type of boiler All aspects of plumbing questions and answers, help, tips and information

[labgorilla]

I have just moved into a property which has no gas at all. The boiler I think is an immersion boiler with a two heating elements, one at the bottom of the boiler and another at the top.
These elements seem to be manually controlled. By this I mean that a switch at the wall turns them on and you can hear the elements heating up.
My question is:
The bottom element does not seem to be working and yet I can get hot water using the top one alone. Can I leave the boiler as it is?
Also, should I manually switch off the top heating element at night or periodically?

[muttley]

i would suggest that you bottom heater may be connected to economy 7and your top heater would be as a booster during the day.The idea behind this is to give 7 hours during the night at a cheaper rate and top up as you need it during the day.you will probably find a timed mechanism to the bottom heater.It may pay you to get an electrician to check it out.good luck

[labgorilla]

Thanks Muttley.
Unfortunately the bottom element does not have a timer attached to it. But I am getting in contact with an electrician in order to get one fitted otherwise my bills will be enormous.

[marrtin]

Think you may find the bottom element has a separate supply from the meter and doesn't need a dedicated timer as such. My guess is you will have a second fuseboard next to the meter which controls all the Economy 7 devices such as your immersion and other storage heaters.

[DONFRAMAC]

When I had this type of E7 heating, the lower element had a remotely located timer in the kitchen, near the cooker. It used a synchronous motor-driven timer, plus an on/off switch. I did not fit the top element, so I used a version of the timer which allowed a 2-hour clock-work direct boost, but that is slow to deliver, unless your tank is the special one with a shroud around the element, and a delivery pipe leading to the top region of the tank.
In those days E7 had 2 meters, and the whole house went onto cheap-rate during the night boost.
TOTAL_HEAT/TOTAL CONTROL is more common now, and has one meter, a feature-fire allowed for summer use, and extra power boosts in winter, mid-afternoon if needed, controlled by a signal sent up the power-line to the special dual meter.
No option to do all your laundry thro' the night on this tariff, on the cheap, and get up early to do your ironing.