Yet another Storage Heater question

peter1892

Hi - I have storage heaters in my apartment which run on the usual night saver system. For the last 2 years that I've lived there they've worked without any issues but at the moment they're not coming on when they're switched on at night (they weren't in use for the last 5 or 6 months).

I've checked the switches and fuses, and nothing seems to be wrong. But the controller on the fuse board seems to be having trouble.

I've noticed in the past is that there is an audible 'thump' when the system switches over to the night setting (around 11 PM in winter) and again in the morning when it goes back to day rate. But this isn't happening.

I've turned the 'day' dial all the way to constant (and I hear the the 'thump' if it's done at night) and the light will go from green to red, but the lamp on the 'night' dial does nothing (it's supposed to flash when power is being fed to the heaters). The only time it's worked is when day has been set to constant and night is at +2.

So - as it seems to be the case that the only way I can get the heaters to come on is to leave the day setting on 'constant', is the controller actually broken or is it just a case of it not being used for a while and it needs to be reset?

bertie1

peter1892 wrote: »

Hi - I have storage heaters in my apartment which run on the usual night saver system. For the last 2 years that I've lived there they've worked without any issues but at the moment they're not coming on when they're switched on at night (they weren't in use for the last 5 or 6 months).

I've checked the switches and fuses, and nothing seems to be wrong. But the controller on the fuse board seems to be having trouble.

I've noticed in the past is that there is an audible 'thump' when the system switches over to the night setting (around 11 PM in winter) and again in the morning when it goes back to day rate. But this isn't happening.

I've turned the 'day' dial all the way to constant (and I hear the the 'thump' if it's done at night) and the light will go from green to red, but the lamp on the 'night' dial does nothing (it's supposed to flash when power is being fed to the heaters). The only time it's worked is when day has been set to constant and night is at +2.

So - as it seems to be the case that the only way I can get the heaters to come on is to leave the day setting on 'constant', is the controller actually broken or is it just a case of it not being used for a while and it needs to be reset?

I assume it is some sort of devi reg controller you have in your board , have you been checking this after midnight or before as in during the day time ( The ESB clock is probably holding them off if you are checking during the day)

peter1892

bertie1 wrote: »

I assume it is some sort of devi reg controller you have in your board , have you been checking this after midnight or before as in during the day time ( The ESB clock is probably holding them off if you are checking during the day)

It is a Devi - 710-2. I've just checked it (12:20 am) and I'm getting the same result as described above. Right now day is on constant, night is +4 and the heaters are working. But if I move day off constant it switches the heaters off again.

bertie1

The devi reg does a comparison between the outside temperature & the temperature required inside , when the ESB clock switches over to night time rate , there is a temperature sensor wired to the outside of the building somewhere. Last night was a kind of a mild night so the heaters would not have come on for the full 8 hours , the controller may decide 4 or 5hours was was enough. The controller and/ or outdoor sensor wired to it may be faulty

peter1892

bertie1 wrote: »

The devi reg does a comparison between the outside temperature & the temperature required inside , when the ESB clock switches over to night time rate , there is a temperature sensor wired to the outside of the building somewhere. Last night was a kind of a mild night so the heaters would not have come on for the full 8 hours , the controller may decide 4 or 5hours was was enough. The controller and/ or outdoor sensor wired to it may be faulty

Thanks - I'll keep checking it over the coming nights to see if it's working or not

peter1892

Same problem, it's still not switching on normally. Is the controller something that any electrician can deal with or is it something I need to report to ESB?

Dan_

peter1892 wrote: »

Same problem, it's still not switching on normally. Is the controller something that any electrician can deal with or is it something I need to report to ESB?

Its a job for an electrician, the ESB wont want to know as long as their meter is switching at the correct time and sending you up a signal.

eoghan.geraghty

By turning the dial to constant you are bypassing the external controls, this is a test function only.
As stated earlier, the external controls decide, depending on the temp, how long to run your storage heaters for each night. If you leave the devireg on const your heaters will come on for the full 8 hours each night, not an ideal solution in the long term.
You will either need to replace the devireg or the external thermostat, they are both sold together as a unit for €150 iirc.
Good luck with it.

peter1892

Thanks for the answers everyone. Power is getting to the heaters so I'm fairly sure that it's the Devi-reg.

JOHNPT

If power is getting too heaters its not the devi reg. Is light on switch beside heater coming on at night time? If so and you have no heat its a problem with the heaters. It could be faulty switch but usually its a thermal fuse that blows in heater - in newier types you can reset it. Very important u dont put clothes on heater when working - it overheats and blows thermal fuse.

peter1892

JOHNPT wrote: »

If power is getting too heaters its not the devi reg. Is light on switch beside heater coming on at night time? If so and you have no heat its a problem with the heaters. It could be faulty switch but usually its a thermal fuse that blows in heater - in newier types you can reset it. Very important u dont put clothes on heater when working - it overheats and blows thermal fuse.

There's no lights beside any of the swtches by the heaters. They will work if the day control on the dev reg is at constant and night is at +4, but not at the normal mid points.

JOHNPT

Sounds like a faulty outdoor sensor as Eoghan said in previous post.