Storage heater problems

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Andy™

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there are 2 main faults with storage heaters. no heat or lack of heat

No heat:

1: make sure switch is on overnight. most have a neon so at night you can easily see if there is a supply to it. be aware that this supply is usually economy 7 and only works during night - usually around 12-7am

2: if still nothing, its most likely the thermal link. this usually trip/melt if something is placed over the heater. like your wet clothes. the thermal trip/link is located under the main cover (normally screwed on at the bottom, may need a stubby screwdriver or pliers to get screw out) next to the control dials.

there are 2 main types, re-settable links and melting links.

If you have a resettable type, there will be some kind of reset button. if something clicks when this is pressed, it had tripped. put cover back together.

If its a melting link, you will see 2x wires with a gap between. and some residue of what was between them.

they look like this

1ddc2ab182b7b8b4


they cost around


⚠️Please note: This topic was started in 2009, since then a lot of sites /pages linked to no longer exist, so the thread is locked. If you have a storage heater question, please start a new post. :)
 
Good post there Andy :)

Worth pointing out that the heater almost certainly going to be on economy 7 and only live between midnight and 7am! The neon won't light up in the day whatever you do.

Also some storage heaters have a convector heater attached and can have 2 power inputs - 1 on the economy 7 for the storage heater bit and one on all the time for the convector.

:)

 
Hi all

Thanks for an excellent feed. Any ideas where you can get hold of an element for a nightstor boiler. Mine has stopped working and one thermal link has blown but I spoke to someone who knows about these and he has suggested that the other element has blown.

Is it easy to replace an element? (I have some pretty good DIY and electrical skills)

Cheers

 
click for heating element - i know this is a different manufacturer, but it may fit

they are fairly easy to replace, remove covers, remove bricks that are in the way, replace and put back together. make sure you have a dust sheet down - insulation always crumbles when you look at it and it can be messy. also check the asbestos link before you start

 
Good post andy, we have had a few recently in preston and have replaced the whole sytem rather than get new parts.

 
Good post andy, we have had a few recently in preston and have replaced the whole sytem rather than get new parts.
Is that not a bit extream it spares are a few ponds plus a bit of labour?

Or are these really old ones?

 
They where council properties and it was more cost effective to replace than to repair.

The newer heaters where far more efficient.

On your original post andy, one thing I have found with the older mech type of economy seven timers, is that they are not set right,Ie times and even days are way out.

I had one recently and I called the dno they said they had no economy seven data on that property?Just shows how far out some records are.

 
Hi

Sitting in New Zealand and trying to sort out what seems to be an ancient model of nightstore heater. It is a GEC Nightstor - without any further technical data lable.

It is connected to a room thermostat, which switches it off and on. But if the set room temperature can not be reached the heater seems to keep going and ends up (several times) melting the 144 degree temperatur fuse.

1. What are potential causes for it? And how is it supposed to be avoided?

2. Is there supposed to be an internal thermostat, which could be faulty? (couldn't find one though)

Getting cold and would love to hear some advice.

Thanks

Chelsea

 
Welcome to the forum, Chelsea. I am sure someone will reply to your post soon. :D

 
There should be a safety cut out switch which is thermally resetable.

If the model is so old this may not be protected.

The nighstor was made in my neck of the woods (my area) and I think the manufacture of them was transferred to a company called Apecs.

They made the nightstor 100 storage heaters and the nightstor range of boilers.

 
Good post there Andy :) Worth pointing out that the heater almost certainly going to be on economy 7 and only live between midnight and 7am! The neon won't light up in the day whatever you do.

Also some storage heaters have a convector heater attached and can have 2 power inputs - 1 on the economy 7 for the storage heater bit and one on all the time for the convector.

:)
did a storage heater fault last year and found there was an analogue meter for the electrics,,,,took my a while to spot that the time the meter was showing was 4 hours ahead of the actual time.......

 
Admin or Mods,

Do you think this is worthy of 'sticky' status to make it more easily findable?

It seems a good place to start with any storage heater problems!

 
While I was at a customers house the other week they said that their NSH had been sparking in the night (white sparks at bottom). Now I only put these in 12 months ago and initially thought that they were imagining things in their sleepy haze!

On checking the continuity I found that one of the elements was open circuit, so opened it up and found...this ...and... closer!!

The sheath had melted (almost vapourised) :eek: :O:O:O

 
While I was at a customers house the other week they said that their NSH had been sparking in the night (white sparks at bottom). Now I only put these in 12 months ago and initially thought that they were imagining things in their sleepy haze!On checking the continuity I found that one of the elements was open circuit, so opened it up and found...this ...and... closer!!

The sheath had melted (almost vapourised) :eek: :O:O:O
What make was it?

 
ah ha,

this some times happened in my old days at the leccy board.....

a manufacturing fault "too many watts per inch" as we used to say... ;)

 
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