Hi, I have 6 dimplex plx2000 convector heaters installed in my house, last month the fused spur to the heater went on fire and the same thing has just happend to another one. Could this be faulty heaters or am i overloading the circuit, and also why did it go on fire and not just burn out the fuse.

Bernie, January 2010

Hi, thank you very much for your help. I isolated the circuit and called in an electrician who checked it over. He said the guy who had installed the heaters had stripped the cable that goes into the fcu but had screwed the neutral termial screw in the fcu into the actual pvc sheath so there was very little wire making contact. This was the case on the two fcu's that cought fire.
Once again thank you very much for your help.
Bernie.

bernie, January 2010

as said before it is loose connections in the spur by the installer

pt, January 2010

this needs checked by a pro but think it is just a loose connection buy some good sw fuses and make sure connections are good and tight.
this is unusual and a quick look over by electrician would be recomended and run an earth loop test.

avs, January 2010

If there were a fault on the heater the fuse in the spur should have blown, otherwise the protective device at the consumer unit should have operated.

The spurs certainly shouldn't catch on fire, which suggests a serious fault which should be seen to by a professional, who could do an earth loop test.

In the meantime you could check the condition of the wiring and connections in the spurs (check for charred cables, presence of an earthing conductor, poor connections) and the protective device at the consumer unit (if it is a circuit breaker is it the correct type and rating, if a semi-enclosed fuse has the correct fuse wire been used?)

It could be something really obvious like ordinary wire used instead of fuse wire, but without seeing it for myself it's impossible to say.

If things are catching on fire I would isolate the whole circuit and use different heaters in the meantime.

Adam, January 2010