Phenomenal gas usage from Vokera Linea boiler ?

[carl0s]

Please look at the videos. Is my gas meter spinning way too quickly??

Just got my first gas bill. £131.48 for ~39 days.

Because the boiler loses pressure when it's off, I have had it coming on periodically throughout the day & night. Perhaps this is bound to be expensive? I didn't think gas would be so dear.

Here is the gas meter with just the Vokera boiler is running:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqaJlU1eS30

and here it is with just my gas fire, turned on full, in the living room:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUPzU4SL5XE


Is that normal? Do I just need to ration more carefully?

 

[Agile]

Amazing how you can complain about gas consumption without describing your house!

A three bed semi with double glazing and good loft insulation will cost about 60p per hour to heat when its freezing outside.

Then there is hot water at about 90p per hour! Bit of cooking too!

Tony

 

[Phill Peck]

It's difficult to say as you normally measure a gas rate over a 2 min period but that's about 2.1m/hr which is about 24kw/hr

So if you have a lines 24 and you were running a hot tap then it is correct

But on your heating it should modulate down to around 10kw/hr

How were you testing?

 

[carl0s]

I was testing by running the hot water.

Perhaps my daily showers are too long? The shower runs from the normal water.

Gas is only used for water and central heating. Cooker is electric.

I have used 43 "units" since Monday. I think that equates to about 480kWh.
Does that sound excessive? This is a 2 bed semi with just me here.

 

[sandybeach]

A rough gas rate calculation shows that the boiler is burning about 22kw/hr net.

Thats about right for running a hot tap on a combi.

 

[carl0s]

Thanks.

I think my 43 units since Monday, is about £18. In 4 days. That's £135/month. Ouch. I can't cope with that.

 

[patsmotors]

£135.00 in a month,you lucky mother ****er.
dont worry soon there will be a drought and you will not be able to use hot water.

 

[Phill Peck]

So we're u running hot water or heating

 

[carl0s]

So we're u running hot water or heating

As said above, during the testing in that video I was running hot water, so it appears to be running about right. I'm just not sure how I can be using so much gas. I have the boiler on a timer cycling on/off, with an average overall of 1/3rd on and 2/3rd off, i.e. 8hrs on per 24hrs. I have now amended this.

 

[carl0s]

£135.00 in a month,you lucky mother ****.
dont worry soon there will be a drought and you will not be able to use hot water.

I don't follow.

 

[carl0s]

so, by the sound of it, using hot water is very expensive.
I have quite quite a few baths and showers lately, and when I am having a bath, it takes quite some time to fill. I guess this will cost a bomb?

 

[muggles]

Yes, baths will use a lot of gas to heat, if you want to reduce gas consumption take a shower

 

[MeterMonkey]

As you say its your first bill, Please check with your supplier that you are being charged at a metric rate and not an imperial rate.

Metric - 5 dials, like the kromschroder you have in place.
Imperial - 4 dials.

from what i can make out in the video. The serial number of the meter installed previously looks like an imperial meter. Yet the previous reading is 5 digits long.

Please post the information of the old meter and old reading.

 

[carl0s]

As you say its your first bill, Please check with your supplier that you are being charged at a metric rate and not an imperial rate.

Metric - 5 dials, like the kromschroder you have in place.
Imperial - 4 dials.

from what i can make out in the video. The serial number of the meter installed previously looks like an imperial meter. Yet the previous reading is 5 digits long.

Please post the information of the old meter and old reading.

Except.. I have apparently used about 300 "units".

You maybe on to something here.
Their online system would not let me enter my gas meter reading, so I had to ring them.
The previous bill they had sent me was an estimate, and it was underestimated to about a third of what it should be. Looking at the numbers on the bill I expected the gas portion to increase from £15 (their underestimated figures) to about £35.
Instead it's come over as £135.
Although their online system does show my gas meter serial number..

I'll ring them. Fingers crossed - thanks.

What do you mean when you say the serial number of the meter installed "previously"? Do they retain the old serial numbers when they are replaced or something?

 

[carl0s]

I used 290 units in the 39 days, so I'm afraid the charges are correct.

I need to fix the boiler.

I stopped it cycling on/off last night, and this morning it has failed due to pressure loss. It only loses pressure when not fired-up for a number of hours which is why I had it cycling on for 15 minutes every hour during the night and working day (roughly). These are times when I would rather have it switched off.

The diverter valve also seems to be failed - I have it set for hot water only, yet my radiators just got hot when I had a shower. This also means that the pre-heat function is warming up the radiators and using up more fuel.

I guess I'm going to start by ordering the diverter valve service kit, and take things from there. I have water leaking out of the filler-loop. I'm about to post a separate thread about that and would appreciate any advice if you have it.

Thanks very much.
Carl