suein56
Member
Southern Morbihan 56 Brittany
Posts: 7,531
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Post by suein56 on Feb 25, 2024 11:55:27 GMT 1
Suggestion: switching to option Base could be the better option. No electricien needed, no new items for your consumer box, lower leccy bill. We have kept the HC/HP option as we don't have central heating with a boiler but have electric heaters which, in winter, we keep on 24 hours a day. The washing machine, tumble dryer, dishwasher etc being in use during the HC period. But recently, with increasing health issues, I have been thinking of switching us to the Base tariff. With the latest increases this winter's final figures should prove the case for HC/HP versus Basic option one way or another .. |
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Post by robertarthur on Feb 25, 2024 21:01:00 GMT 1
Not from my smartphone this time, a real keyboard now: 1/ A working link to the usual three suspects, the contacteur jour/nuit and its little helpers. 2/ The resistance of the coil ( bobine) of a contacteur j/n, here a Hager.3/ The jour/nuit wiring in combination with an electronic meter type SAGEM or the smartmeter LINKY. 4/ The EDF developed in the late fifties / early sixties a simple digital protocol called PULSADIS. For remote control of streetlights etc. Also with the wake-up signal (fil pilote) for your chauffe-eau électrique. The modern meters decode a little pulse train they receive from EDF/ERDF/ENEDIS and this closes or opens a switch contact inside the meter. With two wires going to your tableau-électrique. A very slow-motion digital signal compared with today: it takes 102 seconds to transmit 40 bits of code. Almost very fast morse code. But simple and strong enough to survive the bumpy ride (electric noise all around) over the power cables of the ENEDIS grid. Additional question (for your electrician): do the two contacts inside the meter close after receiving the wake-up signal? 5/ Heures creuses: is it yes or no? In August 2010 already several question marks. The break-even points of today in this summary by Selectra. |
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JohnnyD
Member
Mayenne (53) When Covid allows..........Which isn't very often these days........
Posts: 2,014
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Post by JohnnyD on Feb 25, 2024 21:55:30 GMT 1
Good to hear. No new CE or plumber needed for the problem solving Yes it would seem so .. a huge relief. Thank you very much for your patience and support in this. We really appreciate your knowledgeable input. Being very cautious, we know so little about electricity and tomorrow being Sunday, we have decided to continue in the same way tomorrow as we have today and try out your suggestion on Monday. Then, hopefully knowing roughly where the problem lies, we can contact a local electrician to restore harmony to the tableau. A heartfelt thank you for your help RA.
Edit : Update The CE thermostat cut in after about 4 hours of heating so I switched to Off the J/N 3 way switch. Then turned it back to On after our HC kicked in .. and so far so good.
Will try your next suggestion tomorrow evening and then report back. As you say at least this should narrow down where the problem lies. Thanks once again and just to add I had a lovely hot shower this evening - such bliss  Glad you have hot water Sue.......Its a luxury we easy forget, we went without for 3 days when we arrived, it was so nice to have it back on Monday evening......... |
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suein56
Member
Southern Morbihan 56 Brittany
Posts: 7,531
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Post by suein56 on Feb 25, 2024 23:55:41 GMT 1
RA .. this evening I did as you suggested and, after HC had kicked in, I moved the J/N switch to the auto position and then switched the Pilote to On. Immediately the chauffe-eau started heating up. So far so good.
I have just now checked and the chauffe-eau is still humming so I am going to bed. Tomorrow I will have a look and see what has happened overnight.
Fingers crossed ..
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suein56
Member
Southern Morbihan 56 Brittany
Posts: 7,531
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Post by suein56 on Feb 25, 2024 23:59:44 GMT 1
Glad you have hot water Sue....... Its a luxury we easy forgetToo true. It was the joy of a hot shower that was missing .. even tho we had the means to have hot water via the electric kettle and/or the gas hob. But the lack of enough flow of hot water for a shower was a reminder of how fortunate we are in normal circumstances. |
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suein56
Member
Southern Morbihan 56 Brittany
Posts: 7,531
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Post by suein56 on Feb 26, 2024 10:04:27 GMT 1
Update ..
The Pilote switch has remained in the On position throughout the 5h30 end of heating period for the CE .. so good news.
So I have decided to wait and see what happens through today .. the HC period normally starts automatically at 21h30 so that is the next hurdle to jump over.
It now seems that the high winds of the past few days have scuppered our (French) tv aerial .. so next call will be to the aerial man, when the winds die down enough to make it safe enough for him to access the garage roof.
There's always smthg ready to trip you up in life .. no chance of us getting bored.
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Post by robertarthur on Feb 26, 2024 11:00:57 GMT 1
Suein56, erratic tripping of MCBs sometimes happens. Twenty years of being there, trying to attract your attention, tired of waiting for you...
Bonnes nouvelles continued: this means that the separate little glass fuse also protecting the fil pilote inside a SAGEM meter is still OK. |
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suein56
Member
Southern Morbihan 56 Brittany
Posts: 7,531
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Post by suein56 on Feb 26, 2024 12:02:42 GMT 1
Suein56, erratic tripping of MCBs sometimes happens. Twenty years of being there, trying to attract your attention .. That was going to be my next question to you this evening if the MCB didn't trip again at, or before, 21h30. It tripped last time sometime lateish afternoon so nowhere near 21h30. I can live with an anomaly .. plus, thanks to you, I am a lot more knowledgeable now than I was before this happened last week . |
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Post by robertarthur on Feb 26, 2024 13:05:57 GMT 1
Suein56, narrowing down a problem is always a good idea. If it is a fatigued MCB, a new kid in town could be handy for further problem solving: a new 2 amp MCB is not too expensive, about 14 € if ordered online. Don't look at the official list prices please, easily hovering around the 30 € mark. Professional electricians will charge these prices I'm afraid. Being there and measuring things, analysis before prescribing medication would be even better of course. Simple tithening of screws of fuse holders (now MCBs), as my father told me during a crash introductory course in electricity when I was ten years old/young, is something to do, a year after installing a consumer unit. Service après vente.... Torque srewdrivers in the fifties? Not yet in his toolbox. The regs of today.
How does it work, this contacteur jour/nuit? Explained some time ago for a French forum audience. During the heures pleines the switch contacts inside the meter are open and you will measure almost the full mains voltage, as here in an older type of hp/hc wiring, old analogue compteur à disque.
Age and miniature circuit breakers: sometimes it trips at a current lower than it was rated for. Somehow this sounds familiar...With a bit - or a lot of - luck a new 2 amp disjoncteur could call the meeting in the consumer unit to order, order please! Interesting other news: sometimes ENEDIS changes les horaires d’heures creuses without prior notice... |
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suein56
Member
Southern Morbihan 56 Brittany
Posts: 7,531
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Post by suein56 on Feb 26, 2024 21:35:30 GMT 1
Good news .. the CE is heating nicely and the MCB worked just fine at changeover time at 21h30.
I did hold my breath as I looked at the tableau but, for the moment, all is fine.
What a relief.
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Post by robertarthur on Feb 26, 2024 22:27:11 GMT 1
Suein56, congratulations! Did you have a chat last night with this little MCB, saying: "Sleep on it, things will look better in the morning."? A quite ingenious little thing by the way. A closer look inside. Perhaps switch contacts a little bit oxidized ---> contact resistance ---> several hours of current flowing ---> heat buildup ---> thermal cutoff? Perhaps switching this MCB off/on several times performed a cleaning operation inside. Theories, theories....If this MCB decided after several hours of doing its best, enough is enough, too hot for me, then this circumstantial evidence could be an explanation for your adventures in electricity land. You're now the commander in chief of your own test laboratory, mes compliments. |
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suein56
Member
Southern Morbihan 56 Brittany
Posts: 7,531
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Post by suein56 on Feb 26, 2024 23:31:29 GMT 1
You're now the commander in chief of your own test laboratory Love it .. but I thought all wives were 'commanders in chief' at home  It has certainly been a voyage of discovery these past few days. I have learnt a lot and now feel much less apprehensive at the thought of smthg going 'clank' or 'bang' on the tableau. It is a wondrous world inside that plastic box .. I am grateful to be on the receiving end of its capabilities. Just had a listen and the CE is still humming along - OH had a bath this afternoon as he was outside working and got chilled - so I can safely go to bed. |
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Post by robertarthur on Feb 27, 2024 0:28:02 GMT 1
It's always practical to have humble servants, also in a laboratory. As I understand it, you're also the commander of the local peacekeeping force, how to keep the enemy at bay, those rebellious Gallic electrons. A position you share with Julius Caesar. German tribes crossing the Rhine river, without invitation, what to do? " At the news of these events, Caesar, who feared the wavering nature of the Gallic character, who knew, how lightly they are moved to make decisions and how they are almost always inclined to rebellion, thought it should not be on them." If you want peace, prepare for war. If you want to prepare for the next battle against those barbaric electrons, read this summary. |
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