Octopus saving sessions

Spoonie_Turtle

Spoonie_Turtle said:

bagand96 said:

Posted this on the other thread, no app notifications for either saving session here and they don't do email notifications this year? Only way to reliably find out is WhatsApp.  Add to that the website and app has basically been useless all evening.

It all worked really well last year, however so far this winter Octopus really seem to be struggling with it.

I got the app notification about an hour ago, long after I'd signed up after hearing about it here.

They said they'd only send out e-mails for people who don't have the app.  Don't know if anyone here can verify whether that's happened or not?

Huh, turns out I actually got an e-mail through as well as app notification.

bagand96

QrizB said:

bagand96 said:

Add to that the website and app has basically been useless all evening.

Website worked fine for me at about 6pm. I logged in, went to the Octoplus page and registered for tomorrow's session without a problem. Took seconds.

Yeah to be fair I did get on earlier, but the app has been very slow or just timed out and seen other reports of people struggling. 

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

bagand96 said:

Posted this on the other thread, no app notifications for either saving session here and they don't do email notifications this year? Only way to reliably find out is WhatsApp.  Add to that the website and app has basically been useless all evening.

It all worked really well last year, however so far this winter Octopus really seem to be struggling with it.

I got the app notification about an hour ago, long after I'd signed up after hearing about it here.

They said they'd only send out e-mails for people who don't have the app.  Don't know if anyone here can verify whether that's happened or not?

Huh, turns out I actually got an e-mail through as well as app notification.

No email or app notification here still. I have actually opted in already so not sure if that affects it. 

t0rt0ise

Whatsapp notification came before app notification, and an email arrived long after both of those. I don't usually use Whatsapp but downloaded it just for octopus and it is obviously best.

Netexporter

I got a busy message when I tried to opt in. I just logged out of my account and logged back in and got the join button. Could have been coincidence, of course.

Spoonie_Turtle

bagand96 said:

QrizB said:

bagand96 said:

Add to that the website and app has basically been useless all evening.

Website worked fine for me at about 6pm. I logged in, went to the Octoplus page and registered for tomorrow's session without a problem. Took seconds.

Yeah to be fair I did get on earlier, but the app has been very slow or just timed out and seen other reports of people struggling. 

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

bagand96 said:

Posted this on the other thread, no app notifications for either saving session here and they don't do email notifications this year? Only way to reliably find out is WhatsApp.  Add to that the website and app has basically been useless all evening.

It all worked really well last year, however so far this winter Octopus really seem to be struggling with it.

I got the app notification about an hour ago, long after I'd signed up after hearing about it here.

They said they'd only send out e-mails for people who don't have the app.  Don't know if anyone here can verify whether that's happened or not?

Huh, turns out I actually got an e-mail through as well as app notification.

No email or app notification here still. I have actually opted in already so not sure if that affects it. 

I went to the app and opted in immediately after hearing about it on here, hours before I got any of the three notifications (Octopus app, WhatsApp, e-mail).

masonic

I've now had both a push notification and email at about 11pm, having not had either last time. So that's an improvement, but keeping eyes on this forum and the DFS website is the most reliable way to find out about sessions for me (I don't do Meta).

MultiFuelBurner

I read here and other places that some people turn the power off at the fuse (consumer) board for these events.

What stress does that put on items such as Fridge Freezers etc or does it make no difference whatsoever? I know they have these blips during rare power cuts but this could be 12 such events in a shortish period.

We won't be trying that btw

TheBanker

MultiFuelBurner said:

I read here and other places that some people turn the power off at the fuse (consumer) board for these events.

What stress does that put on items such as Fridge Freezers etc or does it make no difference whatsoever? I know they have these blips during rare power cuts but this could be 12 such events in a shortish period.

We won't be trying that btw

For an hour or two I doubt it makes any difference. But it is important not to open the fridge/freezer during the period. They are well insulated to be able to cope with power cuts, but if you open the door and let warm air in the food will start to defrost/spoil, and when the power comes back on the fridge/freezer will have to work harder to get back to the correct temperature. 

masonic

MultiFuelBurner said:

I read here and other places that some people turn the power off at the fuse (consumer) board for these events.

What stress does that put on items such as Fridge Freezers etc or does it make no difference whatsoever? I know they have these blips during rare power cuts but this could be 12 such events in a shortish period.

We won't be trying that btw

I turned off at the main circuit breaker for the very first session last year when there was a bonus for being in the top 10% based on percentage reduction. Since then I've just powered off my fridge and freezer at the wall, but haven't powered down things like my router. Shouldn't be any issue at all for the appliances. They work on a thermostat normally, so the compressor is regularly powering on and off many times per day. You can probably see this for yourself on an IHD or power meter. Powering off just delays the start of the next cycle.

I had some rewiring done a couple of years ago, so my power was out for about 8 hours, and my rather old appliances maintained safe temperatures (with doors remaining closed) during that time, though the empty ice box in my fridge had fully defrosted.

TheElectricCow

MultiFuelBurner said:

I read here and other places that some people turn the power off at the fuse (consumer) board for these events.

What stress does that put on items such as Fridge Freezers etc or does it make no difference whatsoever? I know they have these blips during rare power cuts but this could be 12 such events in a shortish period.

We won't be trying that btw

I did that initially last year but later on decided to just switch everything off at the wall manually, purely so the oven clock can be left on and not needing to reset it after the session (power draw for the oven in standby is too low to register as usage on the meter anyway so makes no difference to the results).

As long as the compressor isn’t running when the power is cut it shouldn’t have any ill effect on fridges/freezers. If the compressor is running and the power cuts out I’m sure that’s quite a bit less healthy for the appliance, but generally they’ll survive just fine. I still wouldn’t make it a habit to regularly (e.g daily on a timer) interrupt the power to a fridge/freezer though as that could well shorten its lifespan over time.