Economy 7 water tank issue: immersion or timer?

[FionaH]

I have a NewLec Economy 7 quartz timer, and a hot water tank with two immersion elements.

The timer box has two sections:
Main timer with a dial for the 24 hour clock. If I turn this manually, the off-peak light comes on at the 2am mark and off at the 7am mark.
The booster which allows me to control the 2nd heating element for up to an hour. There is a 1 hour timer here to control it and also a light to indicate the booster is activated.

For both sections, the light is working correctly. However, the dials do not turn. Is this just a battery issue within the timer box? Or is it likely to be a general fault where I need to replace the whole box? The boiler was rarely used before I noticed it had broken down because I only need hot water for shower (electric shower) and washing dishes (can use kettle). I'm not sure if there is some sort of rechargable battery that has now worn down due to lack of use. If the whole box needs to be replaced, would this be a complicated job or can someone with basic electrical skills carry out this task?

Additionally, I am not sure if there is an issue with the main immersion element. I know the booster element works because when I turn the booster on (even if the dials don't move) the light on the fused spur (?) connected to the element lights up, and I can hear the immersion elelment running.

However, this is not the same with the main element. I do not know if this is because I'm not testing this during off-peak hours. I thought this would not make a difference if I am able to manually turn the 24 hour dial to the 2am mark, but I read on some other posts that they need to wait till during the night to test it (not sure if this is because they don't have a 24 hour dial).

Hope this all makes sense. I have only figured out some of this info from reading other posts, and other than that have no experience at all in these things! I would only like an idea of what is involved to fix this so that I understand how to discuss this with an electrician without being completely clueless.

 

[chivers67]

I thought the battery inside them was a rechargeable type just for keeping the clock running when there's a power cut.

Sounds like the timers faulty to me but quite difficult to tell without further tests, a like for like change wouldn't be too difficult providing you know how to isolate the power to it. The cost of the unit is around £50 but from what you've typed it sounds like you maybe beterr off getting a qualified electrician in.

 

[FionaH]

Thanks for your reply. I definitely would not be doing it myself! But I wanted to check if maybe this was easy enough for a friend to do it (who has more experience!)

 

[DeadJoe]

I had a Grassline E7 timer with a sticky clock. I could hear it ticking, but it would sometimes just stick on or off and the dial would stop going round. I dismantled it and used silicone lube on the plastic gears inside, which helped for a while. The battery in the Grasslin is soldered into the circuit board - I doubt you'll have something you can easily change inside your timer.

I ended up buying an all-electronic Horstmann timer in the end. No moving parts, and hopefully more reliable.

 

[FionaH]

My dad confirmed that the immersion element was not working and has replaced it successfully.

However, I still have the outstanding issue with the dials on the timer not working. I am now looking online for a suitable replacement and will ask my dad to fit it for me.

Will any 'economy' timer be suitable as long as it has a 24 hour timer (dials or electric) as well as a boost function?

 

[OwainDIYer]

This one should do and is probably a direct replacement for your Newlec timer.

 

[FionaH]

Thanks, this is one of the ones I was looking at earlier.

I also intend to call Horstmann technical support on Monday in case I can just replace the battery rather than the whole unit since it's only the dials that aren't working.