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Hot Water - normal heating time?

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  • 19-12-2011 3:55pm
    #1
    jonnybravo
    Registered Users Posts: 569 ✭✭✭


    Having a problem with my current landlord. The gas boiler isn't heating the water to a hot enough level. He has had the plumber out twice. I haven't been in the apartment either time the plumber has come. I've rang him but he's only suggestion is to put the temperature of the boiler and hot water tank higher and leave it on for longer. The last time he came out he set the timer on for 4 hours (2 hours in the evening and 2 hours in the morning) which I think is a bit extreme for two people in a two bed apartment. Currently the boiler and tank are set at 70.

    How long would the norm but for a boiler to heat the water up for two ppl to have a hot shower? I would have thought an hour would be plenty?

    Appreciate your help.


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    #2
    irlrobins
    Registered Users Posts: 7,541 ✭✭✭irlrobins


    My gas boiler heats 60L of hot water in 10-15 mins in the morning. It's a modern combi boiler so might be more efficient than older ones.


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    #3
    Idbatterim
    Registered Users Posts: 17,852 ✭✭✭✭Idbatterim


    a triton shower or similar might be better, what a waste heating up that volume of water just to go cold again or not even be used, if you think about it, all you need hot water for generally is shower / bath or washing dishes etc if you dont have dish washer...


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    #4
    aujopimur
    Registered Users Posts: 3,953 ✭✭✭aujopimur


    Why is the LL controlling the times on your boiler?


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    #5
    Giblet
    Registered Users Posts: 11,980 ✭✭✭✭Giblet


    4 hours? That's insane! An hour does me for the entire day, 2 people having showers, general washing up, cools at night of course, but still some warmth left for washing hands etc.


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    #6
    braintoxic
    Closed Accounts Posts: 147 ✭✭braintoxic


    should only take 20 mins in d morning n dat would shower two ppl and do all d wash up , ur getting well done here my friend. id be willing to bet the guy that called to looka at it is not even certified to work on gas


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    #7
    The_Conductor
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 32,285 Mod ✭✭✭✭The_Conductor


    braintoxic wrote: »
    should only take 20 mins in d morning n dat would shower two ppl and do all d wash up , ur getting well done here my friend. id be willing to bet the guy that called to looka at it is not even certified to work on gas

    Braintoxic- please use regular English that us dinosaurs can comprehend. We do not allow txt speak (most of the forums on boards don't).

    Regards,

    SMcCarrick


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    #8
    scaryfairy
    Registered Users Posts: 388 ✭✭scaryfairy


    jonnybravo wrote: »

    How long would the norm but for a boiler to heat the water up for two ppl to have a hot shower? I would have thought an hour would be plenty?

    Appreciate your help.

    we live in an aprt that has an older boiler (10ish yr old) and takes about 40 min depending on settings (and I like my shower very hot!!). Have you/they checked the gas pressure or whatever it's called? in our case the gas was kept on a low level and thus took forever to heat radiators & water, but once it was fixed it worked fine. In our apt, this thing is next to the fireplace, not with the hot water tank.


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    #9
    mikemac1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,395 ✭✭✭✭mikemac1


    jonnybravo wrote: »
    The last time he came out he set the timer on for 4 hours (2 hours in the evening and 2 hours in the morning)

    You're in for some mega bill :eek:

    For two of ye, twenty to thirty minutes or so should be fine in the morning and same again in the evening.
    You don't have to be stingy with it but four hours is madness

    Is it a very old system and boiler? How old is this place?

    And if it's old would the landlord maybe look at putting in a new efficient system?
    Well he's paid for two callouts already, it's still not sorted and sometimes it's better to install something new then paying to repair something decades old


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    #10
    jonnybravo
    Registered Users Posts: 569 ✭✭✭jonnybravo


    Thanks for all your replies. Yeah when the plumber set the timer on for four hours he didn't inspire me with much confidence. I had it on for 2 hours this morning and it was hot but I still think that's on very long.

    I'll try an hour in the morning and see what heat its at then. I was just checking to see if I was asking for something unreasonable as Landlord agent is a d*ck.


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    #11
    user1842
    Registered Users Posts: 1,112 ✭✭✭user1842


    You could have a very slight leak somewhere in your hot water system. This is draining off the hot water when it gets heated. Happened to us and it used to take about two hours to heat the water. Once the leak was fixed took 20mins :).

    What type of system do you have? Are you using an electric immersion heater along with gas to heat the water? or is it just gas?

    Do you have a separate hot-water circuit/zone on your gas boiler?


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    #12
    jonnybravo
    Registered Users Posts: 569 ✭✭✭jonnybravo


    dmclean1842 wrote: »
    You could have a very slight leak somewhere in your hot water system. This is draining off the hot water when it gets heated. Happened to us and it used to take about two hours to heat the water. Once the leak was fixed took 20mins :).

    What type of system do you have? Are you using an electric immersion heater along with gas to heat the water? or is it just gas?

    Do you have a separate hot-water circuit/zone on your gas boiler?

    Thanks for your response. It is just gas heating the water. The timer is split for hot water and radiators and it seems when I put on the radiators only the water in the tap is only luke warm so that could be part of the problem. I know nothing of plumbing systems.


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    #13
    user1842
    Registered Users Posts: 1,112 ✭✭✭user1842


    jonnybravo wrote: »
    Thanks for your response. It is just gas heating the water. The timer is split for hot water and radiators and it seems when I put on the radiators only the water in the tap is only luke warm so that could be part of the problem. I know nothing of plumbing systems.

    Do you have a thermostat in your house? Basically a dial switch that is set to 21 degrees or something.

    Is your apartment very easy to heat? If it is and your thermostat is set low your gas heating may be switching off very quickly and not give adequate time to heat the water, (hopefully you have a lagging jacket on your hot water cylinder).


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    #14
    dazed+confused
    Registered Users Posts: 1,010 ✭✭✭dazed+confused


    Don't be so miserable, just leave the heating on. Its winter time FFS!


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    #15
    Giblet
    Registered Users Posts: 11,980 ✭✭✭✭Giblet


    dazed+confused wrote: »
    Don't be so miserable, just leave the heating on. Its winter time FFS!

    Someone has never been hit with a 600euro bill just after Christmas then.


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    #16
    jonnybravo
    Registered Users Posts: 569 ✭✭✭jonnybravo


    dmclean1842 wrote: »
    Do you have a thermostat in your house? Basically a dial switch that is set to 21 degrees or something.

    Is your apartment very easy to heat? If it is and your thermostat is set low your gas heating may be switching off very quickly and not give adequate time to heat the water, (hopefully you have a lagging jacket on your hot water cylinder).

    Thermostat on the boiler and on the hot water tank and both are set to 70 which is supposed to be quite high.

    Apartment is easy enough to heat. Radiators seem to heat up much faster than water for the shower.


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    #17
    dazed+confused
    Registered Users Posts: 1,010 ✭✭✭dazed+confused


    Radiators heating faster than the tank is normal, remember its a small coil of warm water heating a large tank of cold water. If its a hard water area the heating coil in the tank could be clogged with limescale.

    My gas boiler is rarely off at this time of year, I have a 3bed semi and do not use the immersion ever. Gas bill is €20pm in summer and €80pm in winter.


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