Todays (Bodge) Re Engineering Challenge

[ProDave]

As you hay have noticed I live and work in the Highlands.

Tomorrow I have to drive 50 miles north to fit an external time clock to an electric boiler, to replace the internal one that the tenant finds too difficult to use.

As usual, an unseen job, so no luxury of looking, then ordering the correct parts.  All I know is the neighbouring property (same boiler) has been fitted with an external programmer, so it is possible.

So what to take?

I'm guessing it will need to be a programmer with volt free contacts, rather than just a switched L output. but I don't have one, and don't want to start my day with a 20 mile drive in the opposite direction to get one first thing.

So I have a normal Drayton programmer.  I open it up for a look, and find there are s set of soldered in links, that you can re configure.  5 minutes work, and I now have a programmer with volt free contacts so job should be a good un tomorrow without the detour.

Just thought it worth mentioning in case you are stuck, these things can be reconfigured (though will probably invalidate any warranty on it)

 

[kerching]

As Prof Heinz Wolff would have said.....a very elegant solution!

I usually carry a couple of relays for such situations.CPC do a really good relay...actually called the Very Handy LittleRelay works up to 36v AC or dc. A 240 coil and a 110 coil and I'm good for most "cobbling jobs"

It is only when miles away from home and up to your nads in guano that you have to work out what to do so you can get home to your family

 

[Andy™]

It is only when miles away from home and up to your nads in guano that you have to work out what to do so you can get home to your family

just keep rubbing it in... i have to order stuff and wait for it to be delivered... (funnily enough, i am busy making a list of stuff i need from there right now)

 

[ProDave]

Actually I wish ALL programmers had volt free contacts. Then it would be easy to just insert a link wire if you need switched L.

but that's far too logical and would mean you could manage with only having one of them in stock.

 

[steptoe]

I have probably 5 or 6 programmers in stock, I do a fair bit on heating controls for a couple of plumbers.

 

[kerching]

called in CPC on way home the other day....called to one side by the Trade Counter Manager.

" We have some more cosmetically damaged boxes of Cat5e LSZH if you want them?"......slightly less than half price [VAT included]

Spent yesterday insatlling it all in Nottingham

Drove past there again today....didn't call in; because I can!

Just massaging in the convenience of it all....

 

[kerching]

best ever buy from there?

2 Petzel Myo headtorches for £5 inc VAT [ie 2.50 each !!!!!!!!!]

Oh the convenience of it all!.........did I mention that they are quite close?  No?, well they are only............

 

[ProDave]

Oh Dear.

I've just spoken to the tenant, mainly to make sure they will be in tomorrow and I don't have a wasted 100 mile round trip.

"Ive only been in 7 weeks and I have a £400 electricity bill. I've turned the heating off and I'm freezing. I hope you can sort it out"

Oh boy here we go again.

Well if you (the landlord) chooses to heat a 1960's detached house with an electric boiler it's not going to be cheap is it?  I think it's on economy 10, but if not I'll be suggesting the landlord changes to that.  I always have thought electric boilers are a bonkers idea, but I can hardly share that pearl of wisdom with the tenant can I.

Instead my job is to fit a programmer they can understand so they can run the heating half an hour a day if that's what they want in the hope their bill comes down.  Then  :run

 

[NozSpark]

Well I've got someone who's wondering why their electric bill was £3400 over a 19 month period,,, guess what.... they've got electric radiators,,,, those things that are meant to be cheap to run you know

 

[Andy™]

dont you just love these adverts for electric heaters that claim to be cheaper to run. erm, electric heating is pretty much 100% efficient... the only wya it could cost less is if you use them less and the house is colder... but of course they wont say that

 

[ProDave]

Well I've just got back.

This is one of those "why couldn't you tell me the FULL story" jobs.

I didn't need my programmer.  There was a perfectly good heating / hot water programmer there already.  The red herring here, was the neighbour with an identical boiler, paid someone to replace the digital programmer, with a clockwork one. Some (older) people just don't understand modern programmers so that tenant paid to have an old fashioned clockwork one put in so he could understand it.  And from that, the myth arose that the boiler I had gone to look at has the "wrong" programmer.

So the task was to check it out to work out why it wasn't working properly.  And that was really quite straightforward.

BOTH the 2 port motorised valves had their mechanical actuators moved and latched in the "manual" position. So both hot water and heating were running 24/7 totally ignoring the programmer and room thermostat.  So put those back to auto, and cable tie them there to prevent them being fiddled with.

Next part of the saga, drip fed to me was a plumber had been to look at it last week. He had re programmed the times on the programmer so it only came on during the E10 off peak periods (yes it is already on E10)  Well quite apart from the fact the timer was being ignored due to the 2 port valves being manually turned on, he had set the times on ONE day, but hadn't copied that to the other 6 days.

So really quite simple to "fix" and then explain to the customer how it works.  It should make a difference to the running cost as now, most of the electricity will be used at the off peak times, whereas before it was running 24/7 so will have been using a lot of peak rate electricity.

And the last thing I did at the tenants request was lower the boiler temperature to 65 degrees which is the lowest you can set this particular boiler, it was set at 80.

It was a nice drive up the coast with little traffic so I enjoyed it.

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

Whats the weather like up there today. The London weather said Scotland was to have 100mm of rain & snow whilst its the hottest day of the year here.

 

[ProDave]

Fine this morning, raining now.  Still bloody cold for the time of year, 7.5 degrees was the hottest I saw this morning.

Forecast for snow in higher ground today and tomorrow.

Anyone seen spring yet? let alone summer?

 

[Andy™]

Anyone seen spring yet? let alone summer?

yes. saw 3 1/2 weeks of lovely hot weather, with sunshine every day!

although that was a little bit outside the UK...

 

[ProDave]

The rain has now turned to snow, and just a little higher up the hill it's settling on the ground now.

This IS supposed to be MAY

 

[batty]

Its nice down south at the moment Dave only downfall is part p. Well not actually at the moment as its dark but I am sure you get the gist.

 

[SLIPSHOD & SLAPDASH]

The rain has now turned to snow, and just a little higher up the hill it's settling on the ground now.

This IS supposed to be MAY

Well at least they will be testing the heating.  How long till their  first call to ask again how it operates.

 

[Marvo]

The rain has now turned to snow, and just a little higher up the hill it's settling on the ground now.

This IS supposed to be MAY

Why would you live in such a place if you have enough money to get yourself somewhere warmer...and drier?

 

[ProDave]

Why would you live in such a place if you have enough money to get yourself somewhere warmer...and drier?

No, I only have enough money BECAUSE I live in such a place.

When I lived darn sarf, with it's arguably better climate (but lacking the stunning scenery we have here) I had to put up with a smaller house, with little prospect of getting much more in my lifetime, and the indignation of a large mortgage to pay for it, forcing me to be an employee with all the ties that brings.

Now we are liberated from a mortgage, live in a larger self built house, and contemplating building another one, I think I'll put up with the colder climate.

I'll still moan about it though.

And did I mention building plots darn sarf are stupid prices so I would never have had the chance to do a self build, let alone 2 of them.

 

[Marvo]

I did spend some weeks in Scotland as a youth and I'll grant you there is some stunning scenery and I enjoyed the history that's everywhere. I remember some bonny looking lassies as they were known as well, I just couldn't live anywhere that cold and wet, I'd get cabin fever for 10 months of the year. Each to his own I suppose.