Storage heater power supply

[starkx]

Hi

I hope someone can help.

I dont think this is specifically a storage heater issue, it just happens the circuit it is on is behaving wierdly

abot a week ago the storage heaters ( 4) stopped working. all of them.

Thought it was the meter playing up but a little nocturnal testing showed that i was getting power through to the fuse box that supplys the storage heaters.

[test was done from lower socket of fuseholder to earth. yield 235v]

the same test done at storage heater sockets ( tested two of them ) had nothing.

3 fuses are of the old wired type. continuity of these checked out ok. there is one RCD replacement type which hasn't tripped ( but the test and reset buttons work ok)

this is what my fuse box looks like
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/kitchen/electrical
/Wylex_04_Way_01.jpg

i have a modern one for lighting, ring cooker etc, but these two units run off different feeds from the meter. IE the wylex one is the off peak box.

anyone any ideas what to check next?

cheers
stuart

 

[ricicle]

Possibly lost/high resistance Neutral (as you did not test this with regard to line) or high resistance line which will allow a meter to read voltage but drops right off when a load is connected.
Did you measure the line to earth voltage at the heater CU when the other loads were connected (fuses in, switches on) ?

 

[starkx]

HI

Thanks for your reply.

Yes I had one of the heaters switched on when measuring.

Basically I removed one fuse, tested the line to earth, put that fuse back in

Took another out, tested the line to earth from that fuse, and so on

Each time I got a mains voltage reading

cheers

 

[rebuke]

Probably a loose neutral then - if you're confident to, you could open up the fuse board and check that all the connections are tight, just obviously be very careful, as even with the main switch off the incoming supply is still live...

If it's loose in the meter, officially you'd have to get the supplier out, although you might be able to find a spark who doesn't mind breaking the seal, and then has the appropriate tools to reseal it afterwards...

 

[starkx]

Probably a loose neutral then - if you're confident to, you could open up the fuse board and check that all the connections are tight, just obviously be very careful, as even with the main switch off the incoming supply is still live...

If it's loose in the meter, officially you'd have to get the supplier out, although you might be able to find a spark who doesn't mind breaking the seal, and then has the appropriate tools to reseal it afterwards...

HI

Got a sparky mate around in the end who basically checked through all the connections and found nothing wrong. But after all the undoing and doing up yesterday it seems that all is working again this morning..

thanks for your help