Check The Damn Obvious First

[ProDave]

Today's little teaser.

Combined storage heater and convector. Not a posh modern thing but the old Dimplex ones where they literally put a fatter front cover on with a convector element in the bottom and it's own thermostat. Convector and storage heater bit completely independently wired.

Convector not working.

No power to it. Fed from a switched FCU. Fuse okay, no power to the FCU.

Check DB, all okay, nothing tripped. The one labelled "hall convector" has power coming out of it, but no power to the heater.

Continuity check shows N and E okay but L open circuit.  Must be a damaged cable, laminate flooring, time for some bad news to the landlord.

Then "click".  Hold on, what's the thermostat in the storage bit doing clicking on or off at 10AM?

Then the penny dropped, and sure enough the convector bit is connected to the off peak supply and the storage bit is powered 24/7

I would estimate it's been like that since it was installed probably 20 years ago. The two flexes connected to the wrong outlets.  This must be the first tenant who has tried to use the convector bit.

 

[NozSpark]

Jeez,,,, that must have cost them a small fortune in running costs over the years

 

[ProDave]

I nearly didn't go to this job at all as the actual complaint was "the storage heater is only hot at the top, not the bottom" And I almost said "yes that's normal" and didn't go.

 

[Evans Electric]

Another reminder Dave , that in in our trade ...take nothing for granted.

 

[kerching]

I had similar in an office block years ago

Bloke wired 3 storage heaters and did not understand contactors.

I went to fit a Pactrol,control?? And spotted that he had got the supply to the 3 heaters off the supply side of the BFO,.contactor. Control,sidevwas via nv contact on the MD meter.

My Pactrol,unit reduced the bills,a lot as it was also linked to a T Switch so the heaters did not come on on friday ormsaturday night.

I Think three heaters not being on 365 /24 Helped a bit as well

 

[Evans Electric]

I had a 200A  service head go into meltdown at a printers once .  They fetched me out ,  red phase had gone out . 

Factory not overloaded usually well balanced.

Discovered that all the road works going on , had damaged cables over a few weeks causing power outs .....the time switch controlling the contactor for the office off peak heating was so far out of sync. it was switching during the day when factory was running ... overloading the red phase.