plug-in time switches

Our one and only plug in timeswitch has failed after I added the icicle lights to it. They are neon and not sure what the problem might have been. It is an electronically controlled one that when unplugged seems to be programmable and display correctly. As soon as it is plugged in all the lcd symbols show and it does not respond to any of the buttons.

We will soon be leaving the house unattended for long periods and was going to get some light sensing random time timed switches to control a few lights while we are away.

Ideally to switch on and off at random from when it gets dark to say 11pm. Need to be capable of working with CFL bulbs.

Anyone got any recommendations. We may be away for more than 3 months at a time hence the on time really needs to be controlled by it getting dark rather than a fixed time.

Reply to
Hugh - Was Invisible
Loading thread data ...

certainly not in winter unless you've drained all the water out of everything.

Which is why you DON'T turn it off.

Reply to
charles

Please practice what you preach.

You left the synapses to your brain switched on when we all know that you are empty upstairs.

Reply to
ARWadsworth

If it is security you want then why not just leave the lights on 24/7 and pretend that teenagers are living in you house?

Reply to
ARWadsworth

And on my helpful side then go to Tescos:-)

formatting link
the exact model I have, but similar. It works.

Reply to
ARWadsworth

formatting link
Ideally is to just have the absolute minimum of electric circuitry

We will be back from time to time and need heating etc. It is not practicable to drain every run of water pipe. Heating will be left with the thermostat left on low and the loft hatch slightly open with mesh over it.

We are wooden floored and not sure about what to do about pipes under the ground floor. I will inspect the loft pipe lagging carefully before we go.

Never had any icing on the condensate pipe from the boiler so hopefully that is well enough designed.

We have a split fuse board all rcd protected (TT system) and do not live in an area prone to flooding.

Grown up children live in the area and will keep an eye etc.

Reply to
Hugh - Was Invisible

Thanks for the link. It is possible going forward that we may leave early January and not return until July.

We would want the light to work intermittently from dusk (which could vary from 4pm to 9.30 pm) to around 11pm. Does that sort of model cope with that?

Reply to
Hugh - Was Invisible

Mine did, until the blonde plugged the hair dryer into it.

Reply to
ARWadsworth

I have one that does that, however, it does still function properly even though it shows 8888, unplugging it shows it has not reset.

I think this one also has an issue if it is powered off for ages, in that you haver to plug it in for a good few hours to get it to recharge it's self again properly.

Reply to
Toby

In a previous job, I was spending long periods away. It was this that initially made me put the heating under home automation control 12 years ago, so I could monitor and control it all remotely, see if it stopped working, change set temperatures if necessary, and turn it back on in advance of me coming home.

I set the house temperature to 11C. Additionally, a frost stat in the loft was set to about 2C (by experiment - the dial labels are nowhere near accurate enough), and if that kicked in, it brought the house up to 19C, although it normally only got to about 16C before the froststat clicked off again.

Also check minimum ambient temperature your fridge/freezer supports. I specifically bought a Hotpoint one with no minimum (it has separate compressors for the two compartments, but I don't think any such product is available anymore).

If they're just central heating pipes (and hopefully insulated), then the heating will be cylcing on periodically. When it gets down to zero outside, mine comes on for about 10 minutes every

80 minutes. I figured that was enough to prevent freezing of underfloor pipes.

It can come off, pull away from elbows, etc.

My insurance company imposed the restriction that they wouldn't pay for damage due to frozen plumbing unless either the supply was turned off and all pipework drained, or a minimum of 16C was maintained. I decided I would turn off the supply, but I wasn't going to pay to heat the house to 16C, and if there was any resulting plumbing damage, it was limited to the amount of water stored in the house, and I'd repair it anyway, so I bore that risk.

Condensate which runs out of mine is luke warm, and does about

1 metre of 32mm plastic outside, then half a metre of soil stack before going underground. The coldest that outside area has got since I've kept records (last 8 years) is -5C on 20 December 2010 (it's quite well sheltered). The boiler runs at 45C flow temp, which also means it is generating lots of condensate, which may help.

Actually, if mine did freeze, it would back-up into the bathroom wash basin which shares the 32mm pipe, and then spill out into the bathroom floor. Fortunately, that's never happened.

My boiler has an external lockout signal, and that feeds back into the home automation system, which will ring me if that happens.

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

Unfortunately mine is not functioning and has been plugged in for years

Reply to
Hugh - Was Invisible

Rising main comes in to cupboard under the stairs and runs under house to kitchen and there will be no flow to keep it warm. The pipes I have seen under the floor are not insulated and it is not practicable to get under the floor to insulate them or put in heating tape. The CH is supplied from loft tanks so I can turn the main supply off.

Only pipe I have ever had freeze was an elbow right by the eaves in a particularly cold winter.

I reckon about 12C should do it but will check the spec on the freezer. We will probably empty fridge and freezer because we will be away for months at a time. If it gets ridiculously cold I will ask one of the children to run the cold water and turn the heating up.

Reply to
Hugh - Was Invisible

How did you set this up, as a matter of interest?

Reply to
Timothy Murphy

I have an old emersion heater timeswitch that I mounted on a board with a socket and trailing lead. It mostly gets used for outdoor Christmas lights but has also been used for security lighting. It handles CFL bulbs with no issues.

Mike

Reply to
MuddyMike

Thanks Mike

We've been using the old programmable timeswitch for years with a very low wattage cfl bulb. I'm at a loss to understand why it suddenly failed when I added the icicle lights. They are only neons.

Just found it is still advertised. 13A resistive load but only 2A inductive.

I guess I could use a similar type of timer in series with a light sensing one if necessary.

Reply to
Hugh - Was Invisible

If you have some heating in the house it isn't usual for cold water pipes to freeze under the house unless the bit coming out of the ground freezes first. Putting trace heating (eg

formatting link
around the main where it comes in and removing the under sink door in the kitchen will usually work

(The sink door needs to be removed as if it stays in place the cupboard temperature, if on an outside wall, can fall below freezing even though the rest of the house is heated to anti-frost temperatures. The door is removed because if you just leave it open sooner or later someone will close it!)

Reply to
Peter Parry

Are you sure you mean neon icicle lights? All the ones I have seen have been LED based. Neons as orange flames sometimes in candelabras.

I can't see why either should distress a timeswitch.

Are you sure about that? Many CFLs do not like being on older basic solid state electronic timer controllers and have an undecipherable "icon" on the side of the box to indicate this. It stresses both the lamp and the controller and can lead to premature failure of both.

You can get pretty cheap synchronous motor type units that use mechanical on-off settings

Sylvania do some that have a self light sensor built in. But be careful in a domestic environment the lamp coming on can provide enough light to switch them off again and they will flash like light houses.

You can get some that do pseudo random daily between first going dark and some fixed time. Here is one such from Maplin (ugly as hell mind) and not a recommendation:

formatting link
Martin Brown

Reply to
Martin Brown

Most sure, its not a solid state electronic timer controller. When I said old its very old and electo mechanical.

Mike

Reply to
MuddyMike

Perhaps it was just a coincidence that the timer failed at that point, and the icicle lights are a red herring...

...or a Neon Tetra?

Reply to
Graham.

I installed this:

formatting link
replaces the light switch in our hall and switches a 20W low energy lamp. The original switch was a two gang, two way switch that controlled both the hall and landing lights, so I had to install a new single gang two way switch to switch the landing light.

The arrangement works well and copes with the changes in daylight hours.

Reply to
F

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.