Hello,please excuse my stupidity if this is a stupid question. I have just moved into an apartment (privately rented) and have the following boiler switch http://www.horstmann.co.uk/downloads/El ... rGuide.PDF

I come to use my water this evening (just to wash up) and had cold water.it took over an hour of using the boost feature for the water to heat.

I have been reading on the Internet and unfortunately for me I'm a 24-hour shift worker so will likely need hot water afternoon/evening but does this mean I have to use the boost feature every time I want to use hot water and do it an hour in advance?

I have no idea how this stuff works. There are two switches underneath too which I don't know what they do or if they need to be on.one is "water heater" if that is on does it charge me excessive electricity?

If anyone has advice re the switches or advice on how I go about getting hot water of an evening your help would be very much appreciated.i have attached a picture.

Thank you.
http://s1154.photobucket.com/albums/p53 ... ction=view¤t=2411d948.jpg&evt=user_media_share

that type of E7 controller is so old i can't remember. all i do remember is in the back of it there were orange and blue pegs you could lift and move for the automatic time to be altered.

in your case, you would need to change that for the electronic equivalent to be able to program times into it.

at the moment, you need to use your boost but 1 hour isn't enough for a tank full.

Hi. Thank you for the welcome and help. I've tried to change the blue/orange dials but no idea how to do it. If I were to change it during the day would that mean I'd be charged more? Does the water hearer light switch need to be on? So does the Boiler work warming water overnight for the morning but at 5/6 pm no hot water so would have to use the boost in advance to use it? Very confusing and annoying! It isn't my place so not sure I'd be able to change it / fork the cost. Sorry but I'm new to all this is my new place and anywhere I've lived before I'd always had freely access to warm water as and when for whatever need!
Thank you.

Orange or red indicates the start time for power to the heat the water, blue indicates the off-time for power to the heater. These are not the times that hot water is available, but the times that the power to the heater starts and stops. The heater isn't instantaneous and you needn't expect hot water for at least an hour after the power connects to the heater. Conversely the water should remain hot for many hours after the power to the heater has been cut, provided no hot water is used.

Possibly, yes -- but we don't know if it's genuinely got an off-peak supply connection or not.

If the neon is still working, then it needs to be on during the hours you've set the heating to be connected, otherwise it's not heating the water during these hours.

Unless it's an uninsulated tank, then if you haven't used any hot water since the overnight heating the water should remain hot until evening.

Of course it's confusing. It seems to be a deliberate policy of manufacturers in order to ensure that their products will be used by installers who will then be able to charge for call-outs to adjust the heating.

If your apartment is privately rented, then call out whoever you've rented it from in order to obtain clear instructions as to how to obtain hot water during the periods you require. At best the additional switch you refer to. One might have expected that the fused spur unit in your picture might indicate a rather-improper powering of the water heating off the ring main -- in which case the heating wouldn't work unless it were on. Likewise the water heater might have been expected to indicate a labelled switch for the water heating which wouldn't allow the water heating to work unless it were on. However, you seem to indicate that the boost function works with both off. Confusing at best, so they owe you an explanation unless they've left documented instructions.