The lecky saving box scammers are back !!

[RonA]

Received a phone call this morning from a Asian sounding gentlemen who told me that because I always paid my electric bills on time & was such a good customer, I was being offered by the 'board' a device which would save me 40% saving on my electricity bill.

Sounded very similar device to one shown on "Rip off Britain" , which was shown to be not only useless but a fire hazard to boot, needless to say the phone was soon back on the hook.

RonA

 

[stuvy]

whats the idea of the box? i dont watch rip off britain

 

[madkayaker]

there are devices on the market that are supposed to optimise the voltage and reduce the bills that have got backing by energy saving trust so this might not have been a scam

 

[brightspark]

there are devices on the market that are supposed to optimise the voltage and reduce the bills that have got backing by energy saving trust so this might not have been a scam

a 60 amp single phase voltage optimiser unit for your mains supply is available. there about 400 quid

 

[Engineer1964]

there are devices on the market that are supposed to optimise the voltage and reduce the bills that have got backing by energy saving trust so this might not have been a scam

Might start bringing my 110v transformer home from work and buying my electrical's from the states.

If we went to 110volts we could save more than 50% off our electric, Whose idea was it to knock out voltage at 240v when the US is happily running at 110

 

[madkayaker]

240v 50 Hz was a system designed by the Dutch. Incidentally 50Hz is also the worst frequency to have a shock off apparently the optimisers reduce to 220v? As most equipment is designed for this voltage and increase above this is just wast heat etc.

 

[rtbcomp]

AC is a con anyway, the electricity suppliers push the electrons into our houses and then pull them back out again, but we still have to pay for them!

 

[the snooper]

Might start bringing my 110v transformer home from work and buying my electrical's from the states.

If we went to 110volts we could save more than 50% off our electric, Whose idea was it to knock out voltage at 240v when the US is happily running at 110

if only we were charged by voltage

 

[MonsterLandrover]

Here's a nice "voltage optimiser". Cost more like £1.2m though. It would make a nice oil cooled welder

 

[madkayaker]

33 or 66 Kv I would think.

 

[madkayaker]

Sf6 insulated bushing as well I bet

 

[MonsterLandrover]

Its a bulk supply point 132kv to 33kv. Its actually one from 1965 so its all oil and compound for the transformer and Reyrolle LMT oil breakers too. Still work perfect!

 

[madkayaker]

The good old days before they started using sf6 in an attempt to reduce size and costs.

 

[MonsterLandrover]

we still have Reyrolle 'c' gear on the network from the 50's all oil insulation and built like battleships!

Not like these Chinese things being sold to reduce the incoming potential to 220v ac. The idea of these isn't for the new electronic products in your home but for purely resistive loads like incandescent lamps. Equipment which use a switch mode power supply will just draw more current if the incoming voltage is reduced. Oh and don't try running a welder through one. If the current does not kill it, the harmonics will!

 

[Wedg1e]

The good old days before they started using sf6 in an attempt to reduce size and costs.

We use SF6 for filling x-ray heads, mind we're usually trying to keep anything up to 320kV under control... some equipment still uses oil: Shell Diala GX and similar.

 

[madkayaker]

320kv that's small stuff! It's nasty stuff if it start discharging

 

[TechnicAl]

Its a wonder its still there. My lads work for the National Grid and seem to spend all their time replacing stolen metal parts.

 

[brewdexta]

I had some guys around last week about a grant for biomass heating, we are in a rural area that qualifies for the grant, no mains gas etc, as long as you can buy and install a complete system of boiler, wood pellet boiler and heat store by end of March (financial year) - bean counters, don't you love 'em

Anyway the guys the council use to administer the funds didn't come across as particularly savvy and also tried to flog me other stuff. One was the voltage optimiser. I knew they were full of BS when they said it converted 415v to 240v on a domestic supply and you can average 15% savings.

They couldn't articulate how it worked and didn't have any information on them. If I was flogging this stuff I would at least read around the subject, 10 mins looking at the web and reading the product spec and small print would at least give you a blaggers chance.

 

[piman]

Hello Engineer,

"If we went to 110volts we could save more than 50% off our electric, Whose idea was it to knock out voltage at 240v when the US is happily running at 110"

Their system is dual voltage, any heavy loads are run on 220 volts, i.e a cooker or an A.C. unit so there's added complication, I much prefer the British system. You also need heavier gauge cables with 110v as against 220v for the same load.
The bills are not based on voltage but on power so halving the voltage won't half the bill.

Alec

 

[JoelC]

Tescos use these in most of their larger stores. Causes all kind of havoc with supplier equipment.