Who designed this hopeless pulsacoil iii?! Poor and not intuitive to use :(

Hi all' I'm getting quite fed up with my pulsacoil iii. The manual is rubbish - I mean it's just a heating system, how hard can it be to explain it correctly? Why design a system with no labelling on the switches for starters. Sigh.

1. Anyway the issue I'm having at the moment that id appreciate some help with is that on some days I turn off all but the Timer switch as I don't need hot water. So last night it was off but this morning I turned the system on again as I'd like hot water tomorrow. The timer is set on twice and the booster is off so I figured that the water won't heat up until tonight in the off peak period, but two hours later the water is hot. What is going on?

2. Also how long does it take to heat up water? Once I had it off but wanted hot water so I turned it on (i turned on the main two switches, not the booster) and set the timer to all day but it took two hours to heat up. Ive never seen any boiler take so long to heat up.

Advice much appreciated, thanks

Hi
Well the switches you refer to are?
The ones on the wall?
Also your unit is a thermal store, not an instantaneous water heater.
No disrespect but have you read the user instructions?
These normally go a long way in describing what the unit is and how it works.
No thermal store whether made by Gledhill, Powermax, Albion or who ever is meant to be switched on and off if to be used as made / intended.
The switches you are quoting which are unmarked. Were / are fitted by who ever installed it. And yes I agree they should be labelled / marked up correctly.
But with some patience and reading the manual / user instruction should be quite easy to ascertain.
Mike
MGC/H2O
Norfolk

Hi mike, thank you for the reply. Apologies with the tone of my post, I was getting quite frustrated with the system. Perhaps you've hit the nail on the head, it's not an instant system and that's what I'm used to and much prefer. Perhaps at some point I should get rid off the pulsacoil.

I have read the instructions that were left with the flat. They're quite basic though and don't answer the questions I've posted here. I've also looke online for instructions but can only find installation instructions. I've figured out what the switches are (with the kind help of people on this forum), the top is the timer and second and third are the main on and off switches - I switch them both off or on, and the bottom (which is labelled) is the booster switch.

I appreciate this isn't meant to be an on off system, but can someone help with the questions I've asked as regardless of how I should be using the system it makes no sense to keep it on, for the many days that I don't need hot water, and occasionally this means I will plan wrongly and want an instant function. In my original post when I talk about turning the system on or off , I mean turning both middle switches on and off (the timer switch is always left on and the booster off unless I've stated otherwise)

Any light on my issues would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

Right you have 2 heaters.
The bottom one is the off peak, this heats the whole unit up from the bottom to the top.
The boost heat located approx a third from the top only heats that part up.
The boost would be used;
If the charge from the bottom heater has been used up.
Or if the bottom heater has failed, thus a back up.
Think of your unit as a battery, every night for 7 hours you charge it up.
It will not charge up for 7 hours if or once it has reached the temperature which is 77c.
The stat /s could be checked!
IF the unit did heat up for 7 hours @ 3KW per hour that would equate to 21 Kw used.
At day rate of approx 25p per unit is around £5.25p
OR night rate at 12.5p per unit is around £ 2.62p.
The above figures are approx etc.
So a weeks supply of hot water IF heated for the complete 7 hours every night would be approx £18.32p
But I would have thought more around the £12 to £15 mark.
All the above is based on a unit working property.
Once understood these units are fine.
The hot water pressure is normally fantastic too.
Mike
MGC/H2O
Norfolk

Hi mike, I really appreciate the reply and the details you gave are handy to know, but they don't really answer my questions - 1. Why does the unit start heating up if I switch it on in the morning and the timer settings indicate that it shouldnt be on? 2. How long does it roughly take to heat in the day from cool if it wasn't on the previous night? Cheers.

Well by the sound of things you need to get the timer / s checked/
What size unit is it? 125 litre up to 200 litre?
It really is best to keep the thermal store hot. As intended.
And to heat the unit and cool it will in my opinion give you more trouble.
I have always found that any thermal store which is normally hot will most likely give trouble when switched off and allowed to cool.
Vast extremes of expansion and contracting will take place. Leaks can suddenly appear too.
You could try posting pictures of your unit and the controls installed.
But as always these vary according to location.
If you are really struggling a good electrician should be able to check the switches and timers for you.
Mike
MGC/H2O
Norfolk

Hi Mike, I'm not sure of the size but it's taller than me so I'm guessing 200l. Appreciate all your advice, I've got a much better idea of how it works now. I'll get someone to look at the timer. Thanks again for all your help.

Hi,
There should be an identity label / badge with the model / details.
If not measure the unit height.
Look in the manual and check the heights of the unit.
Can work the litres from that.
Mike
MGC/H2O
Norfolk

I would recommend you request this free self check Pulsacoil mini guide which may help you resolve the basic issues with your system. The link is below:

Pulsacoil 3 Repair

Also do go ahead with what Mike has said. He is one of the most knowledgeable engineers when it comes to Pulsacoil systems I have ever spoken to.

If you need to speak to me or anyone else in our team for further help, call us on 0800 046 1241.

Best of luck