Replacement storage heater, cost of installation?

Tomc

Hi.
I’m not a fan of them, but I only have storage heaters in my flat. I have removed the old one in my living room and purchased a new Dimplex one to replace it with. 

Would any one know approximately how much to install the new one.? I would think what’s involved is wiring it in, screwing it to wall and installing the bricks. 

Tempted to have a go myself but preferably would leave it to a professional...
Thanks
T

AskAsk

we bought a new one from a company that also came to install it.  this would have been the better option as they are pretty heavy, but otherwise they should be easy to install.

make sure you turn all the power off as when they came to install it, they found out that the supply was still on during the day time, when it should have been switched off automatically by EDF.  it came to light that the EDF switches were faulty so we had a refund from EDF for overcharging the costs on the storage heaters as they were drawing power duriing the day time when they shouldn't have done.

Tomc

Thanks for that AskAsk, glad you’re sorted and got your money back. 

 Since posting I’ve been advised that this heater (a Dimplex Quantum 150) is too high wattage usage for my existing wiring. Therefore I have to get new cable fitted from fuse box to spur if I want to keep this heater which sounds like a lot of work. The fuses on the fuse box are 15 amps and could be dangerous if wired in as it is. 
Not sure what to do now, I perhaps should have investigated it more before purchase.

AskAsk

Tomc said:

Thanks for that AskAsk, glad you’re sorted and got your money back. 

 Since posting I’ve been advised that this heater (a Dimplex Quantum 150) is too high wattage usage for my existing wiring. Therefore I have to get new cable fitted from fuse box to spur if I want to keep this heater which sounds like a lot of work. The fuses on the fuse box are 15 amps and could be dangerous if wired in as it is. 
Not sure what to do now, I perhaps should have investigated it more before purchase.

why didn't you replace like for like?  if you have to change the wiring then you will need an electrician to do it as it is too dangerous to do on your own, although i know DIY enthusiasts can be quite confident at installing electrical cabling, but i try not to go there.

can you return the existing heater and get a refund, then buy a similar wattage to the existing one?

Tomc

AskAsk said:

Tomc said:

Thanks for that AskAsk, glad you’re sorted and got your money back. 

 Since posting I’ve been advised that this heater (a Dimplex Quantum 150) is too high wattage usage for my existing wiring. Therefore I have to get new cable fitted from fuse box to spur if I want to keep this heater which sounds like a lot of work. The fuses on the fuse box are 15 amps and could be dangerous if wired in as it is. 
Not sure what to do now, I perhaps should have investigated it more before purchase.

why didn't you replace like for like?  if you have to change the wiring then you will need an electrician to do it as it is too dangerous to do on your own, although i know DIY enthusiasts can be quite confident at installing electrical cabling, but i try not to go there.

can you return the existing heater and get a refund, then buy a similar wattage to the existing one?

Thanks for that. Previous heater was insufficient for room I found. Since my post earlier, I checked and the wattage of the heater does not exceed the ampage of the fuse in the fuse box. 3300 watt heater equates to a 13.75 amps and fuses are 15 amps, so all good. (Fingers crossed)..

knightstyle

While you are at it how old is the fuse box?  If it has fuses it is well out of date and IMO should be replaced with a modern consumer unit using RCDs and MCBs.  Worth getting a quote for this at the same time as the rewiring the Storage unit.

Homer_home

If you are not confident at DIY then get a handyman in to fit it for you , it won't take them long 

If you are confident and have the tools then it's very simple to install 

nofoollikeold

1. At 230 volts (European standard) your 3.3 kW heater will draw (3300 / 230) = 14.35 amps.
2. I would consider that much too close to the fuse rating of 15 amps.  Don't forget none of these things are accurate to more than a few percent. 
3. You would do well, at the very least, to get a qualified electrician confirm that the existing cable is of sufficient capacity and that the fuse can handle the load.
4. Don't forget that cable current carrying capacity must be de-rated for such things as being covered.  

Homer_home

nofoollikeold said:

1. At 230 volts (European standard) your 3.3 kW heater will draw (3300 / 230) = 14.35 amps.
2. I would consider that much too close to the fuse rating of 15 amps.  Don't forget none of these things are accurate to more than a few percent. 
3. You would do well, at the very least, to get a qualified electrician confirm that the existing cable is of sufficient capacity and that the fuse can handle the load.
4. Don't forget that cable current carrying capacity must be de-rated for such things as being covered.  

14.35 amps is plenty fine for a 15 amp breaker 
Breakers are designed to protect the cable so as long as the cable is rated to take 14.35a the MCB will do its job 

Or does this go against your "opinion"

P.s. can you explain (4) what does being covered mean?

TELLIT01

Wow!  There seems to be a lot of 'passive aggressive' posting on the boards lately.  Every person who posts is only expressing their personal opinion unless they back it up with solid fact.  Others may have different opinions and that's fine as long as they aren't suggesting actions which may be dangerous or unlawful.

Ectophile

Homer_home said:

nofoollikeold said:

1. At 230 volts (European standard) your 3.3 kW heater will draw (3300 / 230) = 14.35 amps.
2. I would consider that much too close to the fuse rating of 15 amps.  Don't forget none of these things are accurate to more than a few percent. 
3. You would do well, at the very least, to get a qualified electrician confirm that the existing cable is of sufficient capacity and that the fuse can handle the load.
4. Don't forget that cable current carrying capacity must be de-rated for such things as being covered.  

14.35 amps is plenty fine for a 15 amp breaker 
Breakers are designed to protect the cable so as long as the cable is rated to take 14.35a the MCB will do its job 

Or does this go against your "opinion"

P.s. can you explain (4) what does being covered mean?

I'm not nofoollikeold but...

The current rating of a cable depends on how much cooling it gets.  A cable that's clipped onto a wall (so it's got fresh air around it) is completely different to a cable in the loft, buried under 6 inches of loft insulation.

There are big tables of current limits for different types of cables in different situations.