AUTOMATIC DEVICE FOR CUTTING OFF WATER HEATERS

Manawatu Times, Volume LIII, Issue 6733, 9 October 1928, Page 2

AUTOMATIC DEVICE FOR CUTTING OFF WATER HEATERS

SAVING TO POWER BOARD.

At yesterday's meeting of tho Ma-natvatu-Oroua Electric Power Board, the engineer, Mr. W. A. Waters, submitted a special report with regard to the switching over of water-heaters in houses. The report stated:— “When we started with block installation work, it was impossible to sell a wafer heater until wo put one in Mr. P .J. Small’s cow-shed, with the result that wc got 17 orders in a fortnight; but the position to-day is that they are being put in at the rate of 3040 a month. Slost of tho heaters iu cow-sheds are t oa change-over switch. With motors, but after trying out the change-over in houses with ranges, we put them on continuous service as any hand operated device was forgotten.by the people, with resulting dissatisfaction as to the heating of water. This in turn was blocking the salo of ranges. Subsequently I conceived the idea of using an automatic relay to cut them out when the load in tho house reached a certain point, and communicated with linns overseas to ascertain if they had a stock relay that could be readily adapted for the job. The General Electric Op. of U.S.A. immediately went into mass production on tho idea .for the U.S.A. market of 110 volts and developed a splendid relay, and about 12 months later sent us a sample 230 von device. Later we received samples of relays offered from firms in Switzerland and England and these are being tested at Bunnyfhorpe as occasion permits. A device has been, rigged up to give them equivalent to 20 years’ use, as reliability is essential.’’ Heaters ih Cowsheds. “The tariff for household water heating is based on using some kind of control so that when we adopt some scheibe tho/water heating in houses, will be turned from a loss to a profitable load. ..“With regard to the heaters in. cowsheds, originally this tariff was cased on the fact that they would be switched off during the winter, but we find that they are not, which adds considerably to our peak loads, with no revenue from milking or diversity at all. In other 1 cases the cowshed heaters arc kept on and hot water taken therefrom for use in house, while in at least- one case 1 the contents of cylinder in dairy was used for Monday morning's washing. _ , “Further investigations of this will be made in the -near future, as the solution of this problem must be found, so as,. to give an equitable return to the Board for power used.’’ ‘ l l am sure great credit is duo to our engineer for his idea,’’ said Mr. J. S. Tingey. ‘ l l am sure,' also, that if this machine is a good one, Mr, Waters will enable the Board to save hundreds of pounds.-’ ’