# Storage heaters coming on later and later each day.



## Globalti (22 Nov 2020)

Presently sitting wearing four layers and still cold as the storage heaters in this horrible bungalow are coming on later and later each day and right now it's a good 22 hours since they last came on. Seems the timer is slipping and loses an hour or two a day, in three months we've been round the cycle at least three times. 

How does the controller work? Does anybody know?


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## Mo1959 (22 Nov 2020)

Globalti said:


> Presently sitting wearing four layers and still cold as the storage heaters in this horrible bungalow are coming on later and later each day and right now it's a good 22 hours since they last came on. Seems the timer is slipping and loses an hour or two a day, in three months we've been round the cycle at least three times.
> 
> How does the controller work? Does anybody know?


I thought the electric company controlled them by sending out a signal. That’s what mine do. Bang on the same time every day.


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## Globalti (22 Nov 2020)

No these are on an old fashioned mechanical clock. Like everything else in this crappy bungalow they are broken. God I hate this place, the only good thing is that I've beaten the mice in the house though they are still in the car.


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## screenman (22 Nov 2020)

Globalti said:


> No these are on an old fashioned mechanical clock. Like everything else in this crappy bungalow they are broken. God I hate this place, the only good thing is that I've beaten the mice in the house though they are still in the car.




Did you try the eucalypsus oil I suggested?


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## lazybloke (22 Nov 2020)

If the internal timers can't be replaced, can you switch them to a manual mode and then buy some external timers?
You'd need to get something capable of handling probably 13amps. EG linky


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## Globalti (22 Nov 2020)

I got rid of the mice by blocking the huge holes under a door sill and by poisoning and trapping the ones inside. So off they went to chew my car engine.

When we get our possessions back on Thursday there will be two 2kw oil radiators so we'll bring them over to mouse-piss cottage.


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## Dave7 (22 Nov 2020)

screenman said:


> Did you try the eucalypsus oil I suggested?


How will that help his storage heater timers ?


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## oldwheels (22 Nov 2020)

Mo1959 said:


> I thought the electric company controlled them by sending out a signal. That’s what mine do. Bang on the same time every day.


Are you sure they start at the same time every day? My THTC seems to vary a bit according to the expected temperature somewhere else. As the winter progresses the start time creeps forward. The light is just outside my bedroom door and I hear it clicking on. I think it is a useless system anyway and is designed to make you turn on the expensive booster if you want evening warmth and the hot water is designed to disappear about lunch time just when you want it unless you turn on the expensive booster. 
So far mine is not turned on yet as the solid fuel stove keeps the house warm and always has a kettle with hot water on top.


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## Cycleops (22 Nov 2020)

There are special settings for sassenachs.


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## Globalti (22 Nov 2020)

It's an old-fashioned timer clock thing with on/off stops round the perimeter. The ectricity meter has two rows of readout. I guess the timer is supposed to switch the storage heaters on at about midnight then off at about 6 but every day it slips and loses an hour. Today they came on at 1.00 so it will be warmer by the time we go to bed.

I just wanted to know if this slippage is a common problem and whether there's a fix.


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## Mo1959 (22 Nov 2020)

oldwheels said:


> Are you sure they start at the same time every day? My THTC seems to vary a bit according to the expected temperature somewhere else. As the winter progresses the start time creeps forward. The light is just outside my bedroom door and I hear it clicking on. I think it is a useless system anyway and is designed to make you turn on the expensive booster if you want evening warmth and the hot water is designed to disappear about lunch time just when you want it unless you turn on the expensive booster.
> So far mine is not turned on yet as the solid fuel stove keeps the house warm and always has a kettle with hot water on top.


I think they maybe give you a boost when the temperature drops below a certain level. I honestly don’t mind them. Only got the hall one on just now and leave the other room doors open. I’ll try and not put the living room one on unless we get a really cold spell.


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## screenman (22 Nov 2020)

Dave7 said:


> How will that help his storage heater timers ?



Hopefully he knew that I was writing about getting rid of mice from the car.


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## the snail (22 Nov 2020)

Globalti said:


> It's an old-fashioned timer clock thing with on/off stops round the perimeter. The ectricity meter has two rows of readout. I guess the timer is supposed to switch the storage heaters on at about midnight then off at about 6 but every day it slips and loses an hour. Today they came on at 1.00 so it will be warmer by the time we go to bed.
> 
> I just wanted to know if this slippage is a common problem and whether there's a fix.


It's been 30 years since I had them, but ...
I think the meter will be supplying power overnight, and the timer will be controlling the release of stored heat. those mechanical timers always fail eventually IME, so that would be most likely. Possibly it is becoming stuck for a while when it tries to switch on?.


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## Chris S (22 Nov 2020)

I've turned my living room storage heater off and replaced it with a £20 convection heater from Homebase. I've got (a lot more) heat when I need it for a fraction of the cost.


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## Archie_tect (22 Nov 2020)

Depends what type of storage heater they are... if they had time clocks at all.

The older ones just relied on a time clock at the Economy 7 meter which changed the normal tariff over to Economy 7 rate which was a cheaper unit cost for the night storage heating circuit- some people used to have their washing machines connected to Economy 7 too. If each storage heater has it's own clock it's easy just to advance each one to the right time regularly.


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## raleighnut (22 Nov 2020)

Contact your electricity supplier, economy 7 timers are their responsibility.


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## snorri (22 Nov 2020)

Have you looked for another time switch, possibly beside your domestic fuse box?
My off peak heating system (pre Economy 7) had two timers in series, the first switched the offpeak supply off and on at times fixed by my suppliery it was sealed, but could be read through the looking glass to check when supply was off or on. Then there was another timer which allowed the customer to alter the periods that power was supplied to the heating system within the parameters of the first sealed time switch. This allowed the customer to economise or increase heating period during colder periods.
This secondary switch had to be checked occasionally to ensure that it was at the right time of day, also that the off and on contactors were sitting at the times on the dial that you wanted power to be supplied. There was a locking ring that had to be screwed up hand tight when all settings had been corrected.


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## screenman (22 Nov 2020)

We have economy7 and found out last week we have been paying twice for the night time electricity for the last 5 years at least.


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## All uphill (22 Nov 2020)

Globalti said:


> It's an old-fashioned timer clock thing with on/off stops round the perimeter. The ectricity meter has two rows of readout. I guess the timer is supposed to switch the storage heaters on at about midnight then off at about 6 but every day it slips and loses an hour. Today they came on at 1.00 so it will be warmer by the time we go to bed.
> 
> I just wanted to know if this slippage is a common problem and whether there's a fix.


This takes me back! I had a house with inadequate storage heaters back in the early 90s. With time either the little motor that drives the timer weakens or the mechanisms gums up slowing the clock.

The solution for the landlord is to replace the whole timer mechanism in each heater - it's a very simple job. I would respectfully suggest the solution for you might be to operate them manually for a few days and get out of there into your new place asap.


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## Globalti (22 Nov 2020)

Yes that sounds right. Everything in this shed is broken, you should hear the fridge motor droning away, it's full of condensation and ice. 

There's no way to operate the heaters manually. All they have in two knobs for the input thermostat and the output flap. Rubbish.


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## Bromptonaut (27 Jun 2021)

Hopefully this has been sorted now situation seems to be as follows: 

The property has, or at least is equipped to use, Economy 7 or similar electricity tariffs where all consumption in the off peak hours, typically 00:00 to 07:00 GMT, is at a cheaper rate. The meter has two readings, one (Low) for consumption during the 7 hours and another (normal) for the other 17 hours. There's a mechanism to switch the supply over at the appropriate time. At the same time it connects the discrete circuit for the Storage Heaters, 

In reasonably recent (like last 20+years) set ups the switch is effected by a radio signal from the Electric company. It's pin point accurate and adjusts doe Daylight Saving Time. 

Prior to that there was an electromechanical clock, often branded Sangamo, which effected the switching mechanically. The clock's time base pre-dated quartz and was probably the 50 cycles/second mains frequency. Not uncommon, at least in rural areas, for the mains frequency to be unreliable. A relative in a Worcestershire village gave up with their cooker's timer/clock because it drifted off time. 

Two things to do (1) check you're actually on an E7 tariff - I've heard of people having an E7 meter but a standard single rate tarrif. Meter reads as the sum of both rows (2) ask for your metering to be updated. If you're getting cheap rate 'leccy at peak demand time the supplier will be keen to get that put right.


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## jowwy (27 Jun 2021)

Bromptonaut said:


> Hopefully this has been sorted now situation seems to be as follows:
> 
> The property has, or at least is equipped to use, Economy 7 or similar electricity tariffs where all consumption in the off peak hours, typically 00:00 to 07:00 GMT, is at a cheaper rate. The meter has two readings, one (Low) for consumption during the 7 hours and another (normal) for the other 17 hours. There's a mechanism to switch the supply over at the appropriate time. At the same time it connects the discrete circuit for the Storage Heaters,
> 
> ...


He doesnt live in that house anymore……hes moved on to pastures new, with new build property in scotland


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