heating

What time do you turn your heating off ? Here in Petesake's ville it gets turned off at 10pm, Then I put a coat on until bedtime, Its not that I can't afford the gas, Its a balance of being comfortable and environmentally friendly as well as having in mind that, covid-19 seeks out the weak, So by keeping warm naturally you are building strength to fight the virus,
any thoughts ?

Me dad would have liked yoo

Next April. We never turn ours off in Winter. False economy as the ceiling from the hall to the bedrooms must be at least 16ft, high. Vast space to reheat if it gets cold.

My dad would have hated yoo

Posted by: broady (16028) View broady's page
Next April. We never turn ours off in Winter. False economy as the ceiling from the hall to the bedrooms must be at least 16ft, high. Vast space to reheat if it gets cold.

Ditto

31st Oct to 1st March give or take a week or two

1st October till it looks like it as stopped switching it self on, time set for (6.am to 11.am) then again (4pm to 9pm) can always over ride if need be all radiators thermostat controlled except the hall and thats the last to go off

People talk about the good old days but isn't it nice when you can switch on instant heat or turn it off when not needed? none of that trying to get the fire going in the morning, raking out the ashes or banking it up at night in the hope there would still be an ember in the morning! Love my radiators!!

I have two heating systems. All water and two attic radiators by combi boiler situated in the attic. The rest of the house heated by a warm air system, boiler situated in kitchen. I never actually turn warm off, simply turn thermostat to nought in summer. It is timed when on in winter running mode. Attic radiators not timed, turn off and on when required.

Mine goes off around ten. But I have no need to put any extra clothing on.
The place has loads of insulation and stays warm for quite a long time.
Thermostatic controlled radiators too. Keeping warm is important as you get older, so eating and heating is paramount to health, in my opinion.

Mine goes off at 8pm and during the day I switch it on/off as needed,the bedroom radiators have never been switched on

Mine neither Nana. No heating in the bedrooms, and always a window open just a crack.

I bet yoo two were in the Scouts when you were younger

Haha I was a Girl Guide many years ago

Turn the heating on when I get up and leave it on till I go to bed . Wall thermostat plus stats on every radiator.Not sitting with blankets or coats on,Too many people die from the cold because they think they cannot afford to heat their houses.

Kathpresseys reminder of fire care in the good old days made me think of paraffin heaters in outside loos, which in turn made me think, does anyone find the need to heat a detached garage.

Anne I used to hang a paraffin lamp in the garage just behind the door to help keep the frost away from the engine . Was easier to start without using the good old fashioned CHOKE

We have two systems, one room where the radio and tele is as two Baxi gas wall heaters, the rest of the house as normal central heating, the wall heaters are cheap to run and very effective, the central heating is switched on when needed.

So was I Nana. St. Cuthbert. Did the proper camping.
In a field, no toilet or showers, water drawn from a well and latrines a hole in the ground. We survived
Made from tough stuff back then.

I was Queens Hall jathbee

Forgot to say. Washing facilities was a bowl set in a wooden tripod, the tripod being sturdy sticks gathered from a nearby wooded area and cut to an even size.
Marched to mass on the Sunday into Landuddno and back again. Was a great adventure in those days.
You would have paraded on St. George's day then.

Combo boiler used daily for hot water and showers.. Give the heating a run for half hour every other week.
In my lounge multi fuel burner.
In my dining room/kitchen another.. All heat circulates to upstairs.. Mid terraced house.. Marvellous.

Billinge Biker

Yoo and me dad would have got on like a house on fire, he only put hot water on once a week

. Every year my boiler passes with flying colours. Every year BG put up the cost of a yearly service.

Was he a tad "careful" with the coins TTS.?

Tighter than a ducks bottom .....

When I was a kid our gas and leccy was always beggin, it was a rush to put a penny in to keep them on.

First mate why pay for a yearly service when you could just pay if and when it needs it. Should be between £50-£70

I have mine serviced mid july so as to be ready for winter.It costs 80 quid and for me its worth it to be ready for winter plus because im a regular customer if anything untowards happens they come out quickly.

I've had no central heating since September 2013. The service engineer came but condemned the boiler. A bit of a blow I suppose, but I manage, just like we did in the 50s as kids.

So, I turn on my electric fire in the living room when I start to feel cold and, as I'm on blood thinners, I do feel the cold more now than I used to, so for most part of the year I'm wearing jumpers, unless it's exceptionally hot like the lovely weather we've had this summer.

The rest of the house is freezing in winter, most especially my kitchen and bathroom, but what I do in the kitchen is light my gas oven and leave the door open for a couple of hours, and I warm up my bathroom with a little electric fan heater for half an hour before I take my showers and yes, I do remove the heater before running the water.

It's not cheap to run the electric - around £140 a month in winter, but I refuse to be cold. I have three double bedrooms but there's no point heating them all and I've never heated my bedroom, but always leave the window open a couple of inches, no matter how cold it gets.

When I am at work though, the central heating makes the atmosphere dry and as a result makes me cough so, when I'm off furlough, they won't be happy with me - for a while.

Our central heating goes on when it gets cold, and our immersion heater for hot water as never been off in the last ten years.
Somebody once told me that you must have money to burn by laving it switch on all the time, but thats not true because its like boiling a kettle of cold water for a cup of tea, leaving the immersion switched on, it only needs to come on for a few minutes to just keep the temperature of the water up.

Mollie M can you not apply for a FREE boiler under the new Govn,Scheme?

Mollie take Martin Lewis the money experts advice & apply for Green Homes Grant,you may get £5000 towards a new system

How to get a free boiler

My boiler packed in about a month ago, I fitted it in 2007. it cost me £370 at the time , I never serviced it and it had no problems till this year, 13 years of trouble free heating, Then it start to be troublesome, I could not get a free un, So I bought a new one, just short of £600, I expect to get at least 15 years from this one, That service malarkey is a con,

Still £370 seems like a little bit overprices. I've seen these things for about 300 eac. Hereyou can find someone to pay someone to write my essay Check it out

Only 13 years I got over 30 years New pump, New thermostat Blocked pipe, no Electrical parts to go wrong, I had the same one in the shed was only been used for two years if I could have got it changed over.
now paying £70 a year servicing as you have to have it in case anything goes wrong

sindi, £300 13 years ago would not get you a decent boiler, it wold get you a ravenheat or biasi and they would start to get faults while still in warrantee and a final life of 6 years, Mine was a Baxi, a good British boiler but, the lifetime of a modern boiler is 15 years,

Dougie, boilers put in when you was a lad last 40 years plus but, the boiler manufactures learned, service and repairs was the way to go, So they stopped making those boilers and scared everyone that, the new high efficient boilers needed to be fitted, So now the differance is here to be seen,
then, there was one boiler parts shop in Lancashire
now, there are hundreds and thousands of, so called engineers, because new boilers are a 'throw away ' item, the spare parts average £100 to buy and £250 to fit, Its a rip off industry, you did right Dougie to keep the old boiler for so long,

Over here your gas supplier has fitters on standby and if you have a problem they come out FOC. In Winter everything is a priority. I phoned them once around 6pm one day and they phoned to come and fix it at 5.30am next day. If there were children or someone with medical issues they would see to you first. You do have to pay for the parts.

Better than that broady , one Christmas eve about 4.00pm my heating and hot water both packed in yet the boiler was still working so no chance of getting anyone out, on the off chance I phoned TomPlum to ask him about it his reply was, Dougie cant see you without heating and hot water over Christmas and New year I'll pop round but will not be able to get parts if needed.
Bigger job than expected but he sorted it for me Remember Tom sorry can't find the video you made

dougie,
Never mind what Tonkers says Tomplum seems to be a good un.

Dougie you are so lucky to have a local plumber as a friend.

Started by: Arfur petesake (91)
What time do you turn your heating off ? Here in Petesake's ville it gets turned off at 10pm, Then I put a coat on until bedtime, Its not that I can't afford the gas, Its a balance of being comfortable and environmentally friendly as well as having in mind that, covid-19 seeks out the weak, So by keeping warm naturally you are building strength to fight the virus,
any thoughts ?

I think you are after business

After reading Mollie M's post is there anybody in the Wigan World forum that has a personal connection to her - who can make sure that she has read the helpful post about how to fix her heating and help her follow and work through its advice ? I am sure we would all hate it if in this day and age she would have to spend another winter without a boiler, especially with all the helpful people on WW.

Mick-- Tom is still a cyber friend and he's not a plumber now someone I could phone anytime, their are others I could call that I've met on here for a chat or ask anything

Government Free Boiler Scheme

I had forgotten all about this thread and, I’m so sorry not to have replied to the kind advice I was given but, here I am, 5 years later.

To reply to those who made suggestions the answer is yes, I did apply to get a free boiler under the Government Scheme, but no can do.

I’m sure this subject has cropped up again since 2020, but I’ll repeat what I replied then in case anyone missed it.

I can’t get a new boiler under any scheme, simply because I’ve never drawn any benefits from the Government. None at all, and that was the criteria , so I battle on! I did qualify for loft and cavity wall insulation, so at least I got something. Difference now is that, back then, my gas and electric was £140 a month, which was doable, but it’s now just under £300 a month.

Oh well, such is my luck!

That’s a lot Mollie.

It sure is, but I am, at the moment, in credit.

who reopens a thread that's over 4 years old?

Mollie said, "my gas and electric was £140 a month, which was doable, but it’s now just under £300 a month"

Retep1949, so rightedly pointed out, "That’s a lot Mollie."

To which Mollie answered, approvingly, "It sure is, but I am, at the moment, in credit."

So, Mollie, it follows that you aren't using £300 worth of gas and electric in a month so why are you giving them money for nothing?

I know, Tonker. Thing is, I'd rather keep it as it is for now so I can build up more credit over the coming months. For a while, I was in debit to the tune of around £500 which sent me into a spin, so I started to switch off one electric fire in my living room, and snuggled up with me owd sheepskin jacket. I was okay with that but, if you recall, last November my freezer had to work extra hard as it had completely frozen over, so I blame that for the problem in which I found myself, and I'm now starting to balance out again.

Oh, raaaaight!

Do try to keep in line with Approved Document L !

Approved document L states,

Tha might think tha cowd now but, unless thas getten a ticket to Hell, being dead is cowder than a step mothers kiss, Turn the heat on and let it run and if you're in debt, sod um,

And Gomorrah ! (The heat of the great anger of The Lord - Deuteronomy)

anyone know what happened to Arfur ?

Burram not cowd. I'm owt but at the moment.

Yea, a horse owner friend of mine says, The horses are shedding the winter coats and, that is a good sign that Winter is ending

On my way up Beech Hill Avenue going to work today, I spotted the start of daffodils just beginning to sprout up on the grass verges. No flowers as yet, but probably will by next week.

Posted by: tomplum (14112) View tomplum's page
anyone know what happened to Arfur ?

i think one mon forgot to change names

First time central heating grants

Jame, I know you're just trying to help, and thank you for that. I don't qualify for the Qualifying Benefits for a grant, as I don't meet any of that criteria, and I did previously have central heating until my boiler was condemned.

Jame_butt123 ...... are you trying to sell something? would it be double glazing? cavity wall insulation? or "tarmac your drive, Mrs."?
"We're just working in your area and ......."!

Posted by: mollie m (8323) [View mollie m's page]
"I don't qualify for the Qualifying Benefits for a grant, as I don't meet any of that criteria,"

I don't think you have to be on any benefits to qualify? If you fit under the banner of a low income household you maybe be able to get one?
I don't know what the maximum income threshold is, though?

Did you read the link, Mrs Cat? It's for first time central heating users, and it gives a list of those who qualify, and I'm not one of them. That's just for a new boiler, but I'd need a whole new heating system with radiators, etc.

behind all the schemes is a schemer , they are not there to do you a favour, they are there to earn money, The bone idle couch potatoes who fall into the ' I need assistant' brigade, will get help, The honest hard working people will always be a penny short of the level set down by the Gov't, I know this from personal experience and, The winter fuel allowance is a good example of it,, ,

Without making any accusations, I think you and Tonker are right. For someone brand new to the site he/she has learned very quickly how to link articles, which can take a while for some new members to grasp.

Mollie.
I was not referring to the link.
I was referring to the UK government boiler upgrade scheme, which is totally different.

Tom, (and Mollie, as you're in the same business) I got a link the other day to an advert for a company supposedly based in Wigan. They say they will "upgrade your fusebox" (replace it with a modern RCB and MCBs consumer unit). Usual frickeners, "it could cause a fire and burn your house down with you in it" etc. kind of thing.
The price for this work "starts at" £545.00!
Now, that's the 'starting price' and it follows that it will go up with the size of unit needed, length of time to do job, other items needed (one thing leads to another, etc.?), so I can see that 'starting price' jumping quickly up to four-figures.
I wonder how many people are lassoed by them?

Note: I can get a new unit for less than £40 and fit it in less than an hour. So that'll be what their 'starting price' will cover?

Mrs Cat: I've already tried the UK Government Boiler upgrade scheme, which I have mentioned before, but I still don't qualify for that either; and as I said, it's not just a new boiler I need - I need a whole new system as the one I have has been laying idle since 2013.

Tonker: £545.00 starting price? Well, pricing up and sending out invoices isn't part of my job, but even I know that's a major rip-off! It does beg the question though how many poor souls unknowingly will buy into that. I'll ask our Supervisor at work tomorrow the cost of a replacement c/u would cost through us. Will let you know.

Were they NICEIC Registered? They probably didn't say if they knew what's good for them. We had the NICCY Inspector in today and being taken around some of the major jobs we've recently completed, or are still working on at two hospitals and schools, and we passed with flying colours - as always!

You don't qualify for anything free from the government these days unless you are on benefits or are a migrant, refugee or whatever a newcomer is called.

I have often wonder why I bothered working for a living, paying income tax and national insurance contributions when so many now are getting everything without paying anything towards the cost.

Might explain the shortfall in treasury finances!

if you want central heating that bad then pay for it like the majority of people have done

Agree OC,too many benefit cheats and scammers and I know quite a few and most people know someone who does it.Tonker if you can replace a consumer unit in less than an hour that’s some going.

Posted by: Owd Codger (4000)
"You don't qualify for anything free from the government these days unless you are on benefits or are a migrant, refugee or whatever a newcomer is called.

I have often wonder why I bothered working for a living, paying income tax and national insurance contributions when so many now are getting everything without paying anything towards the cost."

I'm with you there Owd Codger. I've worked for 60 years now, from 15 to 75 (current) and, because I've never asked the Government for a penny piece, I get nothing which doesn't seem right somehow, but there it is.

When we had this central heating system put in in 1983 it was a really good one but, of course things only last so long and when it stopped working in 2013, that was it for me because by then I was living alone after my partner died five years previously. I still had a mortgage and car to pay for, plus all the other bills, so a new boiler was out of the question, even more so now that I can only work part time since I turned 60, but hey, I've been managing for the last 12 years so I'm used to it by now, but it is a smack in the face when some folk have never worked a day in their lives, contributing nothing into the system, yet get all the benefits and folk wonder why I've never voted.

Mollie we were the same when Yvonne was alive because we had saved a few bob I had to pay for her carers at nearly £2500 a month Told the social worker if I had my life again I would not do a days work and claim every benefit I could and be better off for it. Same if you get your pension if it is too high you will get a tax demand in April and cannot claim pension credit if your savings are over a certain limit. My sons have told me to spend my savings

That's right Peter. When there were two of us we had plenty enough money as we both worked full time, but he got twice as much as me a week, netting in at almost £1000 some weeks, so we were comfortable and could have little holidays.

Thing is, I could never have not worked as it's in my blood, and I would feel very ashamed of myself if I didn't. I'm not one for taking and not giving back, and to me, able-bodied people who have no intention of working should be given nothing at all. Not a penny piece of OUR taxes. I can't get Pension Credit - not because I have a fortune in the bank, because I haven't - not by any means, but I scrape by and owe nobody anything, as I've never even owned a credit card, and never would.

Too many now living on the benefit system with all its free perks who in many cases are better off than many of those working, especially those on the minimum wage!

Might explain the silence from many of the usual posters!

Posted by: Owd Codger (4002)
"I have often wonder why I bothered working for a living, paying income tax and national insurance contributions when so many now are getting everything without paying anything towards the cost."

Would you exchange places and lifestyles with those on benefits if their standard of living is as salubrious as what you suggest?
I surely wouldn't!

I had the choice ( like everyone else ) to work for a living, or live off benefits.

I chose the former. And it was a very good choice I may add.

Cheshire Puss:

"I had the choice ( like everyone else ) to work for a living, or live off benefits.

I chose the former. And it was a very good choice I may add"

Were yoo a taxi driver

LOL!

When I started work there were few handouts and later I had to work to keep my family and pay bills or have very little money.From people I know and what have seen it is just a way of life to them and benefits are just thrown at them for many and any reasons.The system is wrecked and not fit for the purpose it was meant to be.

Posted by: a proud latics supporter (6957)
Cheshire Puss:
"Were yoo a taxi driver"

Fortunately, no.

But it pay for us to have central heating installed. And, a decent boiler.
Paid for by us without having to apply for grants / free boilers / claim benefits etc.
The first boiler lasted 22 years, the current one was installed 20 years ago.
The original raidiators and original pipes didn't need replacing, just the boiler

retep1989

If he was still alive, Beverage would agree 100% with your last comment!

OC stop whinging and enjoy your multiple pensions,do you get a mine workers pension after all that picketing you did

osted by: a proud latics supporter (6960)

Cheshire Puss:

"I had the choice ( like everyone else ) to work for a living, or live off benefits.

I chose the former. And it was a very good choice I may add"

Were yoo a taxi driver

he said "work for a living" not sat on his backside all day waiting for a fare

Handsomeminer

Unlike yourself, my picketing was not just confined to a peaceful miners picket of the NCB New Springs Workshop in the 1984 Miner's strike, but other disputes with fellow trade unionists over my working life which included the seven week postal strike of 1971 where I was working for Royal Mail at the time, various engineering disputes and the picketing of Winwick Quay in the Eddie Shah printing dispute which included the night of the infamous "Battle of Winwick Quay".

Oh, and what pensions I get, I have worked b****** hard to obtain in my working life!

Have you on both counts?

meanwhile all the millionare landowners are complaining about why they have to pay tax
whiile you argue about how to keep warm
you got to laugh its not funny

It's not all the millionaire landowners who are complaining about proposed tax increases and a ending of their heating allowance, but also many who voted for the new "Tory" type government and not seeing either in their manifesto!