Question for electricians

mark090852

I don't know if there are any electricians here on the board but thought I would post this just in case somebody had some knowledge. Sorry for the length of this question...

Here at our house we have a "time of use" billing system for our electricity. We have an electrical meter that breaks down our electricity usage into "peak" and "off peak" usage. We are billed a much lower rate for electricity used during "off peak" times compared to "peak" times.

In our basement right by the electrical panels is something called a "Rumsey Control". It is supposed to automatically turn off our two electric water heaters when "peak" time starts and turn them back on when "off peak" time starts. Peak time is from 8:00am until 8:00pm Monday thru Friday. All other time is off peak. Well, the Rumsey Control is no longer functioning correctly. It has a red led light on the outside that shows when things are shut off during peak time but it is no longer accurate. As if it doesn't know the correct time. I'm wondering if anybody knows how it get's its time? I have contacted our utility company, Penn Elec. but they say we have to get an electrician to look at it. That it is not their responsibility. When I contact an electrician they all say they can't touch it, that I have to have Penn Elec. come look at it. Nobody is willing to check it out. So for now, I just go to the basement each morning and evening and manually throw the switches for the two circuit breakers. I know I can get timers installed that will do the same thing but I'd like to get the Rumsey Control to work if possible.

Anybody have any experience with this type of thing?

Thanks,
Mark

kevhed72

Is there a phone line connected to the Rummy Control?

mark090852

kevhed72 wrote: »

Is there a phone line connected to the Rummy Control?

I don't think so. Not that I can see.

txcoastal1

These maybe completely different, but just a thought...my Rainbird sprinkler controller has a lithium battery so even when power fails the sprinkler time doesn't wack...just like the CMOS batt. on PC motherboard...maybe the Rumsey gas one also????

mark090852

txcoastal1 wrote: »

These maybe completely different, but just a thought...my Rainbird sprinkler controller has a lithium battery so even when power fails the sprinkler time doesn't wack...just like the CMOS batt. on PC motherboard...maybe the Rumsey gas one also????

You might be right. I'll have to take off the covers and see what I can see. The funny thing is, it seems dead on accurate for turning the water heaters off at 8:00am each day. I've stood down there and watched it and heard it click and the red led lights up. But then I have to go to work and when I come home around five the red light is off and the water heaters are powered. So it gets the "off" time correct but switches the heaters back on ahead of schedule. I'm stumped.

txcoastal1

well it's the weekend set timers on your phone and check it hourly....good luck

On3s&Z3r0s

Sounds like an old timer-based solution... the modern versions in a lot of areas do communicate back to the utility so that they can better control the demand leveling, but I think that's more for HVAC applications. Are you sure it's called a Rumsey Control or is that just a colloquial name for the thing? It sounds like the electricians know what you're talking about when you talk to them about it. If it's in your house and ties into your service panel and the power co has said they don't want to mess with it, then it's probably on you to fix it unfortunately. You might want to look into water heater timers in general and whether or not it makes sense to have an electrician replace the thing outright.

mark090852

txcoastal1 wrote: »

well it's the weekend set timers on your phone and check it hourly....good luck

The weekend is not "peak time" so the Rumsey Control should be inactive all weekend, but I'll keep an eye on it.

mark090852

On3s&Z3r0s wrote: »

Sounds like an old timer-based solution... the modern versions in a lot of areas do communicate back to the utility so that they can better control the demand leveling, but I think that's more for HVAC applications. Are you sure it's called a Rumsey Control or is that just a colloquial name for the thing? It sounds like the electricians know what you're talking about when you talk to them about it. If it's in your house and ties into your service panel and the power co has said they don't want to mess with it, then it's probably on you to fix it unfortunately. You might want to look into water heater timers in general and whether or not it makes sense to have an electrician replace the thing outright.

I'm sure about the name. Rumsey Control is written on the outside of the box. You're right about water heater timers. I will probably give up on this and have an electrician just wire around the Rumsey and put in a digital timer for the two water heaters if that is possible. I was just hoping there might be a simple solution to correct the malfunction of the Rumsey Control.

On3s&Z3r0s

I wonder if that's just the name of the company that made it... like Johnson Controls. It is a pain that you have two heaters and so need to control two circuits. I can see where it would be nicer to have something just at the panel to take care of it. But if the unit is malfunctioning then it's unlikely an electrician would be able to fix it, he would just help you install a replacement.

If you do open it up, I'd recommend de-energizing the circuits that feed it first for safety, of course, and then maybe look around for a model number or something that you could use to do a Google search and see if you could figure out where you might get it repaired or what a suitable in-kind replacement might be.

mark090852

On3s&Z3r0s wrote: »

I wonder if that's just the name of the company that made it... like Johnson Controls. It is a pain that you have two heaters and so need to control two circuits. I can see where it would be nicer to have something just at the panel to take care of it. But if the unit is malfunctioning then it's unlikely an electrician would be able to fix it, he would just help you install a replacement.

If you do open it up, I'd recommend de-energizing the circuits that feed it first for safety, of course, and then maybe look around for a model number or something that you could use to do a Google search and see if you could figure out where you might get it repaired or what a suitable in-kind replacement might be.

Thanks for the advice. I will be careful if I decide to open it up. I think you're right about the company. I googled "Rumsey Control" and found a Rumsey Electric company in the Philadelphia area. I'm in central PA so it is certainly something that may have been built by that company and supplied to builders in this area. This house was built in '93 and we are the second owners. I guess it could be considered old technology and the newer timers would probably be the way to go. I see a trip to Lowes and Home Depot in my future. Thanks for your input. I do appreciate it.

JimKellyfan

I am not certain on the timer thing you have, but wanted to share another helpful for you or those interested.
We, last year, paid a guy ( to do what we could have done ) to install a re-circulatory pump atop our water heater. Also, there is a valve of some form at the further sink.
What it does, is based on how I set the timer, it recirculates the hot water in the lines.
This keeps hot water ready instantly and saves us thousands of gallons per year. Too, really enjoyable not leaving the tap water on for 3 -4 minutes awaiting hot water each time.
The pump can be set to 15 minute or more intervals.
I do 15 minute during our shower and evening times, one hour the rest of the night.
Here is a link to the site of the pump we have on ours, there are others, but this site explains even more.
http://www.grundfos.com/
Good luck on your other timer issue.
Hope this helps in some way.

disneyjoe7

txcoastal1 wrote: »

These maybe completely different, but just a thought...my Rainbird sprinkler controller has a lithium battery so even when power fails the sprinkler time doesn't wack...just like the CMOS batt. on PC motherboard...maybe the Rumsey gas one also????

That is my thought also, a battery of such could die about 10 yrs later. But turn off breaker first before taken about.

meledis

I am one of those who make hobbies work or occupation of life. At least until you get bored. I work as an IT manager in a metropolitan company, I have been fond of electronics and computers since childhood. In some past, I was both a touring musician and an art school graduate, if interested. The time has come and I realized that I was doing something wrong and radically changed my occupation. And no matter how ridiculous it sounds, I even considered the profession of an electrician https://www.vocationaltraininghq.com/what-is-a-master-electrician/ ) And how was everything with you? Did you immediately decide?

DaveHo

Hey d-bag, post your spam elsewhere!