instantaneous shower

[Richardp]

Hi, my instantaneous shower heater TritonT80 was not heating the water enough, first I thought it was struggling with the colder water in the pipes, but I noticed a bit of the plastic cover at the top was slighter out of shape like it had melted a bit, so I took the cover off and one of the cables to the element had indeed been over heating and melted, it was no longer even connected to the boiler, any idea why this might have happened?

cheers

 

[ban-all-sheds]

It happened because there was a poor connection between the cable and the terminal, which led to a high resistance, which led to overheating.

It happened because the maker has scrimped and chiselled and done everything he can to make the shower as cheaply as possible so that he can sell more and make more money.

It happened because he knows that nobody can tell when they buy the shower what a carp job he has done.

It happened because as long as there aren't too many failures within the warranty period he doesn't give a ****.

You'll need to remake that connector - new wire and new terminals.

 

[starspark]

Couldnt have said it better myself!!

 

[RMS]

Couldnt have said it better myself!!

Why comment at all then!

To the op.

Is the shower still under the manufacturer's guarantee? When did you purchase it? There is normally a date somewhere on the shower unit. Possibly a two numbers that refer to week and year.

Looks like a repair will be difficult as it seems that the element end and connector is badly burnt due to the heat build up. May require and new heater tank.

 

[Richardp]

Hi RMS
no its not still under the manufacturer's guarantee, its a couple of years old and I've already replaced it, I just wondered why it could have burned out, I know it can be caused if the shower head is submerged under the water, (venting issues?) but that hasn't happened.
the heater still works on low so I reckon that it might be fixable but not worth risking! I'm just wondering whether the whole system,(wiring etc.) should be changed and why the fuse didn't trip.

 

[RMS]

The crimp connector may not have been connected securely enough to the terminal or the tool that made the crimp connection may not have been operated correctly.

Either way the connection has failed because of this high resistive part of the circuit. The result is a heat build up. This on its own will not necessarily cause a fuse, MCB or RCD to blow/operate. If the problem had progressed then maybe the excessive heat would have melted the cable enough to cause a short circuit with another cable (neutral or a cpc) or the heater tank itself. Then you would expect a safety device to operate.

The fault is clearly due to this connection within the shower. A manufacturing fault in my opinion.

 

[seco services]

A manufacturing fault in my opinion.

That's the exact reason triton don't do it this way no more.
It'was a common fault on the early showers ie T80.

What model is that it's not a T80 looks more like a si extra ?

 

[Richardp]

Yep! well spotted its a T80si extra.
Thanks RMS that all makes sense to me and I feel reassured, thanks.