HELP -Timer on immersion heater.

[acornvilla]

Hi,I have just moved into rental property and I have a timer for the immersion heater downstairs that was not working and was using the isolator switch upstairs to put the heater on /off for the water .(but kept forgetting to switch it off)
So I took the old timer off to get a replacement , and the heater still worked with the isolation switch only , does this mean that the timer has not been connected from the isolator to the element ?
A bit confused as I don't want to replace it if it's not connected to it .
The landlord doesn't know either.(not interested in repaiing)
Would the isolation switch still heat water when on , if no wires are connected to this other box for the timer.
I wouldn't think so but I'm not an electrician.
any help would be gratefully received.
Thanks. Tina

 

[chivers67]

Post a picture of the timer

 

[acornvilla]

 

[stillp]

When you removed the timer, what did you do with the wires?

 

[JohnW2]

When you removed the timer, what did you do with the wires?

Indeed - and how many wires were there?

Kind Regards, John.

 

[acornvilla]

3 wires - electrical blocks put on each seperate wire not connected to anything.

 

[JohnW2]

3 wires - electrical blocks put on each seperate wire not connected to anything.

Do you mean one cable with three 'wires' in it (one brown or red, one blue or black and the other bare or green/yellow)?

Kind Regards, John.

 

[acornvilla]

3 separate cables-red / black / blue.

 

[JohnW2]

3 separate cables-red / black / blue.

Hmmm - did you make a note of how they were connected to the timer (which terminals)?

Kind Regards, John.

 

[acornvilla]

red live = in / black = out / blue = neutral.

 

[JohnW2]

red live = in / black = out / blue = neutral.

OK. It's not usual (or necessarily ideal) to wire an immersion timer like that, but it would work if the other ends of the wires were connected appropriately. However, if the immersion works (if you switch on it's isolator switch) with none of those timer wires connected to anything, it's clear that the wires in question are not 'wired in' to the immersion circuit - so, even if you replaced the timer, it would not work (the timer will connect the red and black wires when it wants to switch the immersion on, and break that connection to turn it off, but your immersion is working even without the red and black connected).

Logically, the next thing to do would be to try to find where those wires go - and what (if anything) they are connected to at the other end. If that is difficult, a pragmatic solution would be to get a timer installed adjacent toi the immersion's isolator switch.

Kind Regards, John.

 

[stillp]

3 separate cables-red / black / blue.

Hmmm - did you make a note of how they were connected to the timer (which terminals)?

Kind Regards, John.

I'm not sure what difference that makes, since it doesn't seem to be connected to the immersion heater.

Acorn, do you have a multimeter?

 

[acornvilla]

no I don't have a multimeter.
I think it's time to get the professionals in to get a timer fitted next to the isolation switch . and find out what this is connected to if anything, the house is full of defects/problems, was going to purchase this house once mine was sold , but it has too many problems.(won't go into the waste plumbing,/pool leaking /roof leaking, lol)
Thank you for all your help .
Tina

 

[JohnW2]

Hmmm - did you make a note of how they were connected to the timer (which terminals)?

I'm not sure what difference that makes, since it doesn't seem to be connected to the immersion heater.

The 'difference' is that, now we have got the answer, we can understand how the timer was meant to work (and presumably did once work - although it seems that the wiring is probably now disconnected).

I'm not sure that a multimeter will help that much. Whether or not the red conductor is live, it's fairly clear that the black one isn't connected to the immersion heater. I say 'fairly clear' because I've taken it on trust that the 'isolation switch' really is just that. If (definitely 'bad practice!) it were a switch which simply bypasses the timer, then it is possible that the black conductor from the timer is connected to the immersion. A meter would detect that situation but, as I said, I suspect that this won't be the case and that 'cable tracing' is probably going to be needed.

Kind Regards, John

 

[stillp]

Hmmm - did you make a note of how they were connected to the timer (which terminals)?

I'm not sure what difference that makes, since it doesn't seem to be connected to the immersion heater.

The 'difference' is that, now we have got the answer, we can understand how the timer was meant to work (and presumably did once work - although it seems that the wiring is probably now disconnected).

I'm not sure that a multimeter will help that much. Whether or not the red conductor is live, it's fairly clear that the black one isn't connected to the immersion heater. I say 'fairly clear' because I've taken it on trust that the 'isolation switch' really is just that. If (definitely 'bad practice!) it were a switch which simply bypasses the timer, then it is possible that the black conductor from the timer is connected to the immersion. A meter would detect that situation but, as I said, I suspect that this won't be the case and that 'cable tracing' is probably going to be needed.

Kind Regards, John

John, that's more or less what I was thinking although I would have started by checking if the red wire really is live.
If the immersion heater is working with the timer disconnected, then the timer can't ever have worked - unless something else has changed.
However the OP has come to the right conclusion - he/she needs an electrician.