240V multiple-switch

 Hi

I am to exchange my bathroom heater to a better one. But the electric
rotary switch on the wall, that i supposed would be a pretty simple
thingy, dazzles me a bit.

I am hesitating a bit, as I assume that it uses both phases in my
house, and I cannot figure out witch is witch.

Anyway. There are 5 connectors that are marked P-L-1-P-2
Both P's are always used. When I turn the switch, the following
configuratins take place:

1. P - 1 - 2      (low setting)
2. P - L - 2      (medium setting)
3. P - L - 1 - 2 (max setting)


What baffels me, is that both P and 2 are always used.

Does anyone here know the inner workings of this kind of switches?
Have tried searching for this, but dont know what they are called.

--
SEE YA !!!
Trygve Lillefosse
AKA - Malawi, The Fisher King

  Trygve Lillefosse wrote:

Presumably you have two heater elements, a small one connected to 1 and
a larger one (or two of the small ones in parallel) to L, with the feed
to P and the returns all going back to a master switch (as you mention
no "Off" setting).  Perhaps the 2 connection is for a fan motor or
indicator lamp or something, and the second P for ring main connection.


Tim Jackson

 On Sun, 09 Nov 2008 10:47:32 +0000, Tim Jackson


Yes, this is a typical oven with several settings (controlled by the
switch mounted on the outside of the bathroom).

I forgot to mention the O setting. Just checked, and it is wired like
this: 0.  L - P - 2 (Only one of the P's are connected at this
setting.)

One of the resons that I am changing it, is that It do not work
properly. Without retesting it, I am pretty sure that only one of the
setting (3) work, with reduced heat.

A strange thing with this heater, is that the nameplate says
200-400-800 watt. Normaly I would expect the highest setting to be
low+medium, in this case 600w.

This could mean that it has three seperate heating elements.
Without beeing completely sure, i think it heats less than normal in
"3" position. Sugesting that there may be a single resistor with
different connections for different effects.
The heating element itself is a ceramic(?) tube.

The oven is a simple radiating element, with no fans or lights

--
SEE YA !!!
Trygve Lillefosse
AKA - Malawi, The Fisher King

 Trygve Lillefosse wrote:

200-400-800 is series/parallel. You have two elements or element
components each producing 400W at 230V. In the low setting they should
be wired in series to get 200W. In the medium setting one element is
wired directly to the supply. In the high setting the elements are wired
in parallel.

If only the high setting works with reduced heat, then the element used
in the medium setting (which is the most heavily used) has burnt out.

If this is the care then your heater should have 3 or 4 wires, although
I cannot see any advantage in the 4-wire configuration. So you would
have a common wire to both heaters and a wire to each other end.

The switch as you describe it cannot achieve this. There has to be a
path which only closes in the low setting.

Here is how I would expect it to work.
One heater end would connect to one supply leg, usually Neutral. There
should be one contact which closes only in Low to make the series
circuit, connecting the free end to Live. A second contact closes in
Medium to link the common to Live. The first contact must be open at
this point because contacts 1 and 3 overlapping would short the supply.
  In High a third contact closes to connect the free end to neutral.
That only needs 4 terminals, but you would want a linked pair for
incoming neutral and the heater neutral end, making 5 altogether.

Naming my five hypothetical terminals
L    Supply live
N    Supply Neutral
N2    Heater Neutral end
1    Heater free end
2    Heater common

Then I would expect the switch action to be

Off  N-N1
Low  N-N1 L-1
Med  N-N1 L-2
High N-N1 L-2 N-1

Have you tried to trace the existing wiring to see how it was connected,
what the terminals actually connect to?

Tim

 On Sat, 08 Nov 2008 21:14:51 -0600, david.williams@bayman.org (David
Williams) wrote:


I am realy unsure about this. Only thing I can think of is Passive and
Live. This is a switch from the 50's and there may be several
standards.

Nowdays they would have been marked with N(eutral) and L(ive). With
different phases L1-L2 etc. is used.

--
SEE YA !!!
Trygve Lillefosse
AKA - Malawi, The Fisher King