Economy 7 / Hot Water

Selenus

Hi all, new here.

Me and my partner have just moved into an electricity-only flat, on an economy 7 meter, with an immersion heater which has a horstmann economy 7 control panel.

In a bid to save on electricity bill, we turned the control panel from "timed" to "off" yesterday, as our shower is an electric shower and the washing machine is a cold-fill only so it'll heat up its own water anyway, so we figured we don't actually need hot water (we never use hot water taps).

So, lo and behold, today we still have hot water coming through the taps, though we do not understand why. Could it be hot water that is still stored in the heater, since it's only skipped 1 heating cycle so far? I've noticed, if we turn a hot water tap on today (to test), the immersion heater will start making noises like it's working.

Either way, advice appreciated! If you need more information or pictures or anything, let me know.

Regards.

molerat

If you have a modern well insulated tank then it could well stay hot for a couple of days.

How many immersion heaters are there in the tank and where are they wired to. If you have a separate top heater that could well still be working, you need to follow the wires.

Selenus

Hi molerate

I took some pictures, but unfortunately I can't post the link because it says as a new user I'm not allowed to post with links.

I tried messaging you the link, but it says you've chosen not to receive PMs.

Would you be ok changing the option so you can receive PMs so you can have a look, please? And then you could post the links on the thread as well, in case anyone else needs to have a look.

Many thanks!

victor2

Just post the links on here with hxxp:// instead of http://, and someone will sort it for you.

Selenus

Thanks victor2

Here's the gallery: hxxp://postimg.org/gallery/p48pe434/

Richie-from-the-Boro

That's 401/2/5 and 6 all appear to be fish tanks

Cardew

https://postimg.org/image/n2any7gin/

You have two immersion heaters - which is quite normal on some HW tanks. The lower one heats all the water in the tank, and the upper one heats the top part of the tank.

Check if that upper heater has a switch? or a separate control, or a RCD on the Consumer unit(fusebox)

https://postimg.org/image/631piy5b3/

https://s3.postimg.io/3yhchv3oj/20160821_194937.jpg

Could the switch be bottom right?

Selenus

Hi Cardew

By switch on the bottom right, do you mean the white control panel? If so, that's the economy 7 timer - I've switched that from "timed" to "off" Alas, still have hot water on the tap, so don't know if the immersion heater is still using up electric to heat up water.

I checked for other switches or fuseboxes - couldn't find anything.

molerat

The pictures show your 2 immersions are probably correctly wired, the lower one to the timer and the upper to the boost timer. That tank looks like it is designed for the job so probably well insulated so it may just be that the water is still hot. You could always turn on the boost and see how your meter behaves.

Cardew

Normally the bottom heater is the one that is timed and heats the whole tank. The top heater is normally used to heat a few gallons and is switched on/off manually - sometimes via a timer -.

Can you trace where the lead for that heater goes? Could there be a switch elsewhere in the house? The kitchen??

Rubidium

The picture shows that both the upper and lower immersion heaters are wired to the Horstman E7 controller.

There are two red lights that should illuminate when the main "TIMED" heater is ON and when the extra "BOOST" heater is ON.



As stated the water will remain hot for days even with the heaters OFF until the water is used or it cools down.