Mains conduit behind storage heater - normal?

[MarshP]

I've removed two storage heaters. Both seem to be in their original place from when our 1980s house was built. Both have mains conduit directly down the wall behind them, with a junction box/inspection cover actually behind the heater. (I'm not sure what it is and don't want to poke about, but basically it's a square, socket-sized blank plate, flush with the wall.)

I'm glad I removed the heaters because, needless to say, the heat has not been kind to the electrics. One of the junction box covers is heat-browned, and the conduit and insulation has melted down to expose a bit of copper.

An emergency electrician is on his way.

Is this arrangement normal? I've changed to a single rate meter and was hoping to put my new 2kw convectors on the wall in the same places where the storage heaters were. But it seems mental to put plastic insulated mains cabling behind a high output heater.

 

[chivers67]

Not certain but the boxes sound like they are Fused conection units (FCU) which would be normal but behind the actually heater is odd.


Do they look like this ?

I'd expect them to be to the side of the heater so they wouldn't get exposed to the heat.

 

[MarshP]

Our friendly local electrician has now answered the queries.

The plates are blanking plates for old sockets or connection points, left in place precisely to indicate the hidden conduits. The heaters were clearly added later.

The electrician is taking out the cabling beyond the damage, crimping in new cable in new conduit, then re-plastering. As a bonus, he can extend the cables and conduit down to the base of the wall and give us a socket. The wiring is on the ring main and live.

The new heater is a basic convector, and needs to be high anyway - 40cm from the skirting. So he says it's safe to have the conduit behind the new heater, once it's all been made good, and the new socket below it.