storage heaters

majoed

Hi wonder if anyone can help us my daughter moved into a flat with storage heaters. Where the emersion tank is there are 2 leads coming from the tank and going into electric sockets which you can turn on and off 1 is in the middle of the tank and the other near the bottom, now it is getting colder she wants to put the heaters on, on the economy 7 over night but there is no timer clock attached to the emersion heater. If she puts both the switches on from the emersion will it heat the water and heaters just over night or all day and night ?, we had them many years ago but am sure we had a clock to set the times. Any ideas ?.

Flibertigibit

Maybe someone else can help you, but I am totally confused! You talk about 2 leads coming from the immersion heater and into sockets that you can turn on and off. But how are they connected to the storage heaters? Why do you think that putting the immersion on will also put the storage heaters on? Where are they wired to? Do you know for sure that your daughter is on Economy 7? How do you know? Wouldn't it maybe be easier if she got hold of the LL and asked him to explain it all?

Torry_Quine

I don't know about the wiring. However I have an immersion heater and storage heaters on economy 7. My water heats up the same hours as the heaters but is independent of the heaters. Hope that helps

mebumu

Hi there

My limited understanding is as follows:

conventionally, one of the tank heating elements is the cheap rate main heater and the other is the expensive, high rate, top up heater, however, this depends on the wiring configuration of the flat.

The best way to check is to switch each heater on in turn when the cheap rate is active and see what happens to the readings on the meter; then do the same when the expensive rate is active; you should then be able to come to a conclusion.

Premier_2

The heater at the middle of the tank will only heat half the tank.

The heater at the bottom will heat all the tank.

As mebumu says, the lower heater may or may not be linked to an E7 only circuit. If it isn't, you'll need to install a timer if you only want it to come on during the low rate period.

jonnyd281

I have economy seven, the bottom heater should be attached to the E7 and operates at the same time as the heaters, this should be the heating element you use all the time, the second element half way up the tank is the booster, my wife and I have never used this element in the 6 years we have been in our house but the socket is live all the time, so you switch it on only if you need to heat the water.

The storage heaters themselves whould have a switch next to the heaters to turn them on, the timer for the E7 is in the meter cabinet, it the whole E7 fuse panel on and off. To prevent the elements from overheating there will be a thermostat inside the economy 7 element to turn it on and off, so the timer is done by the E7 timer in the meter cabinet.

majoed

jonnyd281 wrote: »

I have economy seven, the bottom heater should be attached to the E7 and operates at the same time as the heaters, this should be the heating element you use all the time, the second element half way up the tank is the booster, my wife and I have never used this element in the 6 years we have been in our house but the socket is live all the time, so you switch it on only if you need to heat the water.

The storage heaters themselves whould have a switch next to the heaters to turn them on, the timer for the E7 is in the meter cabinet, it the whole E7 fuse panel on and off. To prevent the elements from overheating there will be a thermostat inside the economy 7 element to turn it on and off, so the timer is done by the E7 timer in the meter cabinet.

hi jonny thanks for your advice they have had the switch on which is half way up which would explain why they have not had much water ! ok will check the meter and they now have the heaters switched on at the wall, so hopefully can now get sorted :T the only person that has had this heating b4 was my nan but she had a timer clock attached to hers. Thanks again