Water heater question

colm_mcm

I have a dual meter in my gaff, this is the panel for the water heater, it comes on for a few hours at night, I have a tall water tank in the hot press, heating is storage heating.

The water is quite hot in the morning, and there's always more than needed. Is there a way to reduce the time the water heater stays on?

I don't know if there's a thermostat in the tank, as if you go away and don't use the water for showers for a day, when you come back it's hotter than usual. (I know I can turn it off by the way!)

Would reducing the temperature in the tank by wither having the heater come on less, or by turning it down somewhere on the tank be more efficient than what it's doing now?

I know heat is obviously lost from the tank as if you shower in the evening rather than in the morning, the water isn't as hot.

I managed to poke some of the segments behind the timer with a cocktail stick and that reduced the time, but do I have to remove the cover to change the amount of time it stays on, there doesn't seem to be any other way to do it, but i haven't gone at it.

colm_mcm

Ok curiosity got the better of me. Took the front off, seems the minimum on-time is 5 hours, couldn't get the pegs closer together. That's the original on-time too.

Would there be a variable thermostat on the hot water tank by any chance?

Tank is a pre-plumbed Lycris-Byrne (Gold Shield) combination unit.

K.Flyer

I hate those clocks, I believe there is some arrangements between the manufacturers and the ESB to have you use far more electricity than needed.
*** takes tinfoil hat off.

Those clocks are useless, the simple answer is no you cannot change it much more than you have done.
I take loads of them out for people and fit the Grasslin EcoSave clock which gives you far more control over your times on / off and has a 15, 30, 60 and 120 min boost button.
Available in most electrical wholesalers.

K.Flyer

Adjustable thermostats are under the covers, but are usually preset at 65'
If the water is getting excessively hot its usually an indicator that the thermostats are on their way out and you are better off changing them before they burn out the element or start boiling the water.

colm_mcm

Would that mean just replacing the immersion units in the tank as a whole?

I assume one of the elements is for the boost function?

That said, 65 degrees is quite hot, I have no reason to believe the water is any hotter than that, it's certainly not boiling anyway.

There are two tabs at the centre of the timer that keep the two markers a certain distance from each other, so no potential to have it on less than 5 hours that I can see.

Looking at the PDF (thanks boards!) it seems this is normal.
https://us.v-cdn.net/6034073/uploads/attachments/19019/65518.pdf

K.Flyer

You would not need to change the immersion elements themselves, only the thermostats.
But you need to see which type you have in each one as there are a few different types.
The top element is the boost, and the bottom is off peak timer.
As I said those clocks are tricky to get any more adjustment than what you see.
The grasslin allows you to set times in 15 minute increments. So one hour in the morning and another in the evening may be plenty for you.