Creda Comfortaire Replacement

[Steveosuk]

My flat is heated by a Creda Comfortaire AB Warm Air system which uses off peak electricity to heat up bricks (like a central storage heater) and then has a fan controlled via a thermostat to distribute the warm air though ducts in the flat to each room. It's a brilliant system and I'm very happy with is. Or at least I was until it failed and as it's more than 50 years old, very tricky to get it fixed or source spare parts.

As a result, I've been looking for a direct replacement. Ideally a product that has a similar footprint and works in the same way and can use the existing ductwork to distribute the warm air. We only have an electricity supply, no gas.

Can anyone advise if such a system exists my searches so far have been unsuccessful.

Thanks

 

[JohnD]

IIRC there's a company that sources parts for the Electricaire system. Try goggling.

 

[Echo the husky]

Yes we have repaired quite a few of these over the years and don't often have problems getting parts. Stuck a new motor in one last year. What is the fault with yours?

 

[Steveosuk]

Thanks for the responses. The fault is that at 12:30 am when the Economy 7 kicks in, the 40A breaker trips out. I had the cover off the unit today and didn't want to fiddle too much but all wires and components seem ok from just looking at them. Using a multimeter to check the resistance across the Restricted Supply, it shouldn't draw enough current to trip. There are no shorts to earth. I then took the switch apart. It's a single box with a 45A and 20A switch for each of the supplies. On the Restricted (45A) side which looked like 10mm cable, the pvc was extremely brittle and there were signs of heat damage to the insulation. It also looked like the live could have been shorting out to earth at some stage so I have ensured that everything is taped up and isolated and left the cover off. Hoping that tonight it will not trip but not feeling all that hopeful so hence the question about spares and replacements. I'll update tomorrow. If it does work, I'll probably replace with two separate switches instead of the combined one.

 

[Steveosuk]

Update: The 40A Breaker tripped again as soon as the off peak supply was energised in the early hours of the morning so I can safely assume that the issue is within the Comfortaire unit itself. The information plate in the unit states that the Unrestricted Supply needs to support 7.8kw and the Restricted Supply <150w so it is clear that the off peak supply is effectively just a control signal to energise a relay which connects the Unrestricted supply to the heating elements. As it's a pain waiting until 12:30 am to test, I think I will temporarily run a feed from a 24hr supply i.e. socket outlet to feed the double pole switch that is normally supplied from the consumer unit that is only normally energised at night. This way I will be able to test during the day as well. However, as this is clearly being cause by overcurrent tripping the breaker, I'm at a loss as to what to test. I don't want to fiddle too much as I don't really know what I'm doing but I guess checking the resistance across the heating elements would be a good place to start. Any suggestions here would be gratefully received.

 

[EFLImpudence]

It could be a short-circuit or earth fault. Check the resistance from the element L & N to the element Earth.