How to change immersion heater wiring

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Hello all,

Just a quick question. I am currently remodelling my bathroom and I would like my immersion heater to now be running all of the time so I have access to how water whenever I want it, whereas at the moment it runs on a timer and heats up on the Economy 7 tariff overnight.

My question is how do I achieve this? Currently everything is fed by a 20A double pole switch, which then has a flex running into a timer and then a flex from there into the top of the immersion heater. I have included pictures below of what is currently there. The plumber who worked in my bathroom mentioned that I would need something like this https://www.thefloorheatingwarehous...MIi5Xqv7ux8wIVi7TtCh22CgOWEAQYASABEgK16PD_BwE and this
https://www.bes.co.uk/cylinder-thermostat-20007/ but is this necessary?

Many thanks for any help.

Edit: Just for clarification, I am an electrician and can carry out this work. I predominantly work in the industrial sector and have zero experience of heating systems, however.
 

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A 13a plug will cause the immersion heating to run all the time.

To give a serious suggestion, I would try and simpler method than the wiring centre on the basis it’s only for hot water.

do you occupy the house all day? Do you have showers and do your washing up at regular times?
I would check your immersion Rod has a thermal cut out. Might even be worth replacing it for good measure as they tend to corrode over time anyway.

Do away with the programmer.
Replace your double pole switched fused spur with a Digital time clock double pole spur.
Time guard do a 7 day one. Just set it up for the hours you require water. for example 11pm-5am you could have it off. Turn back on at 5am so it’s warm for a 6am shower. Leave it on till everyone in the house is up and ready for the day. Turn it off during the day while your out. And then have it turn back on an hour before your all home and run it up till 11pm

weekends you can set a different time period.

hope this suggestion helps, I used to be a domestic electrician but I’ve myself been on commercial and industrial projects for a while.

please correct me anyone who see’s a better method
 
Further. If your current double pole spur is supplied on an economy 7 circuit it will be isolated all day. I suggest you make sure it’s on a normal feed on your main consumer unit
 
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Looks like a dual element immersion, which has a long element for economy 7, and a shorter one to boost. Need to check both are functioning
 
You can afford to increase your electric bill by around 30-40%?

Good point. So, what would be your suggestion? I get up around 5:30 and have a shower then I’m off to work for the day. My partner, however, works from home and usually prefers a shower later in the day or a bath at night. At the moment I use the boost function but it’s not ideal. The plumber I had round said people typically leave their immersions running throughout the day now, so to be clear I am repeating what he has told me.

Again, this is completely new to me so I’m 100% open to suggestions, thank you.

A 13a plug will cause the immersion heating to run all the time.

To give a serious suggestion, I would try and simpler method than the wiring centre on the basis it’s only for hot water.

do you occupy the house all day? Do you have showers and do your washing up at regular times?
I would check your immersion Rod has a thermal cut out. Might even be worth replacing it for good measure as they tend to corrode over time anyway.

Do away with the programmer.
Replace your double pole switched fused spur with a Digital time clock double pole spur.
Time guard do a 7 day one. Just set it up for the hours you require water. for example 11pm-5am you could have it off. Turn back on at 5am so it’s warm for a 6am shower. Leave it on till everyone in the house is up and ready for the day. Turn it off during the day while your out. And then have it turn back on an hour before your all home and run it up till 11pm

weekends you can set a different time period.

hope this suggestion helps, I used to be a domestic electrician but I’ve myself been on commercial and industrial projects for a while.

please correct me anyone who see’s a better method

Thank you very much for your response. This is probably a better idea than having it running all day. I’d just like the option of having a shower after work, which I currently need to use the ‘boost’ function for.

Additionally, the timer is old and noisy so there’s another reason to replace it.
 
Good point. So, what would be your suggestion? I get up around 5:30 and have a shower then I’m off to work for the day. My partner, however, works from home and usually prefers a shower later in the day or a bath at night. At the moment I use the boost function but it’s not ideal. The plumber I had round said people typically leave their immersions running throughout the day now, so to be clear I am repeating what he has told me.

Again, this is completely new to me so I’m 100% open to suggestions, thank you.

Obvious, innit? Get a decent electric shower installed. A shower when you want it, without the waste of keeping water hot which might or might not be needed, plus no waiting for a tank of water to heat up if someone has used all the hot water.
 
Obvious, innit? Get a decent electric shower installed. A shower when you want it, without the waste of keeping water hot which might or might not be needed, plus no waiting for a tank of water to heat up if someone has used all the hot water.

There is a shower bar installed in the bathroom, so I don’t have an electric one.
 
Good point. So, what would be your suggestion? I get up around 5:30 and have a shower then I’m off to work for the day. My partner, however, works from home and usually prefers a shower later in the day or a bath at night. At the moment I use the boost function but it’s not ideal. The plumber I had round said people typically leave their immersions running throughout the day now, so to be clear I am repeating what he has told me.

Again, this is completely new to me so I’m 100% open to suggestions, thank you.



Thank you very much for your response. This is probably a better idea than having it running all day. I’d just like the option of having a shower after work, which I currently need to use the ‘boost’ function for.

Additionally, the timer is old and noisy so there’s another reason to replace it.


The programmable switched fused spur time guard do allows you to have it turn itself off and on multiple times during a 24 hour period, just set it an hour before you will require it. I.e mornings and evenings. The rest of the time it can be switched off 4:30am-9am on. Then off till 4pm, back on 4pm till 11pm to cover washing up and after work baths / showers. Back off again till 4:30am
 
The programmable switched fused spur time guard do allows you to have it turn itself off and on multiple times during a 24 hour period, just set it an hour before you will require it. I.e mornings and evenings. The rest of the time it can be switched off 4:30am-9am on. Then off till 4pm, back on 4pm till 11pm to cover washing up and after work baths / showers. Back off again till 4:30am

I was thinking this before I got the plumber’s advice, which threw me off as it seemed excessive but I thought I’d check with people with experience of this sort of thing before I changed anything.

I think I’m going to do that for now and then change to a more modern control in the near future. This thread has been extremely helpful though, so thanks to everyone for their input.
 
There is a shower bar installed in the bathroom, so I don’t have an electric one.

Perhaps fine with a combi gas boiler, but expensive with an immersion heater. Swap it for an instant electric shower, if you want something more practical and cheaper to run.
 
My theory was having it run 24/7 would cause a huge electricity bill? Again, correct me if I’m wrong
Don’t need to correct you, and didn’t say you were wrong. Question was answered correctly, how OP wanted it and then welcomed a timer?(n):LOL::LOL::LOL:
 

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