Renamed - the immersion heater thread (was about about cost of SVR vs Go)

[Susanna]

Right you lot on here whose in the Northampton area with a screwdriver that could help this lady out. 30 minute job on a Saturday morning.
Les

Sorry about your loss Susanna.
Les

That’s very sweet of you Les, but really no need! Winter is almost upon us now, so I am going to be using the gas mostly. I could ask my local electrician (who installed my Wallbox) to quote me for a timer switch, maybe in the springtime. He is a lovely man, and I don’t think he would rip me off.
Thank you for your kind thoughts too. It’s been 7 years now.

 

[johnnyc]

Worth a try but I think these are more suitable for push button type switches like tv on/off buttons not to sure they can operate a rocker type switch like on a face plate of a fused spur but lets us know haw you go on please.
Les

That was my understanding initially, but supposedly they do on/off with a rocker switch, it’s arriving today, so I’ll report back.

 

[Les burrows]

Hey that might well do the job then thank you, looks like some kind of pad stuck on the switch to pull and push it interesting, keep us up to date please.
Les

 

[Lovemyev]

That’s very sweet of you Les, but really no need! Winter is almost upon us now, so I am going to be using the gas mostly. I could ask my local electrician (who installed my Wallbox) to quote me for a timer switch, maybe in the springtime. He is a lovely man, and I don’t think he would rip me off.
Thank you for your kind thoughts too. It’s been 7 years now.

Hi Susanna - Can I also express my sadness to hear about your husband .
Pity you don't live a little bit closer or I would popped around and installed your timer.
We all need all of the help we can get, right now !.
I think you spark would install a timer for you at a very reasonable price.
Give him a call and offer to send him some pictures of what your current switch control you have to control your emersion heater.
It is very likely to be a single square plate switched outlet ( see below ).
Some, but not all have a red indicator light warning informing you when it is in use ( but mine did not have any warning light though ).
It MAY have a thick white round flex coming out the present switch and then making its way across to the heater in the top of the hot water tank, which is also normal.

If access is safe and easy, you could also open the lid of your fuse box and send him a picture of that, to help jog his memory.
He is likely to just isolated the circuit and replace the current switch, with a suitable timer control unit similar to the one below.
You can choose either a digital type or a plain old clockwork type which are a lot easier to set what you require for timing your usage.
I will include a photo of a similar, to the one I am using right now !.
The timer is around £10 to buy and then what ever you spark charges you in labour.
With the pictures to hand, he may opt for installing it on his way home from work one day.
If it's a straight exchange, then you are talking one hour top's to install.
With the photo's you have sent him, he should be able to give you a very close estimate before he even starts the job !.
If you are on a cheaper "Off-Peak" tariff then the outlay will be returned in a very short time.

Greenbrook 24 Hour Mechanical Immersion Timer 16A Resistive 2A Inductive | Toolstation

• 96 On/Off settings • On/Off/Timed switch selector • 230V AC resistive load • Conforms to IEC60730-1 KEMA-KEUR BS

www.toolstation.com

 

[Les burrows]

Well said (lovemyev) I’m the same if she was a bit nearer I would have offered to do the job as well no problem what ever type of timer or plug in job was required there as got to be someone on here closer then us that can help the lady out.

Now Geoff i read very carefully your posting and I quote from you message, 1hour to install ? so would that 15/20 fitting time? Then 1/2 hour checking that the water is getting hot, HO and of course 10 minutes for a cuppa, nearly forgot about the cuppa LOL
Les

 

[Lovemyev]

Well said (lovemyev) I’m the same if she was a bit nearer I would have offered to do the job as well no problem what ever type of timer or plug in job was required there as got to be someone on here closer then us that can help the lady out.

Now Geoff i read very carefully your posting and I quote from you message, 1hour to install ? so would that 15/20 fitting time? Then 1/2 hour checking that the water is getting hot, HO and of course 10 minutes for a cuppa, nearly forgot about the cuppa LOL
Les

Bang on Les !.
I estimated one hour, because one hour is likely to be the minimum time scale that a trader is very likely to quote for, regardless of the actual time taken to complete the job.
A close by friend, maybe willing to install a timer, in exchange for a nice cup of tea and a slice of cake ?.
Fair exchange in my books ?!.
If I need a hand from my son, I always make the request at the same time as I am cooking bacon ?.
He can not resist a bacon sandwich.
It’s a bit like donkey and a carrot situation ?.

 

[Susanna]

Oh my goodness - how kind you all are!
Many thanks for the suggestions, which I will certainly investigate.

 

[biffo]

I installed a wifi timer for my 210 litre hot water tank - immersion is set to 60oC for safety reasons. It uses between 6 and 9kWh each night offpeak



The gas boiler is quicker, but think I’ve set it to around 50oC but have the Thermal Disinfection mode (high temp to kill bacteria) turned on weekly. Even heating to 50oC took 13.5kWh gas yesterday (Octopus Gas Tracker cheap just now so I use boiler if less than Octopus Go). In addition, the immersion still used 1.3kWh to heat from 50oC-ish to 60oC-ish.

All a bit subjective as we had two shower and a very full bath - so maybe it would have topped 10kWh electricity.

Guess what I trying to say is that it takes less energy to heat from immersion than gas - maybe due to efficiency, maybe immersion being lower in the tank than coil from boiler impacts too.

But, been happy with immersion and wifi timer but still use boiler when gas below about 6p/kWh. Today it’s 1.91p/kWh so definitely using gas!!

https://amzn.eu/8Cicnu3

 

[johnnyc]

Hey that might well do the job then thank you, looks like some kind of pad stuck on the switch to pull and push it interesting, keep us up to date please.
Les

It arrived! I’ve installed it (literally two 3m sticky pads) and it seems to be working! I have it set up to switch on at 02:30 and switch off at 06:30! Initial test seems good! It turns on and turns off. I did take a video but can’t upload those here.

 

[Lovemyev]

It arrived! I’ve installed it (literally two 3m sticky pads) and it seems to be working! I have it set up to switch on at 02:30 and switch off at 06:30! Initial test seems good! It turns in and turns off. I did take a video but can’t upload those here.

Can you upload it to Youtube and then provide the link on the forum .

 

[johnnyc]

Can you upload it to Youtube and then provide the link on the forum .

Indeed I can! Although I was thinking of doing this initially and thought it might be a bit overkill! ??

Link below:
Sorry if quality is rubbish - it’s my first YouTube upload!

 

[Lovemyev]

Indeed I can! Although I was thinking of doing this initially and thought it might be a bit overkill! ??

Link below:
Sorry if quality is rubbish - it’s my first YouTube upload!

That is brilliant - thank you !.

 

[johnnyc]

That is brilliant - thank you !.

Not a problem! It’s a cheap (ish) little gadget that will just sit there doing its job. The switch is rated to 20a, and it means I don’t have to bother getting the sparky out, nor fiddling around with the electrics myself! I’m happy enough with how it works and as It’s in a cupboard I won’t see it!

It’s got its own app and can be scheduled with other things like temperature if I want it too, as well as controlling via the app or via Alexa, but I’ve got it on local mode at the moment with the standard timer, as I don’t really need the either functions (yet).

 

[Lovemyev]

Not a problem! It’s a cheap (ish) little gadget that will just sit there doing its job. The switch is rated to 20a, and it means I don’t have to bother getting the sparky out, nor fiddling around with the electrics myself! I’m happy enough with how it works and as It’s in a cupboard I won’t see it!

It’s got its own app and can be scheduled with other things like temperature if I want it too, as well as controlling via the app or via Alexa, but I’ve got it on local mode at the moment with the standard timer, as I don’t really need the either functions (yet).

Looks like a quick and easy solution for an emersion heater control !.
My old emersion switch ( which was much larger ) required a bit of effort to operate it, mainly because it never got used I guess.
The action was just a bit "clunky" if you get my meaning.
The operation of your switch looks really easy in comparison.
Will you update us, when you have had more chance to "Test Drive" it fully .
Thanks !.

 

[Les burrows]

Well done Johnnyc, looks good works and your video is fine as the saying goes a picture paints a thousand words
Susanna looks like johnnyc might well have found a way around your problem video above #31 good luck
Les

 

[Susanna]

My existing switch is also quite ‘clunky’ and needs a hard press to operate, so I don’t have much faith in the gadget. Shame, as it is ingenious!
I will get something sorted for next year, depending on what happens with electricity and gas prices.

I hear cold showers are very beneficial ???

 

[Lovemyev]

My existing switch is also quite ‘clunky’ and needs a hard press to operate, so I don’t have much faith in the gadget. Shame, as it is ingenious!
I will get something sorted for next year, depending on what happens with electricity and gas prices.

I hear cold showers are very beneficial ???

I think cold showers are highly recommended for young men who are feeling a bit “frisky” ? by all accounts !.
It’s been a LONG time since I have found it necessary to take a cold shower ! ?.

 

[johnnyc]

My existing switch is also quite ‘clunky’ and needs a hard press to operate, so I don’t have much faith in the gadget. Shame, as it is ingenious!
I will get something sorted for next year, depending on what happens with electricity and gas prices.

I hear cold showers are very beneficial ???

My switch is a bit clunky too! It’s not stiff, but it takes a bit of an effort to get it moving.

The shower was hot this morning so it did its job!

 

[Gomev]

You need one of these