Storage Heaters Query

Ms_Chocaholic

Hi
Posting on behalf of a friend.

My friend has just moved into a rented flat which is heated by storage heaters, which are working fine but they have a query that I thought you may help to resolve.

My friend works quite long hours, is it possible for the heaters to be set on an input say of 2/3 but prevent them from outputting any heat until they return home from work later in the day. The lowest setting on the heaters for the output is 1, she (and I) didn't know if there was some way of doing this.

Thanks
Ms Choc x

Torry_Quine

You can't stop them putting out heat but the output should be shut if you aren't in as it opens the damper and gives an extra boost of heat.

newbie1980

Ms_Chocaholic wrote: »

Hi
Posting on behalf of a friend.

My friend has just moved into a rented flat which is heated by storage heaters, which are working fine but they have a query that I thought you may help to resolve.

My friend works quite long hours, is it possible for the heaters to be set on an input say of 2/3 but prevent them from outputting any heat until they return home from work later in the day. The lowest setting on the heaters for the output is 1, she (and I) didn't know if there was some way of doing this.

Thanks
Ms Choc x

ive worked on loads of these and am so shocked people are never told how to use them

put input 6 output 2-3 overnight so the heaters store properly and still let a little out then up the output later in the day when the heat is really needed

dave

Torry_Quine

newbie1980 wrote: »

ive worked on loads of these and am so shocked people are never told how to use them

put input 6 output 2-3 overnight so the heaters store properly and still let a little out then up the output later in the day when the heat is really needed

dave

I know what you mean, I think but it could read that you're saying to have the output at2-3 when it's charging at night which is obviously not what you mean!

At this stage of the yer you shouldn't need the input at 6 as that 's the highest and output shouldn't be needed at all.

I haven't even needed to put mine on yet as it's so mild

Ms_Chocaholic

I'm confused now

chris1973

Make sure that the dampers are actually working. If you have the models i've mentioned below, shine a torch through the front vents and check if the metal 'arm' / lever on the damper control actually makes contact with the top of the metal 'flap' or even if its still in place!.

I've been in a couple of properties fitted with Dimplex 'XL' heaters, and the dampers are crap, after a while the lever simply no longer puts any pressure onto the damper flap thus not opening or adjusting it even with the control set to maximum - turning the control does nothing, the flap remains closed. I ended up switching it off at the mains (safety first!) and wedging the damper open with the screwdriver through the front vents. A real P.I.T.A, but that pretty much sums up my personal experience of storage heaters.

These were also in 2 properties, 100 miles apart and both the exact same models (XL24N and XL18N) so its not really an isolated issue or what i'd call a coincidence, just a stone age design.

Richie-from-the-Boro

Ms_Chocaholic wrote: »

I'm confused now

- don't be .. .. confused .. .. chris1973 is correct
- the damper is like the lid on a pan to keep the heat in, nothing more than a physical metal lid
- there is no reason whatsoever other than an all night wake / or / party to have the damper open at night .. ever !

BTW, these worn out metal bits take less than a half hour to fix -2 screws only / lift off / 4 more self tappers [ care with the asbestos on old models ] to get at the inners / and a run of asbestos tape or silicone round the damper and most who 'bleat' about old units would find they are fine. Its like a well worn pair of shoes, they wear out, you can buy new ones or cobble to old comfortable friends.

grahamc2003

Choc, If the input is on too low, then there may not be a great deal of heat left in the heater at the end of the day. So until your friend gets the hang of it, I'd turn the input up to say 5 (so you know you are storing a resonable amount of heat) with the output set as low as possible (0 or 1) at night. The room will probably be warm the next morning (since the radiant heat is uncontrollable - the hotter the heater is, the more it radiates). Later in the day after work, if the room is too cold, then turn the output up, to send air through the core of the heater, which then heats the room by convection. If you set the output to max, then you'll get plenty of heat out under these circumstances.

There's a bit of an art setting the input - if you don't want to waste heat, it need to be set to a level which supplied enough heat in the day, which requires a bit of predicting the future, but whatever, the output should always be set to zero last thing at night.

Chris - the output dampers are temperature sensitive. If the heater is cold, then changing the output may have no effect on the damper position. If the heater has stored heat, a fixed setting of the output may result in the dampers closing or opening further as the room warms up and as the heater cools. The output setting doesn't translate into a certain damper position, as I think you think. The only way to sort of test them is to get the heater hot, and then moving the output position from 0 to 6 is likely to move the dampers through their full range (but even then it may not, if the room is very warm and the heater is very warm).