Re: POD 3/12/08

[spiceman1957]

I noticed on this Norge washer that there is a clock. Does
anyone what the purpose of the clock (of course to tell the time)? Was there any automatic features such as delay wash, etc?

 

[tomturbomatic]

Yes, it was like Time Bake on a GE range. With the washer, it enabled the user to take advantage of off-peak water heating rates or to be able to have it start automatically at a time when a larger supply of hot water was available, like after all of the bathing was completed. I know that the power utility in Elkhart, Indiana offers very cheap off-peak rates and some other utilities are talking about offering them to spread out demand, but for many years power companies offered off peak rates for electric water heating. On some older houses you sometimes see two power meters. One was for the water heater. The rates made electric water heating quite affordable, but you had to be awake to use the water when it was being heated or carefully ration your hot water use during the day so that you did not run out of hot water.

 

[retro-man]

We had an off peak water heater meter when I was growing up. We never ran out of hot water for a family of 5. It was a 50 gallon tank. The off peak meter only was for 1 of the elements. The other element was metered by the other meter on the house.I remember looking at that meter a lot and there were different times during the day that it would come on to make up the tank. Don't remember which was which but we checked with the power provider and he stated this was the way they were hooked up. So there was always one of the heaters that was available to make hot water. Maybe it was the top element that was on the regular meter and the bottom element on off peak meter. That way you had hot at the top of the tank all the time and the cooler settled at the bottom waiting for that time of day. In present house we have 2 meters one for the hot water tank and one for regular usage. A bit cheaper for the hot water. They have discontinued this practice in my area a couple of years ago. Got in just before they changed. My brothers house was rewired to 200 amps a couple of years ago and he only got one meter and he had two previously, an off peak meter at that.
Jon