changing a storage heater to an electric fire

[marko55]

hi all,
I've just spent today removing an old broken storage heater from the wall in my flat...the bricks in those things are surprisingly heavy! Anyway - the storage heater solution didn't really work for me as it had pretty much cooled back down by the time I get home from work - in it's place I'm planning to put a basic electric, hang on the wall fire along the lines of this one.
primarily, I just wondered if there is any reason why I shouldn't just wire it into the same dedicated switched socket that the storage heater was connected to - it's connected to a sangamo dial timer which was set up to take advantage of off peak electricity for the storage heater.
Can I just change the dial timer to effectively always be on, and just use the switched socket to control when I want the fire on?
It seems straightforward in my head, but there's still some niggling feeling that the timer should be removed from the circuit entirely or that I'll end up using electricity unnecessarily somewhere!

The timer is a Sangamo Q345 by the looks of it, and looks a bit like this, but in a case.

this might be a basic question but I'd really appreciate any guidance!
thanks,
Mark

 

[hairyben]

yeah, if the heater is the only thing the sangamo controls just overide it. Or set it to heat the room before you get home! great for when it's 'kin freezin.

BTW, if the storage heater was cooling down it may not have been getting enough charge, had faulty elements, been undersized etc. Storage heaters ain't perfect but they should do a reasonable job.

 

[marko55]

thanks! that keeps things relatively simple...
one of the elements in the storage heater actually crumbled when I was taking it apart so I reckon that was the main problem...it was just a bit past it really.
anyway, thanks again - just got to figure out the best way to get it on the wall now

 

[Steve]

Just to check that you understand the difference between your equipment and that of the DNO. You cannot alter the DNO's timer if there is one. The DNO sometimes use sangano timers in a sealed box with a contactor. You cannot touch this. You would be breaking the law if you did so, and stealing electricity as all your electric would be cheap rate - this timer switches your whole house over to cheap rate.

And if you have no equipment that uses high current at night, get rid of eco7.

 

[marko55]

hmm...
it might be the DNOs timer I'm looking at - and I've just checked the breaker box that runs off the timer and it includes the water immersion heater alongside the storage heaters which would suggest they've all been on the same timer...
there's a spur on the adjoining wall which I could potentially extend to the previously timed socket, although by the sound of things, maybe I'd be best getting a proper sparky involved...
thanks by the way!