Night Saver electricity not working properly

W

Will

Registered User
Messages
30
Over the past couple of months when I've been using the storage heaters I've noticed on some occasions that they either don't come on when they're supposed to or don't turn off when they're supposed to. I read some other posts regarding storage heaters and found that it might have been a dodgy meter since its been so unpredictable. ESB guy came out yesterday and said the meter was fine but then when I got home last night it didn't switch to the night meter at all. Just to be sure I took a meter reading around midnight and another this morning to find that the night meter didn't switch over at all!!!

Does anyone know if there's something else that could be causing this... dodgy relay perhaps? Thanks
 
Will said:
when I got home last night it didn't switch to the night meter at all
Click to expand...

I have electric storage heating in my apartment.
It just clicks on automaticaly at percisely 10.57 each night during winter time. I didnt know you could do it manually
 
you don't do it manually - and it didn't switch over... thats the problem!!
 
It sounds like your storage heaters' clocks are out of sync with the actual time. Don't know what your storage heaters are like, but mine (old ones) have no visible clock. In order to find out what time the heaters thought(!) it was, I turned off the heaters fully and let them get cold. I then set them to the lowest setting (no afternoon or evening boost), so I knew that when they came on they thought it was night (say 11pm in winter). I kept checking them and as soon as each came on ("11 pm") - each was different - I immediately turned it off, waited until it was actually 11pm, and then turned it on again. The heaters' clocks then matched the actual time and they came on and off using nightsaver electricity.
 
damson said:
It sounds like your storage heaters' clock is out of sync with the actual time.
Click to expand...

I don't think so. When they do come on they're consistent with the relay that you hear when the nightsaver kicks in. So when they're on they run on the nightsaver meter. There's no power to them when the day meter is running.
 
damson said:
It sounds like your storage heaters' clocks are out of sync with the actual time.
Click to expand...
A storage heater with its own clock/timer? I've never seen such a thing. Any Nightsaver storage heater setup that I've seen involved dual meters where the mains switches over to the night rate meter c. 11PM and back to the day meter at 8AM (or 12AM and 9AM in Summer) and the heaters just charge up during that period (and the immersion is usually on a timer to switch on between c. 4-5AM and 8-9AM or something like that). Will - if you have verified that the night rate meter reading is not changing in any 24 hour period then it is simple not switching over for some reason. If the meter reading does change in a 24 hour period but not between 11PM/8AM (12AM/9AM) then it sounds like the night meter's clock is out of whack.
 
There aren't any time switches in storage heaters.

You have either a dual tariff meter which has a day scale and a night scale, switched over by an ESB time switch,
or a separate general purpose meter and night heating meter.

The first is more common. If you have a dual tariff meter and the night scale is not registering then the ESB time switch is faulty.
All units used in the house after 11pm should register on the night scale.

If you have a separate heating meter only the heater units will register.
 
ClubMan said:
Will - if you have verified that the night rate meter reading is not changing in any 24 hour period then it is simple not switching over for some reason. If the meter reading does change in a 24 hour period but not between 11PM/8AM (12AM/9AM) then it sounds like the night meter's clock is out of whack.
Click to expand...

Thats what I thought. But the ESB guiy insisted yesterday that the meter was fine. He mentioned though that it could be the relay (the one you hear when there's a switchover) but I don't see how a relay could be so inconsistent as its just a switch!!
 
Will said:
I don't think so. When they do come on they're consistent with the relay that you hear when the nightsaver kicks in. So when they're on they run on the nightsaver meter. There's no power to them when the day meter is running.
Click to expand...
If it's the case that the system is switching over to the night meter but it is not delivering power then nothing in the house will be powered since the whole house mains is powered by either the night or day meter at the appropriate time of the day.
 
Will said:
Thats what I thought. But the ESB guiy insisted yesterday that the meter was fine. He mentioned though that it could be the relay (the one you hear when there's a switchover) but I don't see how a relay could be so inconsistent as its just a switch!!
Click to expand...
Yeah - sounds odd alright especially if the problem (of the night meter not delivering power at all or at the right time of the day) is intermittent. Could you check the night meter a few times over a 24 hour period just to see if it ever changes at all?
 
ClubMan said:
If it's the case that the system is switching over to the night meter but it is not delivering power then nothing in the house will be powered since the whole house mains is powered by either the night or day meter at the appropriate time of the day.
Click to expand...

Could it be possible that the relay is damaged and if it didn't switchover the day meter would still be in affect as the circuit would still be intact?
 
ClubMan said:
Yeah - sounds odd alright especially if the problem (of the night meter not delivering power at all or at the right time of the day) is intermittent. Could you check the night meter a few times over a 24 hour period just to see if it ever changes at all?
Click to expand...

I've a reading from last night and this morning - will look again this evening... in my cold apartment!!!
 
Will said:
Could it be possible that the relay is damaged and if it didn't switchover the day meter would still be in affect as the circuit would still be intact?
Click to expand...
But then wouldn't the storage heaters always charge up albeit sometimes on normal/day rate units? Sounds to me like you need to get the ESB out again and insist that they check things out in more detail. Or else get your own sparks on the job (although I'm not sure if they're allowed to look into meter issues?).
 
ClubMan said:
But then wouldn't the storage heaters always charge up albeit sometimes on normal/day rate units? Sounds to me like you need to get the ESB out again and insist that they check things out in more detail. Or else get your own sparks on the job (although I'm not sure if they're allowed to look into meter issues?).
Click to expand...

The ESB won't look at anything after the meter... so its a sparky to look at relays etc... hence the reason for posting this thread... to find out if its an external or internal problem!! But if I can just replace a relay myself (just goes on the fuse board) I'd obviously save on the cost of a sparky... which by the way I've no idea how much they charge for a call out!!! But thats a different thread :)
 
Try finding a sparky who knows a thing about storage heaters and the night saver meter etc! If anyone finds one let me know........I await your responses with baited breath!
 
Update: Nightsaver did switchover last night but 1/2 an hour earlier than it used to (this is down to the ESB guy fiddling with the meter). Going to work this morning and left at 8:45 and it was still on!!! I checked the meter and the nightsaver was still running even though it should have switched back according to the timer beside the meter.

I'm going to see if I can get a replacement relay tomorrow and will let you know how that works out.
 
Sounds like your DEVI Controller is malfunctioning. You'll find it in your fusebox normally. Needs to be replaced by electrician. Nothing to do with the ESB.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top