Newlec water heater problem

[Ana]

Hello everyone! I recently moved to a new flat (rented) that has a Newlec Economy 7 water heater. So far so good, the flat had the manual so I could change it as needed. Let me add that this is the first time dealing with a system like this, so I understand absolutely NOTHING about how it works. As far as I understand, the default settings make the water heat up overnight (off peak period) so technically I should have hot water in the morning right? But the truth is I don’t , it’s just warm(ish) or cold. I sometimes shower around midday (again, sometimes is very hot, sometimes just warm). Me and my boyfriend tried to change the settings, add extra heating periods throughout the day, but honestly the hot water is so random that I don’t know! The only thing that seems to work for sure is the boost (which I know costs a fortune if you use it often). So basically my question is: 

anyone able to explain to me how to change the settings to have hot water in the early morning / evening ? 
 

or is there a problem with it that I should get someone to look into it?

A bit lost as I wouldn’t even know if this is a plumber or an electrician’s job! 
any help appreciated!

Ana

PS: the only thing I haven’t tried yet is a factory reset, as I’m scared I’d mess up the settings and not be able to change it back!

 

[ProDave]

Usually (though not always) there are two immersion heaters in the tank.  The bottom one heats the whole tank at night on the cheap rate and the boost heats just the top half of the tank at any time.  Probably the off peak heater has failed.

But to be honest, this is a rented property, so just report it to the landlord or letting agent that the hot water is not heating properly and get them to sort it.  When someone comes round, get him to explain how the timer works for your particular system and tell you if there are one or 2 heating elements.