Martin Angove wrote:
Just a musing really. With the large number of digital (programmable -
but that's not really the issue) *room* thermostats now on the market
at reasonable prices, have I missed something, or is there a reason
why no-one seems to be producing a digital *cylinder* thermostat?

Surely with one of these you could do all sorts of clever things
like... ummm... pre-firing the boiler as hot water is drawn off but
before the tank reaches the "low" setpoint... have two sensors to
allow day-period variances (e.g. keep the top 1/3rd hot during the
day, but fill the tank in the evening)... allow user choice over
"hysterisis" (or however you spell it) so that boiler cycling is
minimised... and probably loads more that I haven't thought of.

Get the water piping hot for when you come home from work at the pit but set
the temp lower for night and daytime when you only want to wash the dishes,
or somesuch.
Looks like an idea with scope.

This is the point where someone either tells me it's been done and is
available or tells me that there is no need to ditch the bimetal
thermostat because...

I think I saw one once but couldn't find it when I trawled the usual
websites.

--
James...
http://www.jameshart.co.uk/