Overnight Heaters

[scoobydooby]

Scenario:
3 overnight storage heaters
2 work, 1 does not
Seperate consumer unit for 3 breakers
meter comes on between 12 and 7, can anybody tell me is it possible to troubleshoot this problem without tampering with the meter, and without working between 12 and 7.

Cheers

 

[andy]

Scenario:
3 overnight storage heaters
2 work, 1 does not
Seperate consumer unit for 3 breakers
meter comes on between 12 and 7, can anybody tell me is it possible to troubleshoot this problem without tampering with the meter, and without working between 12 and 7.

Cheers

temp wire the CU for heaters into the other CU

 

[scoobydooby]

thanks andrew

 

[Lectrician]

You should be able to use an ohm meter to find any fault on an appliance. You should never have to work on or in an appliance with the supply turned on.

If you cannot use an ohm meter to 'follow' the path of the current, measure the resistance of the elements, check the continuity of the cable/fuse/switch etc, then you certainly shouldn't be sticking any test leads onto a known live source.

 

[delmel]

Which one is not working. My guess is it may be your small one which only houses 1 element. Storage heaters have 1 ,2 or 3 elements if one goes the others continie to work. what is the Kw rating of the faulty one.

 

[theshogun]

You don't need the power on ,i presume you checked all the mcbs/fuses.
Depending on the size of storage heater you should be able to tell how many elements are working by turning off the d.p sw ,removing the cover of the storage heater and measuring the resistance of the heater at the terminals .
The charge controller (input ) should be set to 9 or there abouts this should mean that the heater is turned on ,then measure the resistance of the heater,eg if you have 3 elements the the resistance reading should be about 24ohms or there abouts,if one element is blown then this reading should be about 35 ohms if there are 2 elements gone then it would read about 76/77 ohms. If you don't get any readings then check an individual element if this then is around 77/76 ohms i would suspect the charge controller,if all the elements are ok.
If the charge controller is suspect ie (this is more than likely at the top right with 2 cables connected to it) check continuity through it ,you will have to disconnect the wires from it first to prevent any false readings,turn it up if it dose not show continuity at the highest setting i would replace it

Ps you could compare any reading against a working heater i,the elements should be the same ohm value,it is how many you put in the heater that cause the size to vary,unless you have 6kw storage heaters that are fan assisted.
Make sure it is turned off though.

 

[Big_Spark]

Get rid of them..worst electrical invention ever..power hungry waste of time..The only reason you feel warm after they have been on is the carbon dioxide they cause to be put in the atmosphere by generating the energy to run the damned things

 

[StirlingScott]

theres a big possibility the thermal cut out has gone, caused by overheating within the inner casing, either by someone covering the vents or the thermostat terminal ( not the wiring terminals) but the bimetal terminals have pitted together and the heater has overheated and tripped the thermal cut out or melted teh cut out depending on what kind you have, all these will be within the top cover of the unit. Other likely causes are faulty spur unit not allowing power to go into heater or faulty elements, but the most likely cause is the thermal cut out.

the thermal cut out problem can be seen by removing the top cover of the heater, and visualy checking if the thermal cut out has melted or if the terminals have pitted together, plus a contuniuity buzzer will let you know if the resettable thermal cut out if its this type has tripped.

Plus, put a temporary supply with a 2.5 flex and plug top into a socket onto the heater and you have volts to check if you need to. but working dead you should still be able to identify fault

 

[scoobydooby]

thanks all, just dont think i will bother me arse turning up to do job, seems like a hassle

 

[Paulmcfadyen]

From a customer's point of view, a tradesman deciding just to not turn up to a job is pretty unacceptable. I assume you plan to call your customer well in advance to cancel the appointment. Otherwise, I'd certainly never call you again and I'd advise all my friends, family and work colleagues not to use you as you don't bother to show up.

 

[scoobydooby]

Actually i will edit that last point...i dont have the job, it was an initial enquiry from a potential customer...but thanks for putting me straight on that paul, im shocked and mortified you could think such a thing..

 

[Paulmcfadyen]

That's what I thought - I guess I'm just bitter because I've been stood up by cowboys before! Probably did a better job myself in the end...

 

[plugwash]

well you should be able to disconnect the storage rad from its connection point and put a plug on it temporerally then plug it into to a normal socket (via an extention lead if needed)

this will at least confirm if it is a problem with the heater or with the wiring.