Economy 7

ex2t633w

Trying to work out how to put my immersion water heater onto a timer, so I can just set it for a couple of hours during off peak time, and not be on ALL NIGHT. I only need water warm for dishes really, as shower is independent---- The cheap hours here for Octopus are 00.30----07.30( Scotland) but if I switch it on manually  at my bedtime,11pm I would need to leap out of bed and switch it off again at around 2pm, or leave it til I get up , which then goes into expensive hours, as I am 75 ,not early riser on cold mornings.
If I leave it to Economy 7 , switched on all the time, water ends up boiling hot, and I dont use most of it so it gets wasted and I am paying to heat water that I dont use.
SO---- I have been making do with just boiling a kettle for dishes, 
Can I fit a MANUAL timer on a tank- style immersion heater is my question ????

tim_p

Something like this:

https://www.toolstation.com/search?q=77474

Swipe

You need to get one of these fitted:



https://www.wolseley.co.uk/product/horstmann-7-day-electronic-economy-timer/

molerat

How many heaters do you have in the tank ?  The problem with those timers is they need a 24/7 supply and the immersion may be linked directly to the off peak supply so some rewiring may be needed.  If you have a top and bottom heater a timer can be fitted to the top one.

QrizB

molerat said:

How many heaters do you have in the tank ?  The problem with those timers is they need a 24/7 supply and the immersion may be linked directly to the off peak supply so some rewiring may be needed.  If you have a top and bottom heater a timer can be fitted to the top one.

Yes, this is what I did when I had an E7 house. The bottom heater was connected to the E7 circuit and the top one was on a timer with a 1hr "BOOST" button.

Stan79

Can you turn down the thermostat on the tank? 

doodling

Hi,

How many immersion heaters are there and how are they controlled?

The way things should work is that an immersion heater should come on whenever E7 starts and should heat the tank to the temperature set by its thermostat. It will then turn off and stay off unless the tank cools significantly before the end of the E7 period.

The answer to this problem is to turn down the thermostat on the tank so the water doesn't get so hot.  You may need to remove the cap on the immersion heater to do this - remember to ensure that the supply to the heater is isolated before you do.

You also need to make sure that the tank is well insulated. If the tank is properly insulated then the losses from the tank are minimal and there won't be much wastage if you don't use hot water during the day.

PurpleZoombini

If you only need it for dishes do you need it on at all? Long ago I decided it's not worth it for me to heat the whole or even half of the tank just for dishes since my shower is electric. I just boil a kettle for the dishes and that works fine for me.