermostat" that was already broken when we bought the house. We naïvely accepted the sales advisor’s statement that it wasn’t needed and assumed that the heating could be controlled directly at the unit downstairs.
We suspect that something was set up about 23 years ago, after which no one cared about this thermostat, and eventually, it just broke. The water may be a bit cooler, and our bathroom radiator never really gets warm despite bleeding and unblocking. Otherwise, everything is fine for us. When my husband goes into the living room around 7 a.m., it’s still a bit cool, but absolutely okay, and when I come home in the afternoon, it’s warm in there. So far, so good.
Now, we have rented out our granny flat to a young woman for 8 weeks. There is only one heating circuit. Due to her work, she gets up at 4:30 a.m. This was not a problem before, but since last weekend it seems that the flat is freezing cold when she gets up in the morning. Previously, according to her, this was different, and the heating was running in the morning. Now it isn’t anymore. She feels cold and wants this changed, which I can understand.
Today, a technician was here. The problem is: this control unit is broken. The heating is set to something, the sensor is located outside on the north side, but exactly what was set can no longer be read or changed.
The young woman now wants the heating to be set so that it is warm at 4:30 a.m.
Because we have only one circuit, we cannot separate the systems for the granny flat and the main house. This means we would have to set it so that the radiators start heating at 4:30 a.m. for ourselves as well. This makes no sense for us—no one here gets up before 6:30 a.m., the children get up about an hour later, and we may not be as sensitive to cold.
But to do this at all, a new controller is needed. These parts from 25 years ago are no longer available today—you can get “refurbished” ones from various online shops for around 300 euros, but whether we can still set those ourselves is questionable.
The alternative would be a completely new heating control system, which would cost about 1500 euros; a binding offer will be made. That is certainly even more expensive 🙂
For us personally, everything is basically fine, so this is a lot of money. On the other hand, it may also not be very sensible if you have no way to adjust your own heating, and sooner or later, one might have to invest in this anyway?
I have searched on Google, but I’m still not much wiser.
What we know:
There are no labels on the boiler itself indicating terms like constant temperature, low temperature, condensing boiler, or anything similar.
The chimney sweep said we don’t need to replace it (which, however, does not take into account that such a heating system might break down due to age and then repairs might no longer be cost-effective).
From my Google research, I read, among other things:
“A constant temperature boiler for oil or gas can be identified by the fact that its operating temperature remains consistently high. It also does not have an outdoor temperature sensor or a setting option for nighttime temperature reduction.”
I don’t know how a consistently high operating temperature is defined. If an outdoor temperature sensor means a “probe” like that, then we have one on the north side of the house near the entrance door. And even though we currently cannot make any new adjustments due to a defective control system, something was obviously set at some point. Because there definitely seems to be a nighttime temperature reduction; otherwise, the heating would not cool down at 4 a.m. at an outside temperature X.
Or am I mistaken?
Can you tell me which heating components are most likely to fail due to age, making repairs uneconomical?
The burner was just replaced, and we had the tanks cleaned. According to the chimney sweep (and some maintenance data?), the boiler is absolutely fine for now.
What we know:
There are no labels on the boiler itself indicating terms like constant temperature, low temperature, condensing boiler, or anything similar.
The chimney sweep said we don’t need to replace it (which, however, does not take into account that such a heating system might break down due to age and then repairs might no longer be cost-effective).
From my Google research, I read, among other things:
“A constant temperature boiler for oil or gas can be identified by the fact that its operating temperature remains consistently high. It also does not have an outdoor temperature sensor or a setting option for nighttime temperature reduction.”
I don’t know how a consistently high operating temperature is defined. If an outdoor temperature sensor means a “probe” like that, then we have one on the north side of the house near the entrance door. And even though we currently cannot make any new adjustments due to a defective control system, something was obviously set at some point. Because there definitely seems to be a nighttime temperature reduction; otherwise, the heating would not cool down at 4 a.m. at an outside temperature X.
Or am I mistaken?
Can you tell me which heating components are most likely to fail due to age, making repairs uneconomical?
The burner was just replaced, and we had the tanks cleaned. According to the chimney sweep (and some maintenance data?), the boiler is absolutely fine for now.
Dear @Mizit,
There are many people here ready to share their knowledge with you.
Maybe you should take some photos of the heating system and everything around it? Perhaps the guys can then give you more accurate advice.
I think 100 euros is not a huge amount if it helps to reduce the problem.
Of course, you don’t need a warm temperature from 4:30 a.m. onwards, but the fact is: the tenant needs it, whether on the ground floor or in the basement. So, 100 euros of rent go toward this device, with or without a warranty. Maybe the night setback temperature that is set and can’t be checked is just too low?
Give it a try 🙂
There are many people here ready to share their knowledge with you.
Maybe you should take some photos of the heating system and everything around it? Perhaps the guys can then give you more accurate advice.
I think 100 euros is not a huge amount if it helps to reduce the problem.
Of course, you don’t need a warm temperature from 4:30 a.m. onwards, but the fact is: the tenant needs it, whether on the ground floor or in the basement. So, 100 euros of rent go toward this device, with or without a warranty. Maybe the night setback temperature that is set and can’t be checked is just too low?
Give it a try 🙂
I’m currently on the ground floor and can’t leave right now – I’ll try to take a good photo in the basement later and maybe resize it to a format that can be posted here. Is there any trick to taking a photo with an iPhone and uploading it directly here? It always tells me the photo is “too large.”
Well, I’d say this: Like probably all new homeowners, we’ve already left significantly more in/on the house in the first few months than we originally planned. And once you start living in it, you quickly realize what you’d like more of or done differently. But we don’t have an endless budget. According to my husband, there’s no device costing around 100 euros, but more like 200–300 euros, and if it breaks after three weeks—well, it’s just an electrical appliance from the ’90s, so that’s simply bad luck.
Since we can’t control the main house and the granny flat separately, we’d also have to invest in several wireless thermostats so the heating doesn’t come on everywhere at 4 a.m. 4:30 a.m. isn’t early enough either, since she wants it warm by then, even in summer. The basement probably isn’t “warm” in summer either if you’re freezing at 21°C (70°F). There are still a few things to clarify with her because this heating behavior she wants can’t be covered by a flat fee as agreed. As landlords—at least in our minds—we aren’t willing to bear costs alone for an investment we don’t need.
Yesterday at an Easter party, we spoke with someone who knows a bit about heating systems, and everyone seems to think we’re crazy to pour so much money into a 23-year-old oil heating system.
We don’t know enough yet about questions like a gas boiler or other options, but buying a new heating system and equipping the whole house with wireless controls will cost us about 2,000 euros. If spending 10,000 euros or more is already where you start talking about a new gas system, that’s an enormous amount of money for us.
Well, I’d say this: Like probably all new homeowners, we’ve already left significantly more in/on the house in the first few months than we originally planned. And once you start living in it, you quickly realize what you’d like more of or done differently. But we don’t have an endless budget. According to my husband, there’s no device costing around 100 euros, but more like 200–300 euros, and if it breaks after three weeks—well, it’s just an electrical appliance from the ’90s, so that’s simply bad luck.
Since we can’t control the main house and the granny flat separately, we’d also have to invest in several wireless thermostats so the heating doesn’t come on everywhere at 4 a.m. 4:30 a.m. isn’t early enough either, since she wants it warm by then, even in summer. The basement probably isn’t “warm” in summer either if you’re freezing at 21°C (70°F). There are still a few things to clarify with her because this heating behavior she wants can’t be covered by a flat fee as agreed. As landlords—at least in our minds—we aren’t willing to bear costs alone for an investment we don’t need.
Yesterday at an Easter party, we spoke with someone who knows a bit about heating systems, and everyone seems to think we’re crazy to pour so much money into a 23-year-old oil heating system.
We don’t know enough yet about questions like a gas boiler or other options, but buying a new heating system and equipping the whole house with wireless controls will cost us about 2,000 euros. If spending 10,000 euros or more is already where you start talking about a new gas system, that’s an enormous amount of money for us.
B
Baumfachmann3 Apr 2018 00:00If I lived with you and was freezing, you would either have tenant protection involved or a lawyer on your case, plus a rent reduction.
Being stingy is not cool...
Being stingy is not cool...
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