Heating Help Please

Caseyface

We have just moved into a rented flat and have a heater in the front room which has a switch at the wall and the dials on the top say 'discharge' and 'charge'. Our estate agent is pants and doesn't know how anything works, so we are really stuck with how these work and how we should use them. Any help please?

When we first moved in on Friday, it was stone cold. We put the charge on full and turned the discharge about half way. It started to give out some heat but seemed to stay on forever even when switched off at the wall........eeeeeeeeeek! :eek: We don't want a massive bill for our first month....:(

Gillby1

Hi Caseyface,

I'm sure someone will answer you properly soon, but i believe these sound like storage heaters, which usually 'charge' (i.e. take in heat) overnight, which you can then use ('discharge') during the day.

Gill

nuttybabe

my old work had storage heaters. i was told to leave the settings as charge on full and discharge on half. that way it keeps giving out heat during the day while we were in the office. But that was 10 years ago, I am sure someone with more up to date knowledge will be along soon.

Caseyface

Thanks Gill and Nutty

ema_o

Check your electric meter - hopefully you are on economy 7, in which case your heaters should be taking in electric during economy 7 hours, this is probably the case! There should be 2 readings, or there may be more, as long as there is not one you should be okay!

If you are out during the day it might be worth having charge on full (so it should charge fully during E7 hours) and putting discharge on low, then putting it up to halfway when you come in for the evening - so hopefully there should be enough charge left to keep it warm at night.

If the estate agent doens't know get them to get the information from the landlord. Another option is to call your energy provider - we bought a house with storage heaters and got most of the info from the energy company!

mountainofdebt

Definitely sounds as if you have Econony 7 heaters.

As already been said the charge dial is for the capacity to store the heat and the discharge is for when you wanat it to give out heat.

We found them very good value for money when we had them in our first house (my aunty still has them and wouldn't change for anything) - but when we come to sell, the EA told us that people would be put off by them which is weird considering how economical they are ....the only down side (as you found out was you need to wait 24hrs to get any heat out of them!

dumpy

I hate storage heaters and I'd be one of those people who wouldn't buy a house if they were in.

You have to be a mind reader to know what the weather is going to be like in 24 hours time, so in autumn and spring you never know when to put them on or not.

They give out heat during the day so the house is boiling when you are at work but are running low by the evening when you get in from work so you need other sources of heat in the evening unless you go to bed early or shiver!

I found them expensive to run even on E7.

If you are in during the day and go to bed early they may be OK, but not for me!

hngrymummy

Oh the joys of storage heaters

As others have said, they take in heat at night when it's cheaper (economy 7) and give it out during the day when the house is empty!

Ours had a boost button on it, so we could get some immediate heat from it, but that was very expensive to do.

They are also a nightmare to remove as they are full of heavy firebricks.

Is there a make and model on the heater? I suggest you do a google search for it. You can always just contact the manufacturer direct and ask them if they can e-mail you a copy of the instructions.

In the meantime, invest in warm jumpers and a hotwater bottle for the days when you haven't got the temperature right.

Gillby1

Caseyface,

As others have said, these type of heaters literally store heat in the bricks inside them, so even when you turn the output (discharge) off they will still give out a small amount of heat. We have similar heaters, and basically you need to leave the 'Charge' on overnight, and to turn the 'Discharge' on only when you need heat.

HTH

piratefairy

Do make sure to check whether or not you have E7 heating. Contact your elec. company to confirm this, I have these type of heaters in my flat, and they awful for me, as I am never in during the day due to work, and there is no way to change the time setting. Also, my elec. provider do not provide E7 service any longer, whcih would make them extortionate to use if I hadn't had them disconnected last time an electrician was there. They can be really expensive if you just leave them to run constantly, but with some models there doesn't seem to be a choice!