Discuss Wall Thermostat in a flat with very old Dimplex Storage Heaters, what does it do? in the Central Heating Systems area at ElectriciansForums.net

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wtlh

Hello everyone,

This is my first post.

We have just bought a new flat, which was built in the 60s. It has some really old brown Dimplex Storage Heater units (probably made in the 80s, if not even earlier), which we would want to replace. There is also what appears to be a bimetallic thermostat mounted on a wall in the hall way.

The Dimplex units have "input" and "boost" controls. I understand the input controls the temperature to which the bricks will be heated up, i.e. the amount of heat to be stored during the night; and boost controls how fast the stored heat is released into the room. This leaves the thermostat appear a little out of place. Do you guys know what does it control? Does it control the input or the boost/output?

We want to replace these old units with new ones, do you think that thermostat can be made to have any use at all, or should we just remove it all together?

Thank you very much in advance!
 
Hi mate,
There's a good chance the flat originally had underfloor heating, which was controlled via the wall thermostat.
The underfloor heating will have been replaced by the storage heating, making the wall thermostat redundant, and if so it can be removed.

As I'm not there I can't say for certain, so don't go removing anything yet! It'd be a 5 minute job for a spark, to let you know for certain. Maybe somebody on here local to you will be willing to have a quick look if they're working in the area.

Cheers
 
Hi Schneker,

Thank you for your reply!

You may be right! Because, the wiring for the old storage heaters seems to be a little strange:

The E7 output from the mains meter are divided into two outputs, with a 30A and 15A fuse. The 30A fused line runs through a short stretch of coving trunking along the skirting directly to the long storage heater in the reception. The 15A line seems to go into the floor and disappear, which presumably is then connected to the main consumer unit located in one of the bedrooms. And the two smaller storage units in the hallway is connected to the main consumer unit.

Most interestingly, the fuse box for the two small storage units had the words "underfloor heating" on it.

If the flat did indeed originally have underfloor heating, is there any way we may be able to find out for sure? We are going to redo the flooring anyway. However, just by lifting the corners of carpets it seems the floor is solid concrete.

Would it be worthwhile or even possible to revive the underfloor heating system? I presume that if the flat originally had such a system, then all the infrastructure would likely to be still in place, no?

We already had a spark coming last night to give us a quote, and it seems adding two extra units into the bedrooms require new wiring from the mains (just like the way it is done for the reception room one), and this means there will be a rather difficult job pulling wires from a long way away, and I presume the end result could be messy. If the rooms already had underfloor heating, then could be it an easier job reviving it?

We are having another spark to come and have a look this evening.

Cheers
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I spoke with the neighbours, a charming elderly couple who have been living there for quite long time, and they said the flats all originally had underfloor heating in every room, but over the years these things broke one by one. Some flats still have these working in some of their rooms, and they still have it in the living room.

So, I left the heating main switch on over the night and switched off all the storage heaters. Unfortunately the next day the rooms are not heated. The reading of the E7 meter remain identical to the number I have jotted down the day before. So this means either the underfloor heating is no longer connected to the power or that they are broken long time ago.

Had two more sparks look at the flat already:

One insisted that we should install the ordinary electrical heaters in the bedrooms, with him wiring from the consumer sockets. And if we insisted to pull the E7 cable to the bedrooms, then he will have to do trunking, as he is not prepared to chase down the walls all the way. It seems that he is really reluctant to go with the E7 route.

The other one had a little more detailed look, and said the cabling in the flat is quite old and uses "mineral cables", which he explains uses the copper tubing containing the wires as earth, and does not satisfy current regulations. He suggested that if we want to install the storage heaters in the bedrooms, then that would involve some significant wiring work from the mains anyway, and he will probably have to replace the mineral cable from the mains too. And he thinks we will be better off in the long term to just get the flat completely rewired, and at the same time move the fuse boxes to a more convenient location, etc.

I asked if it is worth while to have the flat tested first, and the second spark said it would be a waste of money in his opinion as it would most probably just confirm that the flat needs rewired.

Of course a complete rewire costs money.

For a 2 bed flat with concrete floor, but a hollow wooden ceiling board the concrete above, how much roughly would it cost in our area? The second spark said on average, he would be looking at just over 4000-ish labor plus parts, including making good (replaster chases and fill holes on ceiling board etc), but not including the storage heating units. He is going to give me a detailed quote in the next couple of days.

Is this price reasonable?

Cheers
 
the spark who condemned the "mineral cable", i.e mineral insulated cable wants showing the door. he's going for the best ( to him, financially) way. it's like a doctor saying you have heart trouble without doing a ECG. your first job should be a proper test/inspection to see if the existing cabling is safe for continued use. then go from there.
 

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