Advice required regarding storage heater wiring and more!

Hello guys, im hoping I can get some advice from you knowledagble bunch regarding some things that I have done recently and some things that have happened since. Apologies if this turns into a long post, ill try keep it as short as possible.

First some background. I live in a flat which is supplied by economy 7 rates during the night. I have 2 storage heaters, one of which also has the boost feature, there are also 2 fan heaters in the flat and 1 standard electric heater.

I have a CU that is split into 2 parts, one RCD protected side which i guess is for the general lights, sockets etc, plus the boost circuit for the storage heater, and I have the non RCD side which im assuming is for the economy 7, and on this side, there are 3 MCBs, one for each storage heater, and one of the immersion (which also has an MCB on the RCD side, so I guess its a split level immersion).

This all started when I decided I needed to move the storage heater in my lounge, which is the one with the boost function, to the left. In also took the opportunity to redo some plaster around the area that wasnt in great shape. I disconnected the 2 switches next to the heater after noting how it was wired up. Then i did all the work, moved the heater, put in a longer 1.5mm2 heat resistant flex from the switches to the heater and wired the switches back up how i noted that they were done before.

This is my first question: There are 2 switches, i guess one for the boost circuit and one for the storage circuit, the boost circuit switch has 2 sets of twin and earth coming into it from behind the wall. Why would this be the case? I was a bit hesitant when I saw that but carried on anyway. Both lives are connected together, same with the Neutrals and Earths.

Anyway, I wired it all up and the heater appears to be working on the boost circuit, I havent switched it on overnight yet though.

My second problem came last night. The heaters were switched on at the CU but not switched on at the wall. I happened to go to bed a little later last night and not long after this, I heard a loud bang, which I traced back to the CU. It was the Immersion heater on the non RCD side popping. This happened at 12:30, at which time i would consider the econ7 rate to become active.

Naturally, I am now concerned that I have done something seriously wrong wiring wise with my heaters and its causing other MCBs to blow. Is there any way, that If i had done something in correctly on the heaters, mainly the storage side of it as it was in the night, that it could be causing the Immersion to blow or am I worrying over nothing.
You should know that after turing the lights on last night, they were flickering pretty badly, which made me even more worried, but this flat has suffered with that problem in the days and night throughout the time I have lived here.

So is it just a massive coincidence, or have I done something seriously wrong? I dont want a fire or anything like that.

Im sorry for the long post and i apologise if I have used the incorrect terms for anything, but I am very grateful for any help you can give me.
Thanks very much

OOPs

You could have done absolutely anything, connection fault, screwed a cover back on through a conductor, drilled through a cable when you refixed the heater, anything.

Fixing this issue is beyond the realms of typing, reading, understanding and doing.

You need to call out an electrician OR

**cringes**
Tell the landlord there is a "problem with the lectrics" and hold your hands up.

Can you just confirm for me that you didnt touch the immersion heater/wiring?

Did you literally just move one storage heater along slightly?

Sounds to me like the immersion element could have split, purely conincidental with you doing other works.

I hope your landlord gave you permission to alter his wiring

londonboy said:

Can you just confirm for me that you didnt touch the immersion heater/wiring?

Did you literally just move one storage heater along slightly?

Sounds to me like the immersion element could have split, purely conincidental with you doing other works.

I hope your landlord gave you permission to alter his wiring

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Thanks for your reply. Firstly the landlord is my dad and we did some of the work together (plastering etc) so he knew exactly what was happening, no worries there.

Secondly, no, I went nowhere near the immersion wiring, the closest I got was when I flicked the mcb for the immersion back on. I literally moved the storage heater maybe 2 feet left, to an area containing no wires behind. The new wiring from the switch is run externally to the wall so didn't even cut into the wall for that .

Get a plumber/electrician to check the immersion element.

They do have a lifespan and it could be coincidental.

If the element is buggered, is it likely to trip again tonight when it switches over?

Yes.

ok, and if it doesnt trip, is it likely to indicate another problem, or just a coincidence given the flickering lights etc last night

just a follow up from this, the immersion mcb blew again last night, at 11:30 which i assume is now when the econ7 comes on due to the clocks going back.

Again the switches for the storage heater were off and when the mcb blew, the lamp we had on was flickering as last time. We only get flickering lights once every month or 2 but the last 2 times have coincided with the mcb blowing.

Today I checked the elements in the immersion for resistance and found them to be at about 19.6 ohms, which i think means they are ok. Also, there is not continuity between either terminals and earth, so i think thats ok too.

Can anyone work out whats going on?!

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Why do people ask for advice and just ignore it?

what have i ignored? i might not have got someone in to check the immersion, but ive checked it myself the same way a hundred other people on these boards who have some knowledge have.

if you must know the truth there is no way in hell that i can afford to get someone in. end of.

edit: incidentaly, i have spoken to a number of electricians in my area, with a view to working out a way to afford to get them in, but of the 3 or 4 i spoke to, as soon as i mentioned storage heaters, none of them wanted to know. now if you can tell me why this is, i will try and work something out but it wont be for ages that i can do that

monkey73 said:

if you must know the truth there is no way in hell that i can afford to get someone in. end of.

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Oh well - let's hope that the loose connection(s) causing the flickering don't start a fire before you can afford it, eh?

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I cant see how the money can be an issure, I charge £50/70 for a callout, you probably spend that in a week on fags