How to work with a storage heater with convector?

gespinha

Hi there,

I'm renting an apartment which contains a Dimplex CXLn storage heater with convector in the living room and I've been reading what ever I can find over the Internet, but nothing has enlightened me on how this thing should really work.

I know it has two wall switches, one for the convector and another for the storage heater. There is also a thermostat on the wall. I see an input knob (which I've configured to mid level) and an output knob (which I've configured on the lowest setting). On the front I see the controls for the convector.

My question is: how exactly do I configure the storage heater to work as a storage heater? Do I need the convector turned ON at all to have the storage part working?

Please help me someone as days are getting chilly in Dublin and I really don't want to get a surprise on the electric bill this month :P

Thanks in advance.

CollyFlower

gespinha wrote: »

Hi there,

I'm renting an apartment which contains a Dimplex CXLn storage heater with convector in the living room and I've been reading what ever I can find over the Internet, but nothing has enlightened me on how this thing should really work.

I know it has two wall switches, one for the convector and another for the storage heater. There is also a thermostat on the wall. I see an input knob (which I've configured to mid level) and an output knob (which I've configured on the lowest setting). On the front I see the controls for the convector.

My question is: how exactly do I configure the storage heater to work as a storage heater? Do I need the convector turned ON at all to have the storage part working?

Please help me someone as days are getting chilly in Dublin and I really don't want to get a surprise on the electric bill this month :P

Thanks in advance.

I've been living with (Unidar) storage heaters for the last 15 years and still don't know how to work them. ..... I'd like to know if more modern ones are more economical?

jambalap

1. One of the two switches is for instant heat that is as soon as you switch it on the heating will be on .
2.the other switch when switched on will come to affect when night time kicks on around 11pm. Now here is where you input and output keys come in to play if you want night heat to be stored and released until next day evening I would put input to full and output to low which means you won't get whole lot of heat but the heat will be low released until evening as always when your heat is not sufficient you can switch on the first key to top up heat instantly
3. You have to play around with input output keys to see what suits you better I would start both keys set to medium and then adjust according to needs
4. The thermostat on the wall comes into play when you ant to switch on heating automatically after reaching certain temperature
For e.g I set my thermostat to 20 so that room don't get too hot so every time room temp reaches 20 the heater will switch in my case I hear sound of heater switching off and it will switch back once temp falls below

Convector should be on all the time you control heater with the two switches on either side of heater. No heating switch off both . Night heat switch right hand one in my case. Instant heat switch left one these are my options may vary in ur case
Hope this helps

Borderfox

There is usually a timer on the fuse board to control the on off of the storage heater when the second switch is on. Convector works completely separate to storage element

gespinha

jambalap wrote: »

1. One of the two switches is for instant heat that is as soon as you switch it on the heating will be on .
2.the other switch when switched on will come to affect when night time kicks on around 11pm. Now here is where you input and output keys come in to play if you want night heat to be stored and released until next day evening I would put input to full and output to low which means you won't get whole lot of heat but the heat will be low released until evening as always when your heat is not sufficient you can switch on the first key to top up heat instantly
3. You have to play around with input output keys to see what suits you better I would start both keys set to medium and then adjust according to needs
4. The thermostat on the wall comes into play when you ant to switch on heating automatically after reaching certain temperature
For e.g I set my thermostat to 20 so that room don't get too hot so every time room temp reaches 20 the heater will switch in my case I hear sound of heater switching off and it will switch back once temp falls below

Convector should be on all the time you control heater with the two switches on either side of heater. No heating switch off both . Night heat switch right hand one in my case. Instant heat switch left one these are my options may vary in ur case
Hope this helps

So I do have to have a convector always turned on, in order for the storage to actually collect heating along the day?

What about the convector thermostat? Should it be on too? (because the convector panel in the heater has a small thermostat, specifically to control the convector)

gespinha

jambalap wrote: »

1. One of the two switches is for instant heat that is as soon as you switch it on the heating will be on .
2.the other switch when switched on will come to affect when night time kicks on around 11pm. Now here is where you input and output keys come in to play if you want night heat to be stored and released until next day evening I would put input to full and output to low which means you won't get whole lot of heat but the heat will be low released until evening as always when your heat is not sufficient you can switch on the first key to top up heat instantly
3. You have to play around with input output keys to see what suits you better I would start both keys set to medium and then adjust according to needs
4. The thermostat on the wall comes into play when you ant to switch on heating automatically after reaching certain temperature
For e.g I set my thermostat to 20 so that room don't get too hot so every time room temp reaches 20 the heater will switch in my case I hear sound of heater switching off and it will switch back once temp falls below

Convector should be on all the time you control heater with the two switches on either side of heater. No heating switch off both . Night heat switch right hand one in my case. Instant heat switch left one these are my options may vary in ur case
Hope this helps

Thanks for the reply, that was really helpful.

Just a couple of quick questions:

1. So I do have to have a convector always turned on, in order for the storage to actually collect heating along the day?

2. What about the convector thermostat? Should it be on too? (because the convector panel in the heater has a small thermostat, specifically to control the convector)

3. When you say that the storage heating will turn on at night time, should it just turn on automatically? Or should it have the convector turned on in order to do so?

Del2005

gespinha wrote: »

Thanks for the reply, that was really helpful.

Just a couple of quick questions:

1. So I do have to have a convector always turned on, in order for the storage to actually collect heating along the day?

The storage heater only heats at night, during the day it bleeds heat which you control with the Output control on the heater

2. What about the convector thermostat? Should it be on too? (because the convector panel in the heater has a small thermostat, specifically to control the convector)

The convector thermostat shouldn't have anything to do with the storage, on mine the output thermostat controls the convector if there's no stored heat.

3. When you say that the storage heating will turn on at night time, should it just turn on automatically? Or should it have the convector turned on in order to do so?
In your fuse box there'll be a couple of blocks to control the heating, you've the option to increase of decrease the storage heating times by +/- 2 hours each way of the time they come on/off, which is 23:00-08:00 in Winter 00:00-09:00 in Sumner and they change when the clocks change. There should be 2 switches beside the heater one for storage other for convector no need for convector to be on for the storage to heat up

Storage heaters take a lot of practice to get right and you're relying on an unreliable weather forecast to plan the heating correctly and it's nearly useless if you work during the day as all the heat is lost by the time you get home. I just gave up on mine and use the convector for heating.

Mrs OBumble

gespinha wrote: »

Thanks for the reply, that was really helpful.

Just a couple of quick questions:

1. So I do have to have a convector always turned on, in order for the storage to actually collect heating along the day?

2. What about the convector thermostat? Should it be on too? (because the convector panel in the heater has a small thermostat, specifically to control the convector)

3. When you say that the storage heating will turn on at night time, should it just turn on automatically? Or should it have the convector turned on in order to do so?

No (btw, it collects heat during the night when power is cheaper, and releases it during the day).

No.

Yes - provided you have the switch for storage heating on.


Leave the convector off, unless you need instant heat for some reason.

gespinha

Thanks for the replies!

I'm now starting to understand it a little better, but I get to the conclusion that my storage heater might not even be working, because I have left it ON (the wall switch ON) for the whole yesterday and it didn't release any heat at all. The output knob is on the minimum and the input is between maximum and half. (the convector all switch was OFF all the time)

Should this mean it might not be working? Or is any of my configurations wrong?

SarahMollie

gespinha wrote: »

Thanks for the replies!

I'm now starting to understand it a little better, but I get to the conclusion that my storage heater might not even be working, because I have left it ON (the wall switch ON) for the whole yesterday and it didn't release any heat at all. The output knob is on the minimum and the input is between maximum and half. (the convector all switch was OFF all the time)

Should this mean it might not be working? Or is any of my configurations wrong?

You need to leave it on overnight, as thats when its due to collect its heat from the cheaper ESB tarrif between 11pm-8am.

Do you have a light on your switch ? Mine lights up around 11 when it starts pulling in heat and goes on and off throughout the night. I have input set to medium and output set to low and this works well most of the time. I've never used the convection heater as that's taking electricity from the more expensive day rate and should be avoided if possible.

I have 4 of the things and am still getting used to them. Will definitly look into replacing them in time for next winter with something more modern and easy to control.

gespinha

SarahMollie wrote: »

You need to leave it on overnight, as thats when its due to collect its heat from the cheaper ESB tarrif between 11pm-8am.

Do you have a light on your switch ? Mine lights up around 11 when it starts pulling in heat and goes on and off throughout the night. I have input set to medium and output set to low and this works well most of the time. I've never used the convection heater as that's taking electricity from the more expensive day rate and should be avoided if possible.

I have 4 of the things and am still getting used to them. Will definitly look into replacing them in time for next winter with something more modern and easy to control.

My heater doesn't have a timer knob, so I never know if its turning ON or not. The only thing it has is Output and Input knobs, two wall switches and a control for the convector, which includes a thermostat for the convector and a switch.

The question is, should it include both a wall switch and a switch on the device? Are you saying I should leave the switch on the device also an, along with the wall switch?

SarahMollie

gespinha wrote: »

My heater doesn't have a timer knob, so I never know if its turning ON or not. The only thing it has is Output and Input knobs, two wall switches and a control for the convector, which includes a thermostat for the convector and a switch.

The question is, should it include both a wall switch and a switch on the device? Are you saying I should leave the switch on the device also an, along with the wall switch?

The timers arent on the heaters themselves, its external to your property and controlled by the ESB. When i moved into my place i noticed my storage heaters coming on at 7-8pm, so I rang the ESB and they came around and adjusted it so they now come on at the right time. Pretty sure you can just ring them up and say you want this checked.

Secondly, if something is switched off at the wall, then it doesnt matter what you do to the switch on the unit, it will be off.

I have mine turned on at the wall, and there is a light on the switch which indicates when its drawing down power. I notice this now after 11pm as the night rate kicks in.

On my units, (I have 4, but only 2 have convection heaters, 2 are pure storage) so only the 2 with convection heaters have switches on the units, so my assumption is that these are for the convection function only, but I choose not to use this.

gespinha

SarahMollie wrote: »

The timers arent on the heaters themselves, its external to your property and controlled by the ESB. When i moved into my place i noticed my storage heaters coming on at 7-8pm, so I rang the ESB and they came around and adjusted it so they now come on at the right time. Pretty sure you can just ring them up and say you want this checked.

Secondly, if something is switched off at the wall, then it doesnt matter what you do to the switch on the unit, it will be off.

I have mine turned on at the wall, and there is a light on the switch which indicates when its drawing down power. I notice this now after 11pm as the night rate kicks in.

On my units, (I have 4, but only 2 have convection heaters, 2 are pure storage) so only the 2 with convection heaters have switches on the units, so my assumption is that these are for the convection function only, but I choose not to use this.

That makes sense.

On top of the heater I have the input and output knobs and in the front I have a knob and a switch bellow it, which I suppose is for the convector, is it not?

Are you saying that I need this front switch turned ON and the wall switch as well for it to have the storage heating working? Or just the wall switch is enough?

I am asking this because I wave two wall switches, one that is probably for the storage heater and the other which controls what ever is this bottom switch, and I wanted to understand if I need both switches ON.

SarahMollie

gespinha wrote: »

That makes sense.

On top of the heater I have the input and output knobs and in the front I have a knob and a switch bellow it, which I suppose is for the convector, is it not?

Are you saying that I need this front switch turned ON and the wall switch as well for it to have the storage heating working? Or just the wall switch is enough?

I am asking this because I wave two wall switches, one that is probably for the storage heater and the other which controls what ever is this bottom switch, and I wanted to understand if I need both switches ON.

You basically have two heaters in one. My advice is to leave the convection heater off, and focus on working the storage properly.

The input and output functions relatite to the storage heating only. Set to medium and see how you get on.

To work, the storage heaters need to be turned ON at the wall overnight. Obviously I cant tell you which switch is which, but the convection heater should be instantly reactive, so the the swithch that appears to be doing nothing during the day is probably the one for the storage element.

The convection heater should only really be used as a "boost" if for whatever reason the storage heaters havnt made the place warm enough, like a sudden cold snap where you hadnt adjusted the input to compensate.

Leave whichever switch you think works the storage element on for at least 24 hours and turn the other one off. Its only by doing this will you be able to assess if the heat from the storage heaters alone is enough or if the convection heater is necessary at all.

Henry Ford III

Try turning the thermostat up and down too. It should make a noise (a click) when it turns on and off.

If you set it for say 15 degrees or a bit higher it'll charge overnight. If not it isn't working.

p.s. Avoid using the convector (booster) if you can. They are very expensive to run.

SarahMollie

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Try turning the thermostat up and down too. It should make a noise (a click) when it turns on and off.

If you set it for say 15 degrees or a bit higher it'll charge overnight. If not it isn't working.

p.s. Avoid using the convector (booster) if you can. They are very expensive to run.

+1

The other thing to note is that living with storage heaters is something you need to get used to. When working properly, they should keep your place fairly temperate all the time, not too hot, not too cold. Its actually nice to come home to a warm house.

You need to forget switching it on and off like a conventional gas/oil system, as its just not responsive over short periods of time and you'll only mess up its cycle.

Red Alert

Having lived with them (and the resultant bill) I'm of the view that they're simply unsuitable for people who are out at work all day, mainly due to the nightsaver tariff. I would have been a fairly expert user of them as well, balancing the storage vs top up setting etc.

Back in the olden days, storage (mainly underfloor and smaller storage heaters) was used as a way to equalise demand in the UK over the 24h cycle. Many of these systems ran almost 18h a day and only were cycled off during peak periods, as opposed to how storage heaters nowadays work.

I think management companies need to be strongly pressured into allowing gas to be installed into complexes, or else permitting reverse cycle a/c units to be installed which need an outdoor condenser.

MintyMagnum

Hey OP when I moved in heaters didn't work, got electrician in & he said the heaters were old & fecked. Months later a friend checked em out, said they were fine, told me to get esb to check the night clock out. Got them out, sure enough the night clock was broken, they replaced it (its in the esb meter room) & storage heaters then started working. U need to have the thermostat turned up at nite for the storage heaters to start heating, about 16degrees. I've two thermostats, one in hall, one in living room, both need to be turned up. As another poster said turn ur output on low to stop the release & turn it up when u want the heat. I also turn the thermostat down in the morning when I'm heading out to conserve the heat for later. They aren't massively warm in the evening though, it's just the way they work. There's bricks inside in it that store the heat, inevitably they cool as day goes on.

Cuddlesworth

There should be removable fuses in the two wall plates beside the heater(like a small rectangular clip in bottom middle of it). Usually the fuse blows on the nightime fuse. Should be obvious to see when the fuse comes out. I've been in so many apartments where its like this. Tenants can't be added fixing because of cost. They are useless when you all arrive home past 7pm.

Michael D Not Higgins

Red Alert wrote: »

I think management companies need to be strongly pressured into allowing gas to be installed into complexes, or else permitting reverse cycle a/c units to be installed which need an outdoor condenser.

The heat pump idea is one which would only work on a large scale due to upfront installation costs. It would mean higher management fees because the heating would need to be communal and bills would have to be paid from that. It's almost certainly looked at by some OMCs and then discounted due to the costs and problems with installing it.

Similar installation problems would be encountered for gas and it would really need to be incorporated into the design of the building in the first instance to avoid the problems of cost to OMCs. Think of all the landlords who don't care how much the heating bills are but do care how much the management fee is.

For houses, I've found one UK government website that has over 10 years payback time compared to just electric resistance heating.

Anything's better than storage heating though. I always hated it in the one flat I had it in and have avoided it since.

gespinha

Thanks for all the replies, I've just got every bit of information I need to start working with this and understanding what is going wrong with my equipment.

I'll probably read these replies more than once, but I really appreciate all the help

Red Alert

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

The heat pump idea is one which would only work on a large scale due to upfront installation costs. It would mean higher management fees because the heating would need to be communal and bills would have to be paid from that. It's almost certainly looked at by some OMCs and then discounted due to the costs and problems with installing it.

I saw a good few simple air conditioning units installed on balconies when I was on my travels in Italy last summer - they definitely didn't look communally planned, but I admit were a blight on the building's appearance!