Help - My Heating Is Stuck On - The House Is Boiling!

[Smowball]

Had heating on for jut a couple of hours yesterday on about 17degrees - not hot but radiators were warmish. Turned thermostat Dial completely round to zero when I went to bed- as low as it can possibly go. (Well it doesn’t say zero, it actually says 10).
Woke up feeling really hot, felt one radiator and it was scalding. Assumed I hadn’t really turned thermostat off. Checked and I had. Went and checked every other radiator and they are all scalding! House is just boiling.
Mr Smow isn’t here so I don’t know what else to check. Any ideas?? TIA x

[jamesnan]

Can't you actually turn the heating off at the main switch?

[Old_Geezer]

Do the individual radiators not have thermostats you can turn down ?
Other than that, a valve may need unsticking, but you'd need to find it. Or maybe turn the thermostat control back up for a bit then almost down to 10 again in the hope it unsticks whatever's happening.

[Tuvok]

We had that - it was a control valve stuck on.

Can you physically turn the boiler off?

[Smowball]

1. Sounds nuts but I can’t remember where it is!
2. Don’t know if that would affect anything else?
3. If I find it and do that, then we switch it back on and everything is still red hot what next?

Any obvious answers as to what it might be? X

[Tuvok]

Ain my case the thermostat had no effect, nor had turning off the proramepmer.

[Smowball]

Actually I know where the boiler is - it’s on top floor in what was the loft but is now a bedroom

[calmck]

Can you hear your boiler running? There should be a shut off switch somewhere. Do you have instruction book? Call your installer

[mallyh]

do you have a boiler plan with british gas etc ?

[Tuvok]

On my boiler there is an on off switch.

Does your boiler heat your water as well?

I'd get somebody in to look at the valve.

[Smowball]

Yes it heats water as well. Am off to top floor to see what I can see/ hear x

[bhg481]

Do you have a hot water cylinder or a combi-boiler?
If it's a cylinder it could be that the diverter valve has stuck. Central heating is set to heat up the hot water and then switch to heating the radiators and this is done by diverting the water flow from the pump (usually in the airing cupboard) to either pass through the cylinder to the radiators. The diverter valve is usually near the pump and has a lever on it which can be manually operated. If yours has stuck in the "radiator" position the system will be trying to get your hot water up to temperature by sending the water through the radiators. It will never succeed but it will keep trying. If you can find the diverter valve try moving it manually.
If it's a combo I can't be any help because I know nothing about them.

[Smowball]

Ok red light is on switch but I can’t hear a sound from the boiler. Mr Smow is on way home so I will keep u updated - sorry for sounding so vague about the problem but boilers aren’t really my thing lol and this has never ever happened before.

[douglas9401]

Maybe you've discovered the secret of free heating.

[MallyJ]

Please may I come round...ours is not working and I have blue hands and feet. Very very cold....................

[Smowball]

Lol.

[derekpara]

Smow, the same thing is happening to me right now and my ( excellent) plumber has found that the diverter valve has stuck , as bhg suggests. Now waiting for replacement and fitting. In the meantime I have been advised to switch off the boiler at the spur socket and only turn on for about an hour at a time. We've been doing this now for three days. No hot water which is a bummer. Cost ? Approx £150 supply and fit.

[bhg481]

derek - have you tried manually moving the switch on the diverter valve? It's like stirring treacle but it will move.

[Smowball]

Well all the radiators have FINALLY cooled down on their own, without me doing anything, but I am booking the heating engineer to come out and have look as something clearly was stuck/ not right.

[derekpara]

No, bhg, too late for that now as committed to replacement - and perhaps better for peace of mind as valve is at least 15 years old.
Thanks anyway.

D

[bhg481]

Derek - having a fiddle might get you your hot water until it's fixed permanently. Moving the valve manually is often enough to kick it off working. You've nothing to lose.