What is this controller for?

[DaveChase]

So, customer has contacted me after buying a property with the intention of renting it out.

It has an E7 supply with 2 boards, 1 of which feeds 2 x storage heaters - 1 up & 1 down.

In the kitchen on the wall is this Horstman controller & they would like it removed preferably or at the very least updated.

Can anyone advise?

 

[pc1966]

Looks like a 70s/80s controller for central heating, a fancy system with some valves to allow different zones to be controlled. But you say it is just storage heaters?

 

[davesparks]

What is it connected to?
Is it live?
Have you opened the cover and done any testing to see what it controls, or at least ruled out the obvious possibilities?

 

[DaveChase]

Looks like a 70s/80s controller for central heating, a fancy system with some valves to allow different zones to be controlled. But you say it is just storage heaters?

Just storage heaters, 2 of them, 1 up & 1 down.
I don't know why you would require a controller for that setup?
[automerge]1591389069[/automerge]

What is it connected to?
Is it live?
Have you opened the cover and done any testing to see what it controls, or at least ruled out the obvious possibilities?

Not had a chance to look into it yet.

Obvious possibilities?

 

[7029 dave]

I have seen a similar controller in the 1970's no zones, it controlled an immersion heater.

 

[DaveChase]

I have seen a similar controller in the 1970's no zones, it controlled an immersion heater.

This could be an option, there are 2 x imm heaters, 1 onpeak & 1 offpeak

 

[davesparks]

Obvious possibilities?

Obvious possibilities in my opinion are.
-It controls a boost function in each storage heater
-It is left from a heating system which was replaced by the storage heaters.
-It controls hot water.
-It controls the storage heaters on one channel and hot water on the other.

 

[DaveChase]

Obvious possibilities in my opinion are.
-It controls a boost function in each storage heater
-It is left from a heating system which was replaced by the storage heaters.
-It controls hot water.
-It controls the storage heaters on one channel and hot water on the other.

Thanks Dave,

So quite possibly redundant or able to be bypassed. I don't see the need for a standalone controller with storage heaters or immersions.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Multi-zone mechanical timeswitches were sometimes used for ordinary electric heaters, which might have been replaced by the storage heaters. It's less likely to be related to a central heating system because even where multiple zones were separately switchable, they were typically controlled by one programmer dial since they all rely on the same source of heat.

If this unit is surplus to requirements, I would happily send send the appropriate beer tokens to cover your costs to ship it to us for the museum (my previous attempt to get hold of one didn't work out).

 

[davesparks]

Thanks Dave,

So quite possibly redundant or able to be bypassed. I don't see the need for a standalone controller with storage heaters or immersions.

May be redundant, may be possible to bypass, may be needed and could be replaced with a 2 channel programmer.

Or it might turn out to be controlling something that has nothing to do with heating at all.

 

[freddo]

If there are only 2 storage heaters could this control 2 sets of electric underfloor heating? The last time I saw one of these it was connected to 2 MICC elements buried in the floor in a flat that also had storage heaters.

 

[littlespark]

Looking at the images... doesnt "on 24 hours" and "on all day" mean the same thing?

Im sure ive seen one of these in the cellar of the local pub that controlled gas or oil central heating. One zone controlled the pub/ restaurant, the other did the upstair bedrooms.
Was another controller for the hot water.

 

[freddo]

doesnt "on 24 hours" and "on all day" mean the same thing?

No, 24 hours would be always on, all day would be on from the first on time to the last off time, they call it 'once' on most newer controllers.

I see the second one says on all night so that would fit in with being a 2 element immersion controller.

 

[littlespark]

I get it now, @freddo . Too early in the morning to be thinking straight