Find a Heating Engineer you can trust in Teddington.

How To Install A Gas Cooktop In An Island

Are you thinking about installing a gas cooktop in your kitchen island? If yes, then you must know that there are clearance requirements that must be met (before you proceed) between the cut out and the countertop’s edge. Basically, there are incremental requirements for island installation due to the fact that it does not make an assumption that the product is going to be fitted against a rear wall that acts to protect the back of the unit. As a result, while doing an island install we must put the safety of the product into consideration much more that we do a standard install. What’s more? This island clearance requirement develops from a third-party agency and is a standard with all brands. So how do you install a gas cooktop in an island having the aforementioned requirements in mind?

• Use a foil tape to line the inside edges of the cut out. The function of this is to prevent heat damage as well as countertop’s discolouration. Put the cooktop top on a secured surface.

• Identify the pipe coming out of the cooktop’s side or bottom and brush onto the threads of the manifold entrance.

• Pass the pressure regulator onto the entrance of the manifold and make use of a wrench to tighten it.

• Brush the pipe joint compound onto one of the flare union adaptor’s threads and pass it into the regulator’s open end. Make it slightly tight with a full turn of the wrench.

• Connect the flare union adaptor’s open end with the flexible appliance connector hose, upon brushing on pipe joint compound.

• Put foam tape on the cooktop underside’s edges, if your cooktop comes with a glass burner plate.

• Turn the cooktop to set it into the cutout.

• Apply pipe-joint compound onto the flare union adaptor left and secure it firmly into the gas shutout valve.

• Connect the flexible hose connector’s free end with the flare union adaptor.

How Often To Service Boiler?

A boiler is a vital part of any home especially if you’re in the UK. Not only does provide your entire household with hot water and keep them warm but also adds a good value to your property. Boiler repairs and replacement are both super expensive and stressful, so in order to avoid all these worries, it’s better to have your boiler serviced on a regular basis for your own peace of mind. When you call in a reliable heating engineer, it can immensely raise your boiler’s efficiency while also saving you from more expensive issues down the road.

So if you haven’t had your boiler serviced for quite some time, moved into a new house and not aware the last time your boiler was serviced or perhaps you’re just wondering how often a boiler should be serviced, then you’ve come to the right place! The short and simple answer to this question is a boiler should should be serviced once in a year, and most preferably during the summer months. However, there are a wide range of factors that comes into play so it’s always advisable to check with your manufacturer before you proceed.

According to the law, you’re required to have your boiler services on an annual basis. Failure to do so can render your boiler or home warranty void. Therefore, it’s very crucial to take down the last time your boiler was serviced and also set a reminder to book your next appointment when the time closes in.

If you happen to own an electric boiler you may not need an annual servicing. But you may still be required to perform it annually by your insurance provider.

During the cold months ( winter), there’s a high chance for a more frequent occurrence of faults and breakdowns of your boiler as this is the time in which more strain is being placed on the device. Unfortunately, this is exactly the time in which you’d wish to derive maximum benefits from your boiler to keep you warm all through the winter. As a result, home owners are given no other option than to pay the mega boiler repair bills to keep themselves warm and cosy all winter long. There is, however, an option which can greatly soften the blow and that’s having a boiler breakdown cover.

Boiler breakdown cover provides coverage for cost of hiring an engineer to get your boiler back to a top condition while also paying for the parts as well as labour needed to resolve the boiler’s fault. To select a boiler breakdown cover, you should take into account factors like whether or not the policy provides coverage for limited or unlimited call-outs within the coverage period. You should also ensure to go through the terms and conditions of the cover if you can stake a claim if your boiler were to be damaged by a different thing in your central heating configuration or a persistent fault.

There are an array of boiler breakdown package types with little differences which relates to one or more of the following:

• The package monthly cost

• The call outs excess to be paid

• The nature of the helpline. It may be a 24/7 service or just a few selected hours of the day.

Therefore, to answer the question of which boiler breakdown cover, you’d have to compare the different packages to determine the most suitable one for both your needs as well as pocket.

How Much Do Electric Radiators Cost?

If there’s an age-long question that doesn’t seem to go away any time soon it’s how much do electric radiators cost? Although it would be perfect to offer an exact figure you can actually work with as the cost of running your heating system, but unfortunately you’ll have to consult a clairvoyant individual to get that. The question is almost synonymous with asking to know what your utility bill will be this month or the next. This is an answer that’s specific to each household, so it would be impossible to provide an answer that applies to all households in the UK. This is because there are several influencing factors that affects what the final cost of your household’s electricity bill will be. Let’s take a look at these factors!

• The size of the room you want to heat. As you would have guessed, the larger the room, the higher the amount of energy that’ll be incorporated, which means a greater electricity bill.

• The age of your house. There’s a high possibility your household ( if it’s an old one) lacks sufficient insulation which makes it less energy efficient, except you’ve already made some necessary changes.

• Your individual needs. Depending on your personal requirements, you electricity bill may be greatly influenced to be higher or lower. And the more people you have in your home, the more the energy you’re likely to consume.

• Time of the year. During the winter months, you’re likely to use a lot more electricity and heating because the weather tends to be colder.

• Your property’s exposure to natural elements. For instance a terraced home with houses on either side will be able to retain heat much longer and there less electricity and heating than a fully detached home.

As you would have guessed, the British Gas is one of the leading home assistant companies located in the United Kingdom which delivers a large variety of services to customers and boilers. Basically, they offer four (4) service packages. The first package is an annual boiler service and boiler as well as controls repair. Meanwhile the fourth package (also the largest) combines boiler services with central heating, plumbing, drains as well as home electrics.

Apart from the monthly payment package offerings, customers are allowed to pay on a yearly basis with a large lump sum. If you opt to pay annually, this will help you save some amount of money. There’s also the option of paying an extra £60 to further lower either monthly or annual costs. What’s more? Customers are also allowed to pay an extra of £99 to get either £2.50 for boiler repairs a month or £5.50 for both repairs on boiler and its controls as well as central heating system repairs.

After placing a claim, the repairs required by your boiler would be made within 24 hours. However, in certain cases, there may be some delays as British Gas tend to rate vulnerable customers ( such as elderly persons and families with little kids) higher than the usual ones. All products will include a 24/7 customer support, unlimited call outs as well as a 14 day cooling off period if you choose to remove any service.

In conclusion, British Gas is an affordable and hassle free company offering customers top notch services. Their gas boiler cover include so many juicy benefits you simply can’t afford to miss out on if you have a gas boiler in your home or property.

Do British Gas Service Oil Boilers?

Are you interested in finding out whether or not the British Gas service oil boilers? Well, you’ll find the answer in this article! The British Gas engineers are able to repair several types of boilers such as home based combi, conventional as well as system boilers. Unfortunately, they do not fix oil boilers, electric boilers or solid fuel boilers, but if you possess a gas boiler that’s more than 70kW which is mostly present in commercial premises or large buildings you can give them a call.

For a yearly boiler service British Gas engineers will provide the following solutions to ensure central heating and boiler are both in proper working condition and also absolutely safe.

• Inspection of your boiler for possible leaks and corrosion.

• Detach your boiler casing to ascertain the proper functioning of it’s main components.

• Clean up all parts as necessary

• Attach the casing back to the system and make sure its well sealed

• Inspect the level of the gas pressure to ensure that it’s at the right level.

• Perform a flue check to determine that the are no toxic gas emissions like carbon monoxide being discharged by your heating system.

Upon completion of the annual boiler service, the British Gas qualified engineers will then drop a checklist with you which is going to include all the relevant information you may want to know about your boiler system.

In some cases, British Gas engineers may be able to complete the entire boiler service in one visit. However, it all depends on the problem that’s discovered (if any). They may not possess the required part to fix the problem with them, so they’ll have to order it from the British Gas national distribution centre. Most times, this part will get to them the next day so they can finish their tasks as soon as possible.

The short answer to this is no! Smart thermostats can still be used without WiFi, however, they’ll be deprived of some certain capabilities and innovative features that comes mainly due to their ability to connect to the internet. As a result, the smart thermostat will only be functional for basic task such as heating and cooling control. In other words, making use of a WiFi connection will be in your best bet to enjoy the multiple juicy benefits that comes with a smart thermostats such as remote monitoring, ability to connect to other devices and display local weather conditions and much more. And what’s the use of purchasing a smart thermostat if you’d not be able to enjoy these remarkable features?

However, even when you have a WiFi, it’s expected for the connection to fail at times. When this happens, what will be the impact on your smart thermostat? Let’s have a closer look!

• As you would have expected, when your smart thermostat is disconnected from WiFi, features that are controlled with the mobile app would all be impacted. And this might be a big headache when you wish to access these features and control remotely when far away from home.

• When your smart thermostat connection to WiFi fails, all live updates and alerts would be affected. This implies that you’d stop seeing updates, reports and notifications on your mobile device. As a result, you’ll not be notified in case of an emergency like electricity cut-outs, water leaks, humidity and temperatures exceeding the set levels as well as thermostat’s low battery.

• The lack of a WiFi connection might have taken away all the juicy advantages of having a smart thermostat, but one function that remains unaffected is the basic one - the control of your home’s heating and cooling system. In other words, if your smart thermostat is offline, your home will still be heated and cooled to the thermostat’s set temperature.

Can You Get Oiled Fired Combi Boilers?

Absolutely! Oil fired combi boilers are not only a super cool alternative to gas heating, but also offer a cost-efficient means of heating your home. And this is best enjoyed especially if you’re one of the estimated 4 million houses that are not connected to the gas network.

Oil fired combi boiler enables you store fuel close to your property and fill it as required. There many A rated model options available in the market with the modern oil fired combi boilers confirmed to be up to 95% efficient. As a result of their multiple advantages over alternative heating systems, the oil fired combi boiler is expected to increase significantly in the UK. Here are some of the advantages of adding the system to your property.

• Oil fired combi boiler heats up water on demand while also saving a lot of fuel and being super energy efficient.

• Since oil needs more fuel than gas, a great return would be derived from every unit of energy.

• When compared with the other types of boilers, oil fired combi boilers have a considerably lower operating cost.

• A new oil fired boiler typically has a 92% to 95 % efficiency, which is significantly better than the 60% to 70% in older systems.

If you have an idea of how to operate the gas-powered alternative, then operating an oil fired combi boiler shouldn’t be an issue. In a similar way to the alternative, the boiler simply delivers the central heating through the radiators and hot water via your household’s taps.

However, the major difference between the two is the fact that the oil fired boiler needs a regular supply of oil, which is stored in a tank. The hot water supplied by the system is instant as it is connected to the water mains supply.