David_Janet Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 We have just bought one from Leroy Merlin (750 watts, with a fitted thermostatic controller).The fitting instructions were in french, but written by an inscrutable chinese person I suspect... and it is not at all clear how to wire it up.There are 3 cables; Red, blue and black. The red and blue are clearly marked for phase and neutral, but the black one it says is for the 'fil pilote'What do you connect that to?Electrickery never was my strong point...Any (serious) suggestions gratefully received.ThanksDavid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 I Am Not An Electrician but it's something to do with auto settings for the rad/seche serviette. Have you done a search on the forum? I'm sure I've seen an explanation of this before (but I didn't take much notice at the time). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 Basically it is unused for a single appliance as per the diagram.DO NOT connect it to earth[IMG]http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p123/biskitboyo/Pilot.jpg[/IMG] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_Janet Posted March 23, 2007 Author Share Posted March 23, 2007 Thanks ErnieY!Why couldn't the manufacturers have said that??!!RegardsDavid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 They probably did but in Chinese translated to Korean translated to German then to French...and all by Babelfish !There's probably some sort of EU regulation preventing the sale of electrical gear without proper instructions and I very much doubt you'd find it on sale in UK but of course we all know that French can tend to ignore such minor technicalities when it suits them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anton Redman Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 The last French sourced electric towel rail I fitted in the UK had a wire which you could route back to the 'Heures Creuses' ( Broadly Off Peak) sender from the main electicity supply so that with the right 2 amp 'Sectionment Fil Pilote' in your Tableau D'Electricite as well as a 20 amp disjointer but did not require the Heures Cruise ( Merlin Green one is I think called 'Multi 9' ) switch as well so you could run the heated Tower rail either :All TheTime, Not atall or only on Off Peak Electricity.I did not connect the black to anything and the heater I installed it worked fine. Limited reading of your posting suggets you have the suggests that all the Fil Pilote is meant to do is control a second heater so they both come on at the same time/ temperature OR it is meant to link to the Heures Crueses feed. At the size of wire quoted it can only be for sending a signal.But get a professional to look at it if you have any doubts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJSLIV Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 The fils pilote is connected to a central thermostat, or in more sophisticated systems an energy manager. The idea is that you adjust the thermostat on each heater to achieve the temperature required in the room. The central device then transmits a signal which either leaves the temperature as set on the heater, lowers it by a few degrees, or runs at 6 degrees to keep out the frost irrespective of the setting on the heater. The more sophisticated systems can take account of exterior temperatures, switching heaters on earlier, or further lower the temperatures to take account of the dreaded red days. For a solo towel rail you can ignore it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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