Help .... Central heating settings?

[Red Devil]

Apologies if this is not really the right thread to put my query on!
I really need advice on my gas boiler settings when we are away for such a long period.
We will be in Tenerife for 3 months. As the house will be empty I need to know the best way to set my central heating (the boiler is in the garage attached to house)
I have just had a new thermostat installed which is all digital and confusing but as far as I can make out, if I set it to Frost then the boiler will only come on when temp drops below 5c.
That is fine, but does it mean, in a cold spell, it would come on until that temperature has been reached, then switch off and reverse back to frost setting again automatically?
Also, does that setting override whatever each radiator stat has been set at?
The thermostat is a Salus wireless radio frequency model.
Or does anyone please have any better ideas? The handbook suggests draining the system but really cant face doing that.

[Harmonicaman]

Stick it on the frost setting.http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/yy13/harmonicaman_photos/images_zps5ddccf43.png (http://s773.photobucket.com/user/harmonicaman_photos/media/images_zps5ddccf43.png.html) That way you won't have any burst pipes when you get back home.

[TOPGUN77]

I would put it on above the frost setting other wise you will have cold damp rooms all the time.

[delderek]

The boiler itself normally has a Frost safety device inside the boiler. i.e it will switch on when the water in the boiler falls to 5 deg. it is independant of your room stat. In my opinion you should set your room stat to around 15 deg when you are away, this will keep the house in a good condition, much lower than this, you are risking severe dampness

[Rodders]

The boiler itself normally has a Frost safety device inside the boiler. i.e it will switch on when the water in the boiler falls to 5 deg. it is independant of your room stat. In my opinion you should set your room stat to around 15 deg when you are away, this will keep the house in a good condition, much lower than this, you are risking severe dampness

Delderek, at 15 degs, is that leaving your heating on constant, or just at your normal daily time settings?

[TOPGUN77]

Exactly that is why I said set the thermostat just above the frost setting,other wise you are going to have a hefty gas bill.

[Red Devil]

Thanks everyone will def set at least at frost setting, perhaps a bit higher for a couple of hours overnight?

[delderek]

Delderek, at 15 degs, is that leaving your heating on constant, or just at your normal daily time settings?

I used to use 2 or 3 hours a couple times a day. Its not going to cost a fortune at that temp.

[polremy]

We set our thermostat on 10 when we are away and that's almost 6 months a year. It sounds high but the house temperature doesn't actually drop to 10 when the outside temperature does.

[Angusjim]

I am sitting looking thru renewal insurance policies for flats that I rent out and there is a clause about property being left unoccupied for 30-90 days, 1 clause states that " water supply must be drained and water turned off or heating left on to a minimum of 13degs centigrade at ALL times" and " property must be inspected at least every 7 days with written records made of same ( there are a few others things as well ). Probably a bit different than your own household cover but they probably have a clause in there somewhere covering periods when property is unoccupied. Better to check this out unless you have already done so:tiphat:

[Red Devil]

Hmm might up the stat setting to 10c then.
We are fortunate that we have relatives nearby who will call in almost daily to move post etc so not worried about burst pipes as such, just want to keep house warm enough to stop condensation etc.
Worse thing we ever did was having cavity wall insulation but thats another story.

[Angusjim]

Hmm might up the stat setting to 10c then.
We are fortunate that we have relatives nearby who will call in almost daily to move post etc so not worried about burst pipes as such, just want to keep house warm enough to stop condensation etc.
Worse thing we ever did was having cavity wall insulation but thats another story.

If I were you I would check the exact requirements that they have for unoccupied properties better safe than sorry especially with insurance companies you may not be worried about burst pipes but there may be other clause about breakins etc etc