Designing a Digital Timer to Automate Geyser Control

[Fuzigish]

I want to build a digital timer that will switch my geyser on and off at a preset time in order to save power. I don’t know much about PICs so I would rather try using only logic ICs. It has to have at least 3 preset ‘on-times’ and 3 ‘off-times’. Can anyone help me to get started?

 

[Proton Soup]

seriously, just go to the hardware store and pick up an AC wall timer. something like this:
http://www.drillspot.com/pimages/65/6526_300.jpg

maybe get a "heavy duty" unit, while you're at it. don't know how much power a "geyser" uses.

 

[Fuzigish]

Unfortunately it would be illegal to build something like that into a distribution board in South-Africa. Plus an average geyser is 4000W – 6000W, so I don’t think even a heavy-duty unit would work.

This is an example of something similar: http://www.geyserwise.co.za/web/index.php"

 

[Proton Soup]

a "geyser" is a hot water heater?

there are also timers that control a lot more current and could be inserted into an electrical panel. what i don't get is how it's going to be any more legal for you to insert some homemade controller into a panel. if that's your goal, you'll need to buy an approved product.

 

[Fuzigish]

Yes, a ‘geyser’ is a hot water heater.
This whole exercise is not to build something that will necessarily be used. I just want to learn something out of this about logic-ICs, so buying a pre-built unit would be pretty useless.