Electric Towel Radiator stopped working

[David M]

Electric towel radiator is supplied from a connecting box outside the bathroom. It worked fine for two years. Suddenly it has stopped working, so you would think it would need a new heating element. However before I decide to order that, I have tested the power from the connecting box to the radiator and my tester shows no sign of any power at all. No problems with power anywhere else in the house, and no fuse problems in the fuse box.

Any suggestions? Thank you

 

[FrodoOne]

If you have established that there is no voltage available at the connections to the radiator, you need to establish at what point the circuit feeding the radiator is open.

One hopes that your "tester" is a multimeter, set to read Voltage, and not just a Voltage Pen tester.

 

[David M]

If you have established that there is no voltage available at the connections to the radiator, you need to establish at what point the circuit feeding the radiator is open.

One hopes that your "tester" is a multimeter, set to read Voltage, and not just a Voltage Pen tester.

Thanks for your reply. It’s a pen tester - I’m an amateur and just want to know if I really need a sparky to come out or if I can just change over the element.

 

[FrodoOne]

Even if a Pen Tester indicated Voltage (on the Line wire) it does not mean that the circuit is not open-circuit.
An open-circuit Neutral will cause the same problem.

That is the reason that one should use a voltmeter to check the potential difference between the Line and Neutral, the Line and Earth (both of which should be [almost] the same) and between Neutral and Earth, which should be [almost] zero.

After opening the appropriate circuit breaker and disconnecting the Supply wires, you can use a multi-meter (on the Ohms scale) to check the resistance of the heater element to see if it is OK.

An analog Multi-meter is a good investment for checking electrical problems.
You should be able to get one for less than £10. (e. g. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Analogue...983297?hash=item5d8c404f01:g:oK4AAOSwMxxdAKi1)

(Do not buy a digital meter as a first Multi-meter, since you may get false readings from house wiring if using a digital multi-meter, for various reasons.)

 

[winston1]

Electric towel radiator is supplied from a connecting box outside the bathroom. It worked fine for two years. Suddenly it has stopped working, so you would think it would need a new heating element. However before I decide to order that, I have tested the power from the connecting box to the radiator and my tester shows no sign of any power at all. No problems with power anywhere else in the house, and no fuse problems in the fuse box.

Any suggestions? Thank you

Is there an FCU somewhere?

 

[winston1]

Thanks for your reply. It’s a pen tester - I’m an amateur and just want to know if I really need a sparky to come out or if I can just change over the element.

It is a waste of money and time to replace something when you don't know if it is faulty. If there is no power getting to the element replacing it won't make the power magically come back.

 

[DetlefSchmitz]

It is a waste of money and time to replace something when you don't know if it is faulty. If there is no power getting to the element replacing it won't make the power magically come back.

Yawn. Read it again, he knew that already.