Andrew <Andrew97d@btinternet.com> wrote:
I fitted this about 20 years ago and it has never failed
(even after powercuts) until now. Being 'made in the UK'
I expect it used better components than all their latest
timers. The 7-day plug in timer that I bought in 2010
(also Smiths) was 'made in China' and unless it is plugged
into an old BT exchange surge protector, it loses its settings
randomly after anywhere from 12 to 36 hours. The ETU2000
is also electronic but it has been bullet-proof until very
recently.
Symptoms are that after turning ON, it never turns OFF
after the set time. Sometimes it garbles the LCD screen.
The hot tank is very well insulated and the stat on the
immersion kicks in at 60C but I don't want to trust this
and nor do I want in on 24/7.
This seems to be a suitable time to upgrade to something
that I can control via my PC or phone but I cannot find
any immersion controllers that are intended for just one
heater. Horstmann seem to do one for economy 7 but it is
£95. It does have a blutooth interface as standard but
the output relays are only rated at 13 amps. All the
dedicated standalone single heater immersion timers seem
to be rated at 16amps. Is this an issue ?.
If I could find a suitable mains/mains relay with output
16amp resistive switching then I could presumably activate
it using a smart plug but there would be some ?back emf
to the smart plug at the end of the timing period.
I assume that the main timing logic of the ETU2000 is
not at fault. Pressing the Boost and reset buttons for the
required 3 seconds resets it, the relay clicks and the
output LED goes off (as it should after a timed period).
Presumably some discrete component has failed or is failing
but I don't have any way of proving this.
There must be relay devices that are intended for use with
Zigbee/IFTTT setups that I could use in place of a dedicated
immersion timer ?.
Andrew
I’ve been using a cheap Sonoff Wi-Fi switch to control my immersion heater for years with no problems. My one has been superseded by this one with a slightly higher power rating (20A vs 16A).
SONOFF POW Elite 20A Smart Power Meter Switch, WiFi Wireless Outlet with Power and Energy Monitoring, Control Lights and Appliances from Phone,
Manage Energy for DIY Smart Home,Works with Alexa https://amzn.eu/d/ajKKud8
Other stockists are available.
Tim
Andrew <Andrew97d@btinternet.com> wrote:
I fitted this about 20 years ago and it has never failed
(even after powercuts) until now. Being 'made in the UK'
I expect it used better components than all their latest
timers. The 7-day plug in timer that I bought in 2010
(also Smiths) was 'made in China' and unless it is plugged
into an old BT exchange surge protector, it loses its settings
randomly after anywhere from 12 to 36 hours. The ETU2000
is also electronic but it has been bullet-proof until very
recently.
Symptoms are that after turning ON, it never turns OFF
after the set time. Sometimes it garbles the LCD screen.
The hot tank is very well insulated and the stat on the
immersion kicks in at 60C but I don't want to trust this
and nor do I want in on 24/7.
This seems to be a suitable time to upgrade to something
that I can control via my PC or phone but I cannot find
any immersion controllers that are intended for just one
heater. Horstmann seem to do one for economy 7 but it is
£95. It does have a blutooth interface as standard but
the output relays are only rated at 13 amps. All the
dedicated standalone single heater immersion timers seem
to be rated at 16amps. Is this an issue ?.
If I could find a suitable mains/mains relay with output
16amp resistive switching then I could presumably activate
it using a smart plug but there would be some ?back emf
to the smart plug at the end of the timing period.
I assume that the main timing logic of the ETU2000 is
not at fault. Pressing the Boost and reset buttons for the
required 3 seconds resets it, the relay clicks and the
output LED goes off (as it should after a timed period).
Presumably some discrete component has failed or is failing
but I don't have any way of proving this.
There must be relay devices that are intended for use with
Zigbee/IFTTT setups that I could use in place of a dedicated
immersion timer ?.
Andrew
I’ve been using a cheap Sonoff Wi-Fi switch to control my immersion heater for years with no problems. My one has been superseded by this one with a slightly higher power rating (20A vs 16A).
SONOFF POW Elite 20A Smart Power Meter Switch, WiFi Wireless Outlet with Power and Energy Monitoring, Control Lights and Appliances from Phone,
Manage Energy for DIY Smart Home,Works with Alexa https://amzn.eu/d/ajKKud8
Other stockists are available.
Tim
This sounds like capacitor trouble in its psu. they dry out and the unit tends to get low voltages marred by interference from parts of the circuit. My Immersion heater timer lost its battery back up but a new solder in one brought it back to life, and it can now cope with a power cut.
I used to have an el cheapo vcr once that had this fault you describe, and it was also very prone to picking up interference from an electronic tube torch. It was a Philips and it never was fixed. Moving it to another part of the room seemed to fix its tendency to corrupt.
Brian
I still need to upgrade the Smiths timer because it has
on old fashioned lcd display that has no backlight and
can only be read with a strong light and at a particular
angle. There are better modern equivalents that use
backlit displays (but I bet they wont last 20 years) and
the ability to use a phone, tablet app or some form of
home automation is quite appealing
On 24/01/2024 12:13, Andrew wrote:
I still need to upgrade the Smiths timer because it has
on old fashioned lcd display that has no backlight and
can only be read with a strong light and at a particular
angle. There are better modern equivalents that use
backlit displays (but I bet they wont last 20 years) and
the ability to use a phone, tablet app or some form of
home automation is quite appealing
Quite often the backlight only comes on for a short period when you
select a function.
On 25/01/2024 08:06, alan_m wrote:
On 24/01/2024 12:13, Andrew wrote:
I still need to upgrade the Smiths timer because it has
on old fashioned lcd display that has no backlight and
can only be read with a strong light and at a particular
angle. There are better modern equivalents that use
backlit displays (but I bet they wont last 20 years) and
the ability to use a phone, tablet app or some form of
home automation is quite appealing
Quite often the backlight only comes on for a short period when you
select a function.
I thought that was pretty well standard behaviour, it's the only
time a backlight would be needed.
Meanwhile the Smiths Timer is sitting happily on my desk without
any output load, connected with a length of lighting flex to a
3pin plug (and without an earth connection) and it is working
fine.
QED the problem must be elsewhere.
On 25-Jan-24 10:48, Andrew wrote:
On 25/01/2024 08:06, alan_m wrote:
On 24/01/2024 12:13, Andrew wrote:
I still need to upgrade the Smiths timer because it has
on old fashioned lcd display that has no backlight and
can only be read with a strong light and at a particular
angle. There are better modern equivalents that use
backlit displays (but I bet they wont last 20 years) and
the ability to use a phone, tablet app or some form of
home automation is quite appealing
Quite often the backlight only comes on for a short period when you
select a function.
I thought that was pretty well standard behaviour, it's the only
time a backlight would be needed.
Meanwhile the Smiths Timer is sitting happily on my desk without
any output load, connected with a length of lighting flex to a
3pin plug (and without an earth connection) and it is working
fine.
QED the problem must be elsewhere.
In your safety protocols for a start. 😃
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