Geyser load shedding?

[Purply]

I can say with complete surety that I'm saving roughly R300 p/m by switching my geyser off. It chews electricity like nothing else.

It probably differs from person to person, how often it gets switched on and off, how big the geyser is etc etc.

R300 x 24 = R7200, more than enough to pay for the insurance excess each time it needs to be replaced.

 

[wonduhboy]

You are supposed to complain if you have issues... but I think they just replace the relay.

I have heard there is a big fine for tampering with it and they can tell. There are electricians that will do it for you though.

Thats the thing, it's not faulty - it's just activated for extended periods - meaning my geyser is off.
The last week, it turns off the geyser at 8am, and only comes back on at 8.30pm.

Would be tough to turn it off without them realizing though - it's been sealed with a tamper-proof lock thing

 

[deweyzeph]

Thats the thing, it's not faulty - it's just activated for extended periods - meaning my geyser is off.
The last week, it turns off the geyser at 8am, and only comes back on at 8.30pm.

Would be tough to turn it off without them realizing though - it's been sealed with a tamper-proof lock thing

There's an easy solution. Why don't you just install a second geyser that connects directly to your power supply and stop using the one that's connected to the ripple relay.

 

[noxibox]

If the cooling did harm the hot water cylinder then surely using most of the hot water regularly would lead to the same failure? It is quite easy for a family to push it down to the same temperature as turning it off.

I can say with complete surety that I'm saving roughly R300 p/m by switching my geyser off. It chews electricity like nothing else.

That usually indicates another fault.

 

[wonduhboy]

There's an easy solution. Why don't you just install a second geyser that connects directly to your power supply and stop using the one that's connected to the ripple relay.

The thing is I only figured out that we had a ripple relay, when our geyser burst last week.
So I've just installed a new one. So loathe to install another.

 

[Billy]

I can say with complete surety that I'm saving roughly R300 p/m by switching my geyser off. It chews electricity like nothing else.

It probably differs from person to person, how often it gets switched on and off, how big the geyser is etc etc.

R300 x 24 = R7200, more than enough to pay for the insurance excess each time it needs to be replaced.

Interesting that your experience differs from Kwikot and Eskom neither of which say that you will save electricity by switching geysers off unless you will not use them for more than 24hours.

http://www.kwikot.co.za/Consumer/Consumer Information.php

www.eskom.co.za/sites/IDM/.../1317_geyser_fact_sheet_no_rmr.pdf

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

I can say with complete surety that I'm saving roughly R300 p/m by switching my geyser off. It chews electricity like nothing else.

It probably differs from person to person, how often it gets switched on and off, how big the geyser is etc etc.

R300 x 24 = R7200, more than enough to pay for the insurance excess each time it needs to be replaced.

For your geyser to consume R300 the extra electricity then you either have a geyser that is way way too big for your household as it has to maintain the heat of too much water, else you have a broken thermostat or it is set too high.

My electricity bill at home is R600 and we are a family of 4 (2 adults & 2 kids) that showers twice a day and kids bath at least once a day.

The most I've ever saved on controlling the geyser temperature has been R100 and that was a geyser that was already on its way out.

 

[bgotapen]

We finally decided to go solar (retrofit)

We installed a timer with W meter, turns out turning it on and off had little effect because of how and when we use it. We saved like 1KWH in 30 days. We installed a geyser blanket and that saved 97 KWH in 30 days.

Turns out retrofit + installation is R15 000 and it will save around R12 000 per year in electricity (accounting the new 18% increase in power and next years proposed 27% increase) and there is a R6000 rebate with eskom so the unit should pay itself off in a year...

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

We finally decided to go solar (retrofit)

We installed a timer with W meter, turns out turning it on and off had little effect because of how and when we use it. We saved like 1KWH in 30 days. We installed a geyser blanket and that saved 97 KWH in 30 days.

Turns out retrofit + installation is R15 000 and it will save around R12 000 per year in electricity (accounting the new 18% increase in power and next years proposed 27% increase) and there is a R6000 rebate with eskom so the unit should pay itself off in a year...

In my house we would just break even over the lifespan of the solar geyser.

I think it all depends on each individual but I do like the concrpt of going green.

As soon as my little one is a bit older I will go solar. I'm just concerned with boiling hot water from the solar geyser with her. Somebody I know died after she slipped in a shower from the hot water so I've reasons to be cautious.

 

[bgotapen]

In my house we would just break even over the lifespan of the solar geyser.

I think it all depends on each individual but I do like the concrpt of going green.

As soon as my little one is a bit older I will go solar. I'm just concerned with boiling hot water from the solar geyser with her. Somebody I know died after she slipped in a shower from the hot water so I've reasons to be cautious.

Wow... how old was this person and did they die of the hot water or the fall?

our system will still work with our normal geyser, just the solar panel at top that will keep the geyser at the temp it has always been. I think even with a full solar geyser system you can control temps, so there is no worry there I believe it caps out 66c and on cloudy days 45c which is plenty...

I know what you mean we were 2 people living in the house, we each showered once daily so the geyser used almost nothing but then 3 more people moved in and as the usage went up our bill went up tripple and the sliding scale did not help at one point we were paying R1.55 per KWH and it will soon be 18% more :wtf:

Our municipality works on a system of averages btw, so they read the meter then for 6 months they average your last 6 months usage then they read it and work out what they owe you or you owe them. We recently has a nice bill that would make a small car's deposit!

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

Wow... how old was this person and did they die of the hot water or the fall?

our system will still work with our normal geyser, just the solar panel at top that will keep the geyser at the temp it has always been. I think even with a full solar geyser system you can control temps, so there is no worry there I believe it caps out 66c and on cloudy days 45c which is plenty...

I know what you mean we were 2 people living in the house, we each showered once daily so the geyser used almost nothing but then 3 more people moved in and as the usage went up our bill went up tripple and the sliding scale did not help at one point we were paying R1.55 per KWH and it will soon be 18% more :wtf:

Our municipality works on a system of averages btw, so they read the meter then for 6 months they average your last 6 months usage then they read it and work out what they owe you or you owe them. We recently has a nice bill that would make a small car's deposit!

She fell in the shower. It was at a private clinic many years ago. She was 40, married with kids. Terrible accident.

My municipality uses contractors to read our meters each month which is great as I can immediately see any increase or decrease in usage. The readings are done around the 15th and are viewable online within a few days.

 

[P924]

We finally decided to go solar (retrofit)

We installed a timer with W meter, turns out turning it on and off had little effect because of how and when we use it. We saved like 1KWH in 30 days. We installed a geyser blanket and that saved 97 KWH in 30 days.

Turns out retrofit + installation is R15 000 and it will save around R12 000 per year in electricity (accounting the new 18% increase in power and next years proposed 27% increase) and there is a R6000 rebate with eskom so the unit should pay itself off in a year...

Umn, if you have saved 97KWh in 30 days, you are not going to be saving R12000 in a year, more like R1396.80 (@R1.20/unit)

 

[Sinbad]

In my house we would just break even over the lifespan of the solar geyser.

I think it all depends on each individual but I do like the concrpt of going green.

As soon as my little one is a bit older I will go solar. I'm just concerned with boiling hot water from the solar geyser with her. Somebody I know died after she slipped in a shower from the hot water so I've reasons to be cautious.

No need to wait. Get your installer to put in a decent tempering valve, set it for 50 degrees or whatever, and no issues with overly hot water.

 

[bgotapen]

She fell in the shower. It was at a private clinic many years ago. She was 40, married with kids. Terrible accident.

My municipality uses contractors to read our meters each month which is great as I can immediately see any increase or decrease in usage. The readings are done around the 15th and are viewable online within a few days.

that is terrible...

Ours is supposed to do that but yeah they don't and there is nothing we can do till the anc loses an election...

Umn, if you have saved 97KWh in 30 days, you are not going to be saving R12000 in a year, more like R1396.80 (@R1.20/unit)

No no.. That was just with the geyser blanket... The Solar geyser will save around 50%-80% of geyser power for us, I will work this out once it is installed...

 

[Marcan]

I manually switch my geyser of daily, been doing it for years, only problem is I don't think geysers are designed for it as I've had to replace 3 in the past 6 years

All been kwikot geysers, either starts leaking or bursts completely. All still under guarantee, so they keep replacing it with the exact same model due to insurance. I've pretty much gotten use to the fact that I need to replace geyser every second year.

Have had a Kwikot geyser since 1992, never changed the coil, thermostat or started leaking. Always switched it on/off.

I don't need Eskom to tell me when to switch my geyser off. It's my geyser and I'll switch it off when I want to. I don't need big brother switching it off for me.

This might seem an understandable reaction, after what Eskom and their one and only shareholder, government has done to the reliability and the prices of electricity, but it is IMHO some what antisocial, silly and immature. The attitude of a rebel 14 year old. Most of us use Eskom power and we all are in the same boat.
So when the majority of households ignore the idea of switching off high power, non urgent appliances as geysers and pool pumps during the peak hours of 17-21H, the chance of loadshedding will increase significantly.
The idea of ripple switches is very useful, as far as I can see it. But they should be linked to cheaper electricity during those hours. And the ripple switch should have a manual override. Or as timer clocks a two or three position switch. On/Timer or even better : On/Off/Timer.

How often do you replace the sacrificial anode? If you do not replace it, the geyser will corrode instead.

What is a sacrificial anode ? Please explain.

 

[jano]

We've got a thermostatic mixing valve to ensure the hot water coming out the tap isn't 80 degrees (some days in summer the solar heated water gets that hot!)

However, the "hot water only" flow is quite slow (noticeably so in the bath, not so much for the shower or taps). Is this just a cheap/low-flow mixing valve, or are they all like that?

 

[Sinbad]

We've got a thermostatic mixing valve to ensure the hot water coming out the tap isn't 80 degrees (some days in summer the solar heated water gets that hot!)

However, the "hot water only" flow is quite slow (noticeably so in the bath, not so much for the shower or taps). Is this just a cheap/low-flow mixing valve, or are they all like that?

More likely the actual flow out of your solar geyser is slow.

 

[longboy]

Hmmm this reminds me, I gotta shed a load later.

 

[Sinbad]

Hmmm this reminds me, I gotta shed a load later.

Into the geyser?

 

[Billy]

What is a sacrificial anode ? Please explain.

http://www.kwikot.co.za/Maintenance/Maintenance.php