Faulty Electric Radiator

1) My Radiator is not working! Help!

We are always happy to attend your home and figure out why something has stopped working and investigate the possible causes of this. Sometimes our customers want us to repair the products for them and this is not something that we generally do. We will occasionally replace an oven element for a customer, replace cables on appliances, wire new plugs on etc but appliance repair is not our general area of expertise and we normally recommend an appliance repair person to carry this out.

If your radiator is not working then it is best to carry out some basic checks yourself first.

2) Basic Checks……

• Is the fuse ok? See if replacing the fuse for another of the same rating solves the problem
• Has anything turned off at your consumer unit / fuse board / electrical trip switch box?
• Is there a total power cut?
• Is the appliance turned on and are the controls set the correct way? Has something been knocked?

Once you have checked the above then it may require some investigation. We are able to attend and check that the electric radiator has power to it and that the power supplying the radiator is correct.

We are able to carry out some limited testing on the appliance to determine if it is faulty. If the appliance is faulty then we will recommend that you have the appliance repaired or replaced if it is under warranty or if it is outside of warranty then we can quote to replace and install the radiator for you.

3) What happened to the electric radiator in the picture above?

It went bang.

No seriously, there was an electrical issue within the radiator that caused a short and a small very quick, tiny, explosion caused the blackening of the wire. In this instance we recommended that the whole radiator was changed.

4) Will my radiator go bang?

It is very rare for appliances to fail in a spectacular manner. Generally there are very high safety standards in place these days which will mean that appliances are very well manufactured and unlikely to fail in such a manner. What is important is that you buy your appliances from a reputable retailer where the appliances are likely to have been correctly sourced, correctly manufactured and you are able to take the appliance back if there is an issue.

5) My radiator works intermittently what is the problem?

There can be a few issues that may cause this. It may be that the appliance if faulty or the electrical supply to the appliance needs investigating. We can certainly help with this and we are able to make sure that all the wiring is correctly installed from the local fuse and all the way back to your consumer unit / fuse board. Once we have established that the wiring to the appliance is ok then we have eliminated all but the appliance itself.

6) I need more electric radiators installed is this something that you do?

We are able to install new electric radiators for you. This may require installing some new wiring from your consumer unit / fuse board but we will be able to tell you this if you contact us. We do not generally remove old electric heaters although we are happy to disconnect them from the electrical supply for you. Certain types of old electric heaters contain asbestos and me require testing before they are removed from your home. Asbestos is potentially very dangerous depending on its form and we always recommend checking for asbestos before working on areas that may contain it. More information on asbestos can be found here https://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/

If you want us to install new electric radiators for you then we will often ask for some photographs before we can give you a quote. We may be able to visit you at a mutually convenient time to assess your needs, inspect your installation and get a better idea of your requirements.

7) Is there a better way to heat our home?

Normally, if you have a Gas supply then this is a more efficient and cheaper way of heating your property than with electric heating. Electric heating is normally much more expensive to run and less energy efficient than modern condensing gas boilers.

If you would prefer a gas boiler installation carried out then give us a call to chat. We often have connections with other trades persons and are able to recommend someone to have a look and create a better heating system solution that works for you and your Liverpool home.