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Electrical

Immersion heater timers

Anonymous user 09/03/2024 - 2.51 PM

Hi all, i've an immersion heater for my hot water which works fine but it's on all the time so any water draw off the element kicks in and heats the water. I have solar panels and I'd like to use a timer so that the water is heated when the panels are generating energy i.e. 10am - 2pm +/- through the year. Have tried cheap and nasty and also £30 3pin plug timers but they generally only last about 4-6 weeks despite allegedly being adequately rated. Is there a decent plug in version out there or an installed outlet version that will do the job??

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2 Answers

Wildman Electrical Services

Rating: 5 out of 5

Peterborough

Hi Steve. The only timmer you should use is a Immersion heater timer which has a 16amp resistive load swiching capability. They are normally around the £20 to £30 mark like a 24hr GRASSLIN IHT-GPT01 or the IHT-GPW which is a 7 day timer. They should last longer the a couple of weeks. Hope this helps. Adam Wildman

Answered20 August 2017

DEACON ELECTRICAL SERVICES

Rating: 5 out of 5

Grimsby

Your query suggests you have an immersion heater on a plug top as you are using plug in timers? You need a proper immersion timer with 16amp contacts, hard wired. An immersion heater should really be on a dedicated supply from the consumer unit. If it is the you could put in a double pole 20 amp switch then to the timer and heat resistant flex to the immersion heater.

Answered20 August 2017