Storage heater problem

[Jay Sparks]

Hi Guys,

Now I havent had much to do with fault finding on storage heaters. I have installed loads of brand new ones though.
My customer has a Sunhouse 79169 3.36kw storage heater thats not working. Its on E7 so I have hooked it up to the 24hr supply to do a few tests.
Now I removed the front cover and tested between the element terminal blocks at the bottom and got 235v, then I turned the switch off and the voltage dissapeared. So Im thinking it may just be the actual elements that are faulty. All the terminal blocks have power when switched on but there is no heat at all. Is there something else it could be? Ive read some posts which mention a faulty thermal cut out, does this sound likely in my case? If so, where would I find it?


Thanks guys.

Jay

 

[polo1]

SUNHOUSE - 79149/79159/79169 79343/79353/79363 Storage Heater Parts

 

[Plonker 3]

Have you tested the resistance of all the elements?

if it was the thermal cut-out you wouldn't get power to the elements.

 

[Jay Sparks]

SUNHOUSE - 79149/79159/79169 79343/79353/79363 Storage Heater Parts

Thanks for that, I have had a look on there. I just need to know if the the fault is the elements or the thermal cut out. If theres voltage going to the terminal block, It must be the elements?? But I dont want to buy them and find it might be something else.

Jay

 

[Jay Sparks]

Have you tested the resistance of all the elements?

if it was the thermal cut-out you wouldn't get power to the elements.

Thats what I was thinking.
Not tested the elements yet. What sort of reading would I expect to get if there faulty?
Like I said, I havent really had to test storage heaters before, only the supply to em.

Jay

 

[Plonker 3]

Depends on the power of them. Somewhere around 50 ohms would be fine. But if they are all faulty they well have extremely high or complete open circuit anyway.

 

[Jay Sparks]

Ill whip the kit out then and give it a test. Cheers for that.

Jay

 

[HandySparks]

If you've confirmed supply across the element terminals, then check the resistance of the elements, L to N. For example, if each element is 1200W, then the expected resistance will be 230x230/1200 =44 ohms.

Edit, too slow, as he said above.

 

[Jay Sparks]

So I dissconected the wires from the terminals and tested accross each element. 3 showed open circuit and the fourth was around 0.9ohms. So 99% sure it must be the elements. Tenent just told the flat has been empty for ages and the heater is on an external wall, so maybe broken due to damp??? Any way thanks for the help lads, its not easy asking a question an here lately, was expecting some abuse but at least I got to the bottom of it and learned something new.lol

Jay

 

[Plonker 3]

No worries Jay, that's what the forum is for. But there have been some ridiculous questions asked which lends itself too being given advice that matches it.

 

[Jay Sparks]

No worries Jay, that's what the forum is for. But there have been some ridiculous questions asked which lends itself too being given advice that matches it.

I totaly agree and when I read some of the questions, I just dont reply. I cant be bothered wasting my time with them. Trouble is, there will always be someone that knows more about something than you and will happily ridicule you for it. i.e, this storage heater problem ive had, I dont work on them much so dont really know owt about em but I approached it like I approach any fault, with simple logic! Just didnt want to go out and buy a part if it was not needed, hence the reason I asked the question and gave my assumption of the fault but I was expecting someone out there that knows loads about staorage heaters, to give me loads of grief!! Its good to have someone confirm what I thought it was.

Anyway, Ive just ordered the new elements from Amazon, yes, Amazon WTF!!!! They were only £10 each compared to the only other site I could find them, which were £20 each. Just hope there not cheap crap that will brake after two weeks!!!!lol
But then again, if they do, it keeps me in work.lol


Thanks again

Jay

 

[ayjay]

hi jay replacing the elements will be a pain in the butt! been there done it
sometimes the bricks just turn to dust and break up on removal
make sure you push the bricks as far back as poss when u replace them or the inside front cover thats held on with self tapping screws wont go back on

 

[kingeri]

I hate storage heaters. I had 7 of 'em in my house when I moved in, almost broke my back ripping them out! Why anyone would choose them nowadays I don't know!