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Replacing storage heaters
Comments
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As Artful says above.
Ring a couple of electricians, tell them you are getting a xxxxx and the wiring is all in place, and ask for a price to fit!
Then ask if they can supply/fit cheaper using trade discount.
Also get a 2nd opinion on the make/model for a comparable size heater.0 -
Never heard of that brand. Would recommend Dimplex for storage heaters though I think a 3.4kw would be a bit more expensive than what you've been quoted.
When I owned a flat I paid about £800 to replace two storage heaters (one large, one small). I have a mate who is an electrician so most of the cost was the purchase of the heaters.
If you're spending the cash, think about what size to get. They come in about three different sizes. I changed my lounge one from the medium size to the large one as the existing heater wasn't sufficient in winter.
As for the work involved, most of the time is spent humping bricks up and down stairs to the flat. Fitting it appeared to consist of screwing it to the wall and wiring the cable from the new heater into the socket (looked similar to wiring a plug to my untrained eye). Effectively storage heaters are just plug-in electrical appliances. Only difference being the cable gets wired into the socket instead of a plug.
Convector heaters are more expensive to run. Storage heaters are standard in flats with no gas supply. I wouldn't want to run convector heaters.0 -
Thank you PinkTeapot. Yes I agree that install/rewiring in theory should be very simple but as others have said, it's worth getting a pro in.
I actually listed the job on RatedPeople.com and got a few calls today. One said that they would return with a price to supply and fit the same model quoted by the LA's tradesman and another said that he could fit and remove the old one for just £115. The only issue is that I have no way of checking if they are qualified. One said that they're part P qualified, the other (the install only chap) gave me some blurb that he's a subcontractor but is fully insured and can show me the insurance docs...
Gonna call a few more electricians in the area myself tomorrow I think.0 -
Hi Boongywoongt, iam an electrician and £270 labour is very expensive for whats involved. Some have mentioned bricks, alot of the times these can be reused from the old heater and makes no diffrence if they are reused if they are all in good condition and not broken.
For me the most important thing is getting the heater fixed solid onto the wall due to the weight of them, ive seen a few that have fallen off and the weight of them when trying to lift them upright again is back breaking stuff so i would never want one to fall on a child or the like if they where playing around it so therefore getting a good fixing is a deffo if you plan on doing it yourself.
Like has been mentioned above there is not too much that can go wrong with storage heaters, the elements could go (4 elements in a 3.4km) or the thermal link/thermal cutout could go which is either open up and press a reset button inside or on older types like yours then replace the thermal link. Both of which are a 10min job at most.
What make is the heater you have on at the moment and what was said to be wrong with the heater that you have to replace it?0
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