Electrician help needed.

[viper]

buy another one... is reay cheap

[thewizeard]

..you could also try a test between the earth and the live leading to thermostat using an ohm-meter ( with the mains off!) If you notice a "leak to earth," the heating element could be corroded and letting in a little water.. you might need to replace it.

The very best yoiu could do would be to replace it with a smaller boiler and preferably a high-rendiment gas fired installation.
To be absolutely honest, it looks an extremely dangerous installation and should be repaired by a qualified electrician before you use it again.

[lynx]

That boiler is rated at 2kW, it isn't an inductive load, so at 230V it uses about 8.7A which is nothing spectacular and certainly does not require a specialised circuit. My electric kettle uses more power than that.

All that information is on the plate on the side of the boiler if anyone wants to check.

With wiring as simple as that looks to be, there are really only 3 places where the fault can lie.

• In the wiring itself
• In the thermostat (if that's what the wires join to)
• In the heating element (the part held in by the 4 studs).

My bet is also on the heating element, corrosion would fit in with the description of random failures in the first instance followed by instant failure now. The heating element is a standard 2-stage element, with both stages wired in parallel.

You can easily check if it is the heating element, unscrew the 3 black wires and bend them out of the way. Now plug the boiler in as before. If the circuit does not pop then the fault is in the element, if it pops then the fault is in the wiring or the thermostat.

None of those parts should be particularly expensive to replace. A standard heating element costs about £20 here, it depends whether that's a standard one or a special unit for that boiler. A qualified heating engineer should be able to replace that in under half an hour, it's just 4 nuts for the element, 2 screws for the wires and a new gasket.

[100%]

I am still alive.

I tried what lynx said and it is the heating element.

you can simply slide in and out the heating element.

Getting an electrician over tomorrow.

Thanks for your input and am impressed with all your hidden knowledge.

[enoughfakefiles]

I am still alive.

I tried what lynx said and it is the heating element.

you can simply slide in and out the heating element.

Getting an electrician over tomorrow.

Thanks for your input and am impressed with all your hidden knowledge.

I was going to say that.

True story.

[JPaul]

That boiler is rated at 2kW, it isn't an inductive load, so at 230V it uses about 8.7A

Just one small point, the leccy at his gaff might not be 230V depending on where he is. So it could be like 18.2A or something else.

[lynx]

That boiler is rated at 2kW, it isn't an inductive load, so at 230V it uses about 8.7A

Just one small point, the leccy at his gaff might not be 230V depending on where he is. So it could be like 18.2A or something else.

Except it says 230V on the plate.

Mind you, that could be why it's gone faulty.

[JPaul]

[100%]

New heating element installed. (slide it in and connect cables)
300kr
+
1000kr electrician

Apart from the occasional electrical shocks you get when you touch any of the faucets, and the smell of melting glava, it is working great.

I wish...

Paid 10000kr today after heavy argumentation with she who wears the pants, and has last word.
Hence new boiler installed.

We smell better though.

[tesco]

By code the heater should be on its own circuit, wired with number 10 wire. If it says it uses 16 amps when running then you should be using a 20 amp plug with a 20 amp breaker. ( I havnt gone to trade school yet but i know theres some sort of de-rating factor involved in it. Something like, you need 40% more capacity than what it says...) Put a ohm meter on the cord going to the plug and let it run, see what its really drawing. It may say 16 amps when running but when an electric motor starts up it uses more.

You fill a circuit to 80% of it's rating...
That's canadian electrical code anyway, who knows what his local code is....