Weird situation with electronic heater/mains electric

[ZaO]

Hey all. I got home just now and tried to turn on my electric heater, but it wouldn't turn on. So I tried plugging it in at a different mains socket and it worked. I check the mains fuse box - no switches have flipped. I go back to the mains socket that it was originally plugged into and try something else, which works in that socket. So I put that heater back on that socket and it's working there again. I'm not quite sure what happened here..

The only thing I can think of is that the heater needed powering on and off by the hard switch for some reason (I normally leave it on standby. And it was left on standby before I tried to turn it on when I came home.). I don't know what that means for the heater. I guess it's probably not a good sign. But this thing is new and I've only had it for a matter of days. But also I'm just wondering, is it possible that the mains socket needed to be turned on and off for some reason, rather than the heater (I live in a block of flats btw)? Maybe there was just a power surge which flipped a switch somewhere. I'm just not sure which thing I might need to be concerned about here..

Hope someone can help me make sense of it. Thanks

[GoNz0]

they tend to arc when they power on with old/cheap plugs/sockets so you may find the sockets on it's way out, reinserting has cleaned it enough to get it going again.

[smargh]

Loose wire?

Don't turn it on, take it apart!

[peterb]

If it is an old switched socket, the switch might not have connected. Or perhaps the plug wasn't fully inserted?

Heaters are generally simple devices, and if it is new and has worked before, it is unlikely (but not impossible) for it to be faulty. If it happens again, it might be worth getting the socket checked.

[ZaO]

Thanks for the replies. The heater was plugged into that socket and nothing was moved or changed about the setup at all since it was in there (until it wouldn't work the other day of course). It just stayed plugged in - no wires moved, things unplugged/plugged in or switches flipped etc. But I've just remembered something else that happened a week or so ago actually. I had the same thing happen with my router on a different plug socket. It was off when I got home, yet the mains switch was actually in the on position. So I just switched it off and on again and it's worked since then. I've also noticed my internet connection dropping sometimes lately. There must be something a little bit odd going on with the electronics around here. I better stop watching those ghost videos at night. I'm provoking some troublesome spirits haha Well, if it keeps happening, then it's time to get an electrician round to try and make sense of it because I'm confused! Thanks

[wasabi]

A router may get twitchy about voltage drops and shut off. Heaters are pretty dumb - just a massive old style lightbulb really, without the light.


Sockets tend to be grouped logically together - so you tend to find those upstairs on a adifferent circuit from downstairs, kitchen is on a separate circuit ( and the cooker on a separate circuit again). Are the issues you mention above on power sockets very near each other / same room?

[ZaO]

A router may get twitchy about voltage drops and shut off. Heaters are pretty dumb - just a massive old style lightbulb really, without the light.


Sockets tend to be grouped logically together - so you tend to find those upstairs on a adifferent circuit from downstairs, kitchen is on a separate circuit ( and the cooker on a separate circuit again). Are the issues you mention above on power sockets very near each other / same room?

Haha well this heater is modern so it's probably not quite as simple as a big dumb lightbulb. It's got a digital display and surely some safety features built in But anyway, All the sockets are on the same circuit. Other than the kitchen ones and things like water heater, cooker etc. The kitchen is actually the same room as my living room. Is just a pseudo separate room really. But still, it has sockets on a separate circuit.

The same thing happened with the heater on one of the kitchen sockets just now actually. But what I failed to mention before (I don't know why the hell I didn't think it was significant) is that the heater was running from an extension lead with a mximum rating of 10 amps with the wire fully uncoiled. I normally use the heater on the low setting which will use less than 10 amps. But if I run it on high (which I've done briefly a couple of times) it will use about 10.8 amps because it's 2500W on that setting. So I think I may have damaged the extension lead it was on. It kept flickering on and off earlier while plugged into it. Resetting the safety on the extension lead didn't fix it. So anyway.. I'm trying it plugged straight into a mains duplex socket now. Being careful to keep the load on the duplex socket safely under 16 amps. I'll see how this goes. But I'm still suspicious of the electronics here

So that's it really. I'll see how it goes like this now. Hopefully it was just that extension lead I had.. Thanks all

[SwondeR]

hi i am a new member. can anyone please tell me if its possible to get a mains hook up fitted and also a leisure battery with a split charger ? also the best place to put the battery.cheers . i live in hampton middx.

[Disturbedguy]

hi i am a new member. can anyone please tell me if its possible to get a mains hook up fitted and also a leisure battery with a split charger ? also the best place to put the battery.cheers . i live in hampton middx.

Instead of reviving old / dead threads you should probably consider starting a new topic.

[SwondeR]

When I first got mine, I noticed alot of people mostly old go around to the back of the car and read the emblems to see what it was. "Hmmm...must be one of them there hybrids."