Economy 7 - possibly faulty meter/wiring - help please

Gerry1

TheLookingGlass said:

I imagine it would be tricky getting it round those cables though.

It only goes around one cable.

TheLookingGlass

Yes of course, but if you look at the photo, the cables are very close to the backboard. The clamps look quite thick - it might be too tight to get it round the back of one of the cables.

QrizB

TheLookingGlass said:

My mistake, I had read "Minim+ reads the current going through the live cable of the electricity meter" on that product page.
Qriz - how does that one work?
Looks same as this - I can just put it round the meter cables and it should show the kw usage?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meterk-Multimeter-Capacitance-Resistance-Temperature/dp/B073Y162BZ/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=energy+monitor+clamp&qid=1623417404&s=diy&sr=1-10
I imagine it would be tricky getting it round those cables though.

There are two versions of Minim+, one has a current clamp (that goes around the cable) and the other has a photodiode (that counts flashes from the LED on a meter that has one).

Yes, the meter in my post and the one in yours have clamps that go around one of the meter tails (the big thick conductors). It shouldn't matter which one. The meter will read amps, not watts; you can multiply by 240 to give a nominal wattage (the supply voltage does vary a bit but for these purposes 240 is good enough).

Here's a very poor photo of mine, attached to one of my meter tails:

You can see it reads 1.12 amps, which of we multiply by 240 means I was using about 270 watts at that moment. (My meter reads "rEd" because I've for solar PV on my roof and the meter isn't smart enough to know that.)

QrizB

TheLookingGlass said:

Yes of course, but if you look at the photo, the cables are very close to the backboard. The clamps look quite thick - it might be too tight to get it round the back of one of the cables.

Looking at your photo I think it will fit, but unfortunately you won't know for sure until you try it.

If you're anywhere near Basingstoke I'd offer to pop over with mine but I suspect you aren't.

Tallerdave

The clip version of the Geo Minim+ is £29.99 on ebay. I'm sure there will be somewhere it can fix on the cable runs unless they are all really short & tight. If the meter has a night-only output you'll need to monitor that separately. 

stewie_griffin

Is the immersion heater on a timer or just switched on to come on overnight. If it's the latter then it will be on 24/7 due to the meter being stuck on the low rate. That could easily account for the 30 units a day being used.

Reed_Richards

stewie_griffin said:

Is the immersion heater on a timer or just switched on to come on overnight. If it's the latter then it will be on 24/7 due to the meter being stuck on the low rate. That could easily account for the 30 units a day being used.

Really???  Only if the hot water mysteriously vanishes and needs to be continually reheated.  

stewie_griffin

It's definitely possible depending on the size of the tank, the temperature settings and the amount of insulation. It's the first thing I'd be switching off to see how much it effects the usage.

TheLookingGlass

Immersion heater is on a timer 👍

This is cheap and quick delivery - will it do the job?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08CXFWYM2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_HDEQANFSCJAR29MPJK13?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Cheers

QrizB

TheLookingGlass said:

This is cheap and quick delivery - will it do the job?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08CXFWYM2

Yes, it will let you measure your load current at the meter tails. You'll need to multiply to get an indicative wattage.