What has caused this melt down??

[peweuk]

The other day the water in one of our hot water tanks suddenly stopped heating, and on checking the immersion heater I discovered that the neutral cable on the feed had seemingly overheated to the point where it had 'broken' and the connection was no longer intact - as seen here (with the thermostat removed)

I am looking for suggestions as to what could cause such overheating - our local electrician has suggested replacing the element and the thermostat as well as the timer as he thinks any one could be the cause - but I have my doubts.

Views please?

 

[bernardgreen]

Poor connection that has became resistive and generated heat where the wire is held in the terminal.

Lose screw in the terminal holding the Neutral or corrosion of the wire and/or terminal are the most common causes.

The frayed ends of the wires that went to the thermostat suggest the installation was done to a poor standard.

If the thermostat had failed the water would either not heat or would over heat.

The timer could not cuase this burnt terminal.

If your "electrician" was the person who installed this then I suggest you find a real electrician.

 

[Taylortwocities]

Sadly, the person who usually installs immersion heaters are plumbers, not electricians.

Not that I'm pointing the finger at another group of tradespersons, you understand, but your picture is rather common…...

 

[peweuk]

Bernard/Taylor -
Thanks for your input, I am no electrician, but from my college days I did wonder about the connection being the culprit but it is nice to hear views from the experienced side.

Sadly, the person who usually installs immersion heaters are plumbers, not electricians.

Not that I'm pointing the finger at another group of tradespersons, you understand, but your picture is rather common…...

You could be right - it may have been a plumber who did the installation - it was a while back so we can't remember.

If your "electrician" was the person who installed this then I suggest you find a real electrician.

A conclusion I think I already had started leaning toward - even more so now.
He never even commented on the wire condition, which sort of confirms he's probably a baker disguised as a spark

 

[OwainDIYer]

unlikely to be a plumber, they got the cable sheath under the clamp!