Concord WRS boiler... programmer needed!

[deano]

Hi,

Anyone one know of a supplier for parts for this boiler? I've spent the last 30 mins googling, only to get caught in the infinite loop of search engine, leading to search engine!

Ta, deano.

[Geo]

I have a Cnncord WRS 240A - it never had a programmer. I started with a time switch and a thermostat but now use a zoned system with Danfoss room programmers/thermostats.

[geoff]

In message , deano writes

What parts of this old POS are you looking for ?

[Phil L]

My guess is a programmer.

[geoff]

Is there any reason that it can't be replaced with a more up to date programmer, nothing clever about it, such as pump over-run or owt ?

[deano]

None at all... just took me more than a nano-second of thought to work that out :) I'll just bring the wires out the back and into a new 7day timer/ programmer... just need to find the right wires... as you say... nothing clever with this system... just on or off, at certain times... although might need some thought about separate timing for the CH &/or HW... the boiler controls as they are now can have HW or CH&HW but not CH only

[geoff]

Just think of the luxury of 7 day programmable etc ...

[ARWadsworth]

I doubt that a programmer alone will allow seperate CH and HW.

To the OP

read

[geoff]

In message , ARWadsworth writes

When, in normal circumstances would you want CH on without HW ?

[ARWadsworth]

For the boiler in question it probably will not matter.

We could all have combi boilers fitted to save this problem:-) Maybe fit two combis if needed.

Adam

[Geo]

Most of the day here - retired and only heat some water for an hour or so in the morning and evening (to reach 60 degrees) for baths/showers. Very little hot water used during the day so no point in keeping it on.

[geoff]

Is your tank not sufficiently lagged ?

[Geo]

Bog standard - but the heat lost from a full tank of 60 deg water is much more than from a tank with only the top 1/4 at high temp.

[deano]

From me (the OP)

The couple in question know they are due for a new system... just trying to delay it as much as possible... doesn't everyone? Until it goes kaput in the darkest depths of winter and all plumbers and gas engineers have flown South ;)

They old rotary timer on this boiler went years ago (I can't recall the name for this type of timer, but it's like the plug-in ones you get for your sockets, to control table lamps, when you are away from home... you know, with tabs you push in or out for on and off).

They're currently manually turning the HW and HW/CH on and off. A timer replacement that operates the same as the old one did would probably be fine for them, until the system is replaced, so I just need to ask my plumber's merchant if they do a digi timer that keeps with the HW or CH/HW setup.

[Steve Firth]

The problem is often getting hold of a programmer with a similar form-factor to the old one. The type you describe is often the size of a single 13A socket. Modern units are larger and don't usually fit a standard electrical box (neither single nor double). Some do fit a single box but need more space around them than a single socket occupies.

I've seen a couple of time switches that fit what you are asking for, digital units with separate CH and HW contacts which are conceptually the same as the pin-programmed mechanical timers and are a similar size. However they are extremely difficult to find.

[deano]

Hmmnn...

Not quite what I was thinking... maybe I've got an idea that won't work, but... I was looking at getting any standard (low cost) digi timer/programmer and installing it, surface mounted, into a back box, onto the wall, next to the boiler. Completely bypassing the existing boiler controls, making them redundant, and just re-routing the wiring out of the boiler to the new programmer location... obviously, I would likely have to chock block the wires, to extend them, then it would be a bit of working out the control wires as to which does which and hooking them up to the new programmer.

I've seen similar done with a couple of old boilers elsewhere, where the in-built controls have packed up.

My man in the merchants couldn't see a problem.. just comes down to identifying the correct control wires and the terminals they need to connect to in the 7-day timer/programmer... cost of this about =A340 INC VAT, plus my time wiring it up.

Seems reasonable to me, but I might have the rose-coloured specs on again :)