Understanding how my water heater is setup - help!

8vs3

Like many others, I have been stung with the classic immersion heater bills.

In my "boiler room" in my flat, I have the following setup;
1 x OSO Super Xpress
2 x Wall switches - water heater, boost
1 x Time guard timer (under the fuse board)

There are also two separate circuit breakers for the water heater on the fuse board.

The timer on the wall appears to only control the radiators in the flat (I could be wrong?). I.e. when the timer is red, the radiators go off, when the timer is green + red, they are set on a timer, and when it is green, they are always on.

However, my question is; how can I tell if the timer is wired to the water heater too? If I turn both switches off at the wall and leave the timer on, will I get hot water? The wires for the two switches go from the wall, straight into the heater, where I'm guessing water heater is the lower element, and the boost is the top element.

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.

With a tank of cold water(or at least not hot) Switch just one on and check your electricity meter to see if it is showing higher consumption(wheel or flashing light)

8vs3

Thank you!

Annoyingly, the meter is in a communal cupboard which I don't have access too!

matelodave

You could try listening very carefull to the tank - they usually make a similar noise to a kettle when they are heating although you may not hear it clearly if the tank is well insulated.

If you have got E7 and a timer there's a possiblity that the main element (the one at the bottom) is controlled by the timer so the tank only heats during the off-peak period (have you got storage heaters?). If so the top element will be the boost switch and will use peak rate electricity when it's on.

You may need someone to have a look at the wiring to see wher itall goes if you cant work it out yourself - be careful mains electricy is dangerous.

macman

So how do you submit meter readings? You have the right to access the meter upon request.