BOILER TIMER SWITCHMASTER 900 CONTROL REPLACEMENT DILEMMA

[Wolverine747]

Dear All,

I recently had a fault with my Boiler Timer Control which stopped working and which was an old electro-mechanical Switchmaster 900.

As I have a British Gas Homeserve 400 Insurance cover, I called out their gas boiler engineer and he advised that the timer control was indeed knackered and required replacing but did not stock the old Switchmaster 900 anymore but would be able to replace it with a similar device that was brand new and supplied by British Gas.

To cut a long story short – Naively I agreed but after having it fitted, the switch is a very plain white plastic replacement and it only fits horizontally where my old switch fitted vertically hence I now have a not very nice gap above the switch.

Furthermore, the switch is designed in such a way that if you put the Central Heating on then this also heats up the Hot water so whereas before I could independently decide to have one or the other on without effecting either, with this new model by British Gas I don’t have a choice with the regards the Hot Water if I choose to put the Central Heating controls on as it also switches the Hot Water on and ends up being boiling hot.

My dilemma and questions are as follows:-

Q1. Will this now increase my Gas bill astronomically? Especially during the winter periods as my heating could be on for a minimum of between 2-5 Hours during the day when I’m at home ?

Q2. If so, can anyone suggest a better option which I can purchase to now replace this version with, that would allow both my Central Heating and my Hot Water to work independent of each other and without effecting each other ?

Q3. Is it more expensive to heat the hot water separately ? Since in the past with my old Timer Control, I only had to leave the Hot Water switched on for ½ Hour Maximum and the water was boiling hot hence during the day the Hot water switch was only turned on for this amount of time in the mornings mainly when getting ready for work and to have a shower.

View media item 75176
I have also attached a picture of the new British Gas model for your viewing above and if anyone would like to share their knowledge regarding my problem after now seeing the photo attached please do so as unfortunately I am afraid to admit that I am a complete novice when it comes to DIY and hence all thoughts & comments on this matter are greatly received.

Thanks
Wolverine747

 

[wyseass]

Dear All,

I recently had a fault with my Boiler Timer Control which stopped working and which was an old electro-mechanical Switchmaster 900.

As I have a British Gas Homeserve 400 Insurance cover, I called out their gas boiler engineer and he advised that the timer control was indeed knackered and required replacing but did not stock the old Switchmaster 900 anymore but would be able to replace it with a similar device that was brand new and supplied by British Gas.

To cut a long story short – Naively I agreed but after having it fitted, the switch is a very plain white plastic replacement and it only fits horizontally where my old switch fitted vertically hence I now have a not very nice gap above the switch.

Furthermore, the switch is designed in such a way that if you put the Central Heating on then this also heats up the Hot water so whereas before I could independently decide to have one or the other on without effecting either, with this new model by British Gas I don’t have a choice with the regards the Hot Water if I choose to put the Central Heating controls on as it also switches the Hot Water on and ends up being boiling hot.

My dilemma and questions are as follows:-

Q1. Will this now increase my Gas bill astronomically? Especially during the winter periods as my heating could be on for a minimum of between 2-5 Hours during the day when I’m at home ?

Q2. If so, can anyone suggest a better option which I can purchase to now replace this version with, that would allow both my Central Heating and my Hot Water to work independent of each other and without effecting each other ?

Q3. Is it more expensive to heat the hot water separately ? Since in the past with my old Timer Control, I only had to leave the Hot Water switched on for ½ Hour Maximum and the water was boiling hot hence during the day the Hot water switch was only turned on for this amount of time in the mornings mainly when getting ready for work and to have a shower.

View media item 75176
I have also attached a picture of the new British Gas model for your viewing above and if anyone would like to share their knowledge regarding my problem after now seeing the photo attached please do so as unfortunately I am afraid to admit that I am a complete novice when it comes to DIY and hence all thoughts & comments on this matter are greatly received.

Thanks
Wolverine747

There may be a slide switch that you can select in the back of your new programmer that would allow 10 or 16 programs. It may be he has left it in the 10 programs mode.

 

[JohnD]

the programmer you show is capable of being set to fully pumped, with HW and CH coming on independently, depending on how your system is plumbed and controlled, and the wiring is done. There is a switch on the back.

is there a thermostat strapped to the hot water cylinder? What temperature is it set to? If not, please take a photo of the connection of the boiler pipes to the lower part of the cylinder, showing any thermostatic valve that might be fitted.

A photo of the pump, and the pipes going in and out of the pump, boiler and cylinder, and the three-port valve if you have one, would be very helpful.

What colour is the cylinder, and what insulation does it have?

 

[Wolverine747]

Hi JohnD,

Thank you for your reply to my Boiler Timer problem.

You mentioned in your reply that there is a switch on the back of my Timer which could possibly restore my Central Heating to come on without the Hot Water being heated at the same time.

Question 1: How do I get to the switch on the back of the Timer ?

Question 2: Is the Switch on the back easy to get too ?

Question 3: What setting do I put the switch on the back too, to have the
Central Heating come on independent of the Hot Water ?

Question 4: What type of settings is there on the back of the switch ? And How many settings does this Timer Control have which are available to me ?

All thoughts & comments on this problem are greatly received.

Thanks
Wolverine747