Phil Pascoe
Established Member
1/ it hasn't a timer, and
2/ swmbo is convinced it's unsafe.
weird electricity consumption.
- Thread starter Phil Pascoe
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2/ swmbo is convinced it's unsafe.
Just a thought. Could it be something to do with the clocks changing recently?
Phil Pascoe
Established Member
No, our usage is inside the night time hours whether GMT or summer time. I'm just surprised when we're using more by night than ever before, our equipment and habits haven't changed that the daytime usage has increased.
HamsterJam
Let’s take it apart to see what’s inside….
To confirm whether day/night rate are swapped, read the meter at midnight and 0700 to see whether the day units increase during the day and the night units during the night. If that’s all in order then it’s a case of finding what is drawing the extra power during the day.
Maybe you could isolate all the circuits at the consumer unit to confirm the meter stops and then turn them back on one by one until you find the circuit making the meter move quickest. This may not work if the current draw is intermittent.
Another option is an Owl energy monitor or ask your energy supplier to fit a smart meter.
Maybe you could isolate all the circuits at the consumer unit to confirm the meter stops and then turn them back on one by one until you find the circuit making the meter move quickest. This may not work if the current draw is intermittent.
Another option is an Owl energy monitor or ask your energy supplier to fit a smart meter.
Jonm
Established Member
swmbo has a valid concern. Here is advice from Avon fire and rescue, says general advice so not specific to the whirlpool issue.
https://www.avonfire.gov.uk/safety-advice/fire-safety/electrical-safety/tumble-dryer-safety-advice
General tumble drier safety advice
- Don’t leave dryers unattended when in use.
- Don’t use dryers overnight, when in bed.
Phil Pascoe
Established Member
To be fair, they're covering their backs and all bases. If I were at all worried about using a tumble drier it would be used at night when at least someone is in the house - I have fire alarms and extinguishers.
1steven
Claremorris Ireland
Glad we do not have one
Phil Pascoe
Established Member
I have ascertained the readings are the correct way around. I just can't quite understand why the consumption has gone from 55% to 45% night to day to 25% - 75%. That's the odd thing -we're more careful now to use stuff at night than we used to be. Last time the meter was changed (three years ago, first since new - forty years) the fitter came to fit a smart meter (which I didn't want) and told me it couldn't be fitted as I had e7 - introducing varying rates I would have thought was the purpose of smart meters. I know how how to work out the units consumed by white goods etc. I just can't work out why the night day ratio has changed so much.
Jonm
Established Member
No doubt they are but swmbo thinks otherwise.
according to this article Faulty appliances cause 43 fires a week in England, research finds
with reference to number if fires caused by faulty appliances, washing machines are top followed by tumble driers.
Phil Pascoe
Established Member
The most common causes for accidental appliance fires were placing household items too close to sources of heat, misuse of appliances ...
So blame the appliance. That makes sense.
... Beko came third, whose goods caused 150 fires in 2019/20. Of these, the majority were washing machines (52) and tumble dryers (29), although dishwashers (27) and fridge/ freezers (26) weren’t far behind.
... the majority were washing machines (52) and tumble dryers (29) ...
we are advised to use washing machines etc. out of peak hours, yet advised not use driers in those same hours. I suppose something that caused 42 fires would carry no advice either way.
So a Beko drier caused about one fire every fortnight in a Country of nearly seventy million people ........... and the driers concerned probably had no maintenance. I think I'll take my chances.
So blame the appliance. That makes sense.
... Beko came third, whose goods caused 150 fires in 2019/20. Of these, the majority were washing machines (52) and tumble dryers (29), although dishwashers (27) and fridge/ freezers (26) weren’t far behind.
... the majority were washing machines (52) and tumble dryers (29) ...
we are advised to use washing machines etc. out of peak hours, yet advised not use driers in those same hours. I suppose something that caused 42 fires would carry no advice either way.
So a Beko drier caused about one fire every fortnight in a Country of nearly seventy million people ........... and the driers concerned probably had no maintenance. I think I'll take my chances.
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Phil Pascoe
Established Member
Incidentally, my night rate doesn't operate in the hours they told me it does. As I expected.
Phil Pascoe
Established Member
They don't work with economy 7. As things look atm I'll go back to a standard tariff in August when the fix runs out
Jonm
Established Member
to be fair to the article it is fairly clear that there are 8001 fires caused by cookers/ovens of which 201 were due to a faulty appliance. It does not however relate number of fires to number of appliances.The most common causes for accidental appliance fires were placing household items too close to sources of heat, misuse of appliances ...
So blame the appliance. That makes sense.
Putting it in to context, there are about 24 million households in England.
58% have tumble driers, 98% have washing machines, I assume 100% have cookers and 98% have fridges
So that is faulty appliances causing fires
washing machines 520 fires in 23.5 million households
tumble dryers 459 fires in 13.9 million households
cooker/ oven 201 fires in 24 million households
fridge/freezer 181 fires in 23.5 million households
I think it is clear from the above that tumble dryers are the riskiest but the risk is very small, no doubt reduced by keeping it clear of dust and fibres. Not something I worry about, if I did the tumble dryer would be outside under cover. Also I suspect that many of the fires follow warnings that something is wrong being ignored or not understood to be a warning. We all know from using electric machinery about not overloading and keeping airflow unblocked, to most people that is not the case.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/289140/tumble-dryers-in-households-in-the-uk/
Tumble dryers are no more of a risk than items contain Lithium batteries, the problem with tumble dryers is people do not clean out the fluff or overload them and from risk reduction perspective I would make smoke detectors and CO monitors compulsory in all homes and a requirement of insurance.
We don't have a tumble drier but in our old cupboard downstairs which used to house a boiler, I converted it to dry clothes using an air humidifier. So the water is collected in a container. It takes about 8 hours to dry a washing machine load of light clothes (maybe double for towels and jeans) with it on constantly after it has been spun-dry. I wonder how the costs and safety compare to tumble drier? Less heat involved but takes longer (and needs more handling). So it is like a room-temperature airing cupboard which copes with damp clothes. I think it is about 300 watts so a tenth of the consumption of a tumble drier (but over a longer timespell) and handles the water better, which is also good for rinsing the car without tide-marks and other soft-water applications like steam iron and topping up washer bottle in car in summer when frost protection isn't required. I'm expecting it costs about half as much to run, De Longhi DS105, have had it many years. We leave it on its humidistat all the time. We also dry in south facing conservatory on sunny days.
Beko have had a few product recalls, usually indicates a design problem which may lead to fire or other hazard. They are not alone of course, many manufacturers have problems.So a Beko drier caused about one fire every fortnight in a Country of nearly seventy million people ........... and the driers concerned probably had no maintenance. I think I'll take my chances.
Unfortunately a fire caused by a Beko product caused the death of several people.The company did not react and more people died after the company knew about the fault.
I would never trust Beko products.
Beko recalls:
ecokestove
Established Member
I confess I haven't ploughed through the whole thread. We had a problem with 'mystery' electricity consumption. We tracked it down to the fact that the oven was drawing about 120 watts even when it wasn't being used. We now turn it off at the wall switch.
Smart meters do work with Economy 7 I have one. I also have solar panels on the house. My energy is with Octopus. I installed the smart meter so that Octopus can sell the electricity I produce back to the net. The energy is priced in half hourly intervals and the price varies with demand. With this meter I get paid for all energy I sell to the net. The pre smart meter approach assumed I use half the power and half is sold. For an empty house on a sunny day that means you are giving away a lot of power for nothing.
Jonm
Established Member
It is clearly faulty. If it were my oven I would take that as a warning and either get it repaired or replaced. They can catch fire.
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