Economy 7 problem

[Simonpieman2008 1]

Hello 

 

I have started having issues with my economy 7 emersion heater over the past few weeks and was hoping someone could suggest what's wrong. 

 

Initially, the Light would come on the airing cupboard at night but there was no hot water in the morning. 

 

So our plumber came and changed the thermostat, which seemed to cure the problem for a few weeks. Then a few days ago, no hot water again. So our plumber replaced the thermostat a second time, in case the first was faulty. It worked for 1 night and then no hot water  the following night, the light came on for the emersion but no hot water. 

 

Last night no hot water and no light came on either. 

 

I checked the fuses for both the day and night water heaters and they both work. 

 

Spoke to our plumber this morning and he thinks it might be an issue with the economy 7 timer and that I should contact the energy company to look at it. 

 

Does this sound correct or could it be something else? 

 

Thanks in advance. 

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION 2,307]

In my opinion you need an electrician to come and test stuff to diagnose the fault...

 

( I do hope the plumber didn't charge you if he was just using the "Guess & Replace" method of fault finding..?)

 

It's not rocket science or difficult the test if these type of faults relate to the Supply / Timer controller / Element or thermostat.. etc..

 

From past experience plumbers have little or no knowledge about how to test simple electrical faults..

 

You need a competent electrician to come an test exactly what is or isn't working..

 

(Also you may have more than one fault..  which will completely confuse most plumbers!!)

 

    

[Murdoch 511]

A competent spark would test the circuit properly AND the immersion heater element ...........

 

Where are you based?

[Simonpieman2008 1]

I am based in the Dartford area. 

 

Incidentally, if the element has packed up, would that cause the light to no longer come on? 

 

The light was coming on when the thermostat had failed first time and when subsequently replaced and now nothing 

[Murdoch 511]

If the light at the immersion heater isolation switch isn’t coming on that would suggest a live or neutral problem at the switch or the supply

 

do you have any other economy 7 devices?

does your electrical meter show i

usage each night?

have you changed supplier recently?

have you had a smart meter fitted recently.

[Simonpieman2008 1]

We have storage heaters that we do not use. 

 

I haven't checked the electrical usage overnight. Although it may not be an accurate reading as we have various devices ion standby as well as several phones charging. 

 

We have not moved supplier recently and we do not have a smart meter. 

 

I thought it might be the element, as nothing has changed apart from the 2 thermostats

[Murdoch 511]

I would suggest trying one of the storage heaters ... that would eliminate an incoming supply issue

 

Once you’ve done this and confirmed that your economy 7 is working find a local spark to investigate further .....

[Simonpieman2008 1]

Thanks for the advice. 

 

I will give that a try. 

[Murdoch 511]

37 minutes ago, Simonpieman2008 said:

Thanks for the advice. 

 

I will give that a try. 

let us know how you get on ...

[SPECIAL LOCATION 2,307]

8 hours ago, Simonpieman2008 said:

I am based in the Dartford area. 

 

Incidentally, if the element has packed up, would that cause the light to no longer come on?    

 

The light was coming on when the thermostat had failed first time and when subsequently replaced and now nothing 

 

The 'light' on the switch should indicate that power is present...

 

But it is worth noting it is not uncommon for lights to fail on on illuminated switch..

So the switch itself can still be working.. but the integral lamp (neon) has failed.

 

[Simonpieman2008 1]

Tested the E7 storage heater last night and it came on as normal. So that would suggest that the timer is not at fault.

 

Getting someone round to investigate...

[Murdoch 511]

1 hour ago, Simonpieman2008 said:

Tested the E7 storage heater last night and it came on as normal. So that would suggest that the timer is not at fault.

 

Getting someone round to investigate...

 

When they arrive explain the steps you've tried so they can focus on the circuit from the fuseboard to the immersion terminals and "back"