Calling @pigletjohn - megaglo water heater

[Violetroselily]

Have just got access to my new flat. It is electric only and has a white megaflo cylinder - pictures attached

Can anyone help a complete novice work out how it functions? It has a timer - also attached.

Assume I want it to run for a couple of hours during econ 7 time? Do I just do that using the pin wheel?

On it's current setting, I ran the hot tap and whilst it was cold at first, it did eventually whir and heat up. Does this mean its heating the water on demand?

Any help much appreciated....

So I set the timer like this? I.e this will come on from 1am to 4am

1am to 4am is probably enough (look for a label saying how many litres it holds, which will tell us how long it needs) but midnight to 7am is also probably OK

It will be interesting to see what the off-peak hours in your meter tariff are.

A Megaflo is supposed to be serviced annually. Mostly a safety check. Some, but not all, heating engineers have the necessary qualification. They call it a G3 ticket and it is generally held by gas-safe boiler installers. Ask around for someone local and ask them which Competent Person Scheme they are a member of, you can then verify their qualifications on that scheme website. Such a person will also be able to advise you in the operation of your system.

It looks to me as if you'll need to set your own timers on the cylinder and on the heaters to get the best value out of your off-peak tariff (if you have one) as the consumer unit has not been wired to use a timer on the meter. If it has one (please take photos around the meter, and also around your consumer unit, especially the thick cables and any large plastic connection blocks) you would need a better electrician to make the changes. It also needs genuine Crabtree Polestar MCBs fitted to replace the Wylex ones, and correct metal blanking covers to replace the plastic ones. I'd suggest having an Electrical Installation Condition Report done by a qualified Electrical Contractor, probably at the same time, in case there are other things that need doing.

Sorry.

Thank you, really appreciate the lengths you have gone to.

I actually had an Electrical Installation Condition Report completed before buying which found that the CU needed changing, and the vendor opted to use that same electrician to replace the unit. He is NAPIT registered, but clearly one to avoid now.

Whoever replaced that consumer unit is a muppet, It does not comply with the wiring regulations or the manufacturers instruction and there is also the issue of those Wylex NS Circuit breakers which aren't even available anymore and havent been for some time that were subject to a recall due to a risk of fire. Please get a good electrician round to take a look. www.electricalcompetentperson.co.uk/ will help you find one. Crabtree circuit breakers are easily available and they are not expensive. This potentially could invalidate your home insurance. Sorry for the off topic answer.

Please do report him to NAPIT they have taken a very hard line on people doing this kind of thing www.napit.org.uk/contact-us.aspx.

As to Piglets comment on Metal blanks vs plastic there is no requirement to change them, although the metal ones are more robust and secure.

So I've found the meter and its single rate, not economy 7...

In that case the timer on your immersion heater is pointless.

Unless, for a trial, you want to set your room heaters and immersion to run overnight, and look at your electricity usage morning and evening, to see if, for you, a dual tariff would be economically worthwhile. It might not. You can also buy electricity monitors to clip onto the supply cable at your CU (no electrical connection required). I use an Owl CM160 which stores data on my PC, but there are lots around, many sold on Ebay cheaply. Once the householder has a smart meter they don't need it.

Wow, some are incredibly cheap e.g.

Note you need the clip-on sensor, with cable to transmitter, and the display screen, often cordless.