Burnt out water heater switch

[telectrix]

Thanks for the replies. I should say that I bought the property brand spanking new from one of the biggest developers throw it up in a week as cheap as possible in the country! So the switch is original! The wiring used in the photo is made up of strands.....is this ok or should it be a single core? Cheers, Dave

corrected that for you.

 

[DavyWavy]

Haha, get the point but nevertheless a 3 yr old property - this could have been a lot more serious than no hot water for a while! So basically can we say that stranded wire, folded over, (un-ferruled), tightened securely in a 13A D/P switch should be ok?

 

[Pete999]

or maybe a melted fuse nail carrier.

Yes depends what was in the carrier, seen some real disasters waiting to happen, live 0.22 bullet.

 

[Wilko]

Hi DW and Welcome.
Unfortunately we do see these 13A fuse connection units that have been heat affected. Can you check if the circuit the FCU is on has a B16 rated mcb? I'm suspecting they've put yours off a 32A circuit and so felt they needed to fuse it down.

 

[telectrix]

Haha, get the point but nevertheless a 3 yr old property - this could have been a lot more serious than no hot water for a while! So basically can we say that stranded wire, folded over, (un-ferruled), tightened securely in a 13A D/P switch should be ok?

yes. now the thread has been answered, here's a bit of culture:

 

[DavyWavy]

Excellent! forget burnt out switches......now digging out my Floyd albums Cheers for the help.

 

[littlespark]

You want to check a few of the other accessories for loose terminals and/or unearthed metal backboxes.

You wont get much comeback with the NHBC 10 year warranty, I'm afraid, but finding and rectifying any faults would make the property safer.

Average 3kW immersion/ 230v supply (nearer 240v in reality) gives you 12.5 to over 13Amps running current. The fuse was never going to last long.
Agree that it should have been a double pole switch without a fuse.

 

[KEV 1 N]

Does the Property have gas?

 

[Strima]

TI should say that I bought the property brand spanking new from one of the biggest developers in the country!

They tend to be the worst offenders for using cheap accessories, a few pence saved on a switch in your house turns into thousands saved on a large estate.

Also it is recommended that domestic properties get a periodic inspection every ten years to ensure the installation is still safe to use, not essential or the law but worthwhile.

 

[ruston]

Haha, get the point but nevertheless a 3 yr old property - this could have been a lot more serious than no hot water for a while! So basically can we say that stranded wire, folded over, (un-ferruled), tightened securely in a 13A D/P switch should be ok?

Get on to the to the sellers to sort that out .
It could have been a lot more serious .
Do not fix it yourself or you may jeopardise any future claims.