Remote switch for water boiler
- Thread starter Bav
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On the system @Bav linked to it's a rather neat arrangement where a normal mixer tap diverts the cold water into the boiler pushing the hot water back up to the boiling water outlet in the tap - no electrics in the tap at all - hence the idle curiosity!
Another option are count down timer plugs like this with a handy remote switch to turn on and then they run for 3 hours (or more)
Another option are count down timer plugs like this with a handy remote switch to turn on and then they run for 3 hours (or more)
Switch pump to get water from boiler to tap, but don't know how water gets in to the boiler in the first place.
I suspect mine is an older/cheaper model - maybe even discontinued, as I can't find much info about it online.
Makes sense and you could well be right. Sorry - I'm not being very helpful. EDIT: Deffo a mechanical switch
If you look at the tap there are 4 connections - hot water feed and cold water feed - and then boiler send and boiler return.
So the tap is doing the clever stuff, when you turn the boiling water tap on it diverts the cold water feed down the boiler send and that pushes the boiling water back up the boiler return and out the tap.
The water is already in the boiler, when it's commissioned you need to run the boiling water tap until water comes out to fill the boiler. If you've not been using the van for a bit you should probably do that before going away to flush out the water that's been sitting there for a while.
@roadtripper yes. That’s how our boiling water tap works in our kitchen.
It’s just a case of using a Solid state relay. (SSR)
Leave the switch on the boiler on.
Break into the Live mains supply Wire to the boiler and feed it through the SSR’s ac switched output, leaving Neutral and Earth wired through as is.
Control the SSR from the switch by sending it 12V to energise it.
It will then supply ac to the boiler.
Just select an SSR of the appropriate current to handle the load (x1 for a resistive load such as a heating element)
The tap is be capable of providing hot water (rather than cold water that's been boiled), but obviously I don't have such a feed in the van.
When we return from a trip, I always discharge all the water via both the boiling and cold taps, until no more water comes out. I did suspect that this wouldn't necessarily empty the boiler, so just prior to the next trip, I always perform the following 'ritual'...
1) Fill the tank and add Milton
2) After a couple of hours, discharge all that water
3) Repeat 1 and 2, but w/o the Milton
4) Add enough water for the first day of the trip.
Where does the power cable feeding the boiler go to? The inverter? Is it accessible? Could just add a simple inline or wall plate switch switch at that end. 8a or 10a 240ac is not a big load to switch.
Other than that I think the remote socket idea or remote relay switch module is the simplest solution to implement.
Should be able to find a relay or socket which does 13amp or 10amp easy enough.
Other than that I think the remote socket idea or remote relay switch module is the simplest solution to implement.
Should be able to find a relay or socket which does 13amp or 10amp easy enough.
Something like this
COLOROCK Remote Control Switch,AC100V/110V/220V/230V/240V RF Remote Light Switches for Pump Security Systems Door Curtain Gate Barriers etc with 1600ft Long Range (100V-240V-30A Relay/2 Remote)
https://amzn.eu/d/01EDwhGl
COLOROCK Remote Control Switch,AC100V/110V/220V/230V/240V RF Remote Light Switches for Pump Security Systems Door Curtain Gate Barriers etc with 1600ft Long Range (100V-240V-30A Relay/2 Remote)
https://amzn.eu/d/01EDwhGl
I appreciate all the input and expertise you guys are sharing.
I strongly suspect my convertor knew how to achieve what was required, but didn't want to spend time/money on it. That being so, they're likely to resist when I ask them to revisit that decision - especially when I insist that I've already paid for the work when I paid for the conversion.
Anyway, it'll be extremely useful to enter into that discussion armed with [superficial] knowledge of the available options.
I strongly suspect my convertor knew how to achieve what was required, but didn't want to spend time/money on it. That being so, they're likely to resist when I ask them to revisit that decision - especially when I insist that I've already paid for the work when I paid for the conversion.
Anyway, it'll be extremely useful to enter into that discussion armed with [superficial] knowledge of the available options.
To be fair to your converter safely remote switching 240v mains with low voltage circuits is something that is tricky and there are surprisingly few off the shelf solutions.
Personally I avoid SCRs as they have some quirks as they are not true switches they're high powered transistors which means they do have leakage currents and actually will not switch off certain loads. You should be fine with a pure resistive load like a heater but you need to be extremely careful with loads like motors.
The other options will be using relays which can have an issue breaking high currents over time as the contacts are close together and the sparking on separation can damage them or indeed weld them together. If you go for a plug in device try and get a branded one that's not too small - a lot of the cheap Chinese devices use very small relays that will fail this way, sometimes they don't even use ones rated for the task to start with.
This is why I tend to use contactors for mains switching as then the contacts are large and designed for reliably breaking high current loads. It's a bit of a bulky overkill for this task though.
So, yes, I can see why when there wasn't a simple low voltage connection to a boiler controller they thought it safer just to leave it alone.
Personally I avoid SCRs as they have some quirks as they are not true switches they're high powered transistors which means they do have leakage currents and actually will not switch off certain loads. You should be fine with a pure resistive load like a heater but you need to be extremely careful with loads like motors.
The other options will be using relays which can have an issue breaking high currents over time as the contacts are close together and the sparking on separation can damage them or indeed weld them together. If you go for a plug in device try and get a branded one that's not too small - a lot of the cheap Chinese devices use very small relays that will fail this way, sometimes they don't even use ones rated for the task to start with.
This is why I tend to use contactors for mains switching as then the contacts are large and designed for reliably breaking high current loads. It's a bit of a bulky overkill for this task though.
So, yes, I can see why when there wasn't a simple low voltage connection to a boiler controller they thought it safer just to leave it alone.
Another option would be to fit a 13a fused spur to turn on/off power to the boiler. Something like this:
C-Line 13a 240v Mains Fused Switch w/ CBE Graphite Grey Frame Caravan Motorhome | eBay
1x C-Line grey 13a 230v fused spur panel (screw to the wall). - Made from ABS and copper. SMALL PRINT.
www.ebay.co.uk
