Storage Heater Repairs

Storage heater not working? Below are conscise Instructions how to repair broken storage heaters from Dimplex service engineers.

My electric storage heater stopped working, there is no heat coming out. Is it worth repairing or should i buy a new one?

Most common reasons why a storage heater stops working completely is due to a faulty storage heater thermostat or a blown element. Dimplex suggest if you are a competent user comfortable taking off the front panel you may check to see if the thermostat is the cause of the problem (see below) to see if it can be fixed. Beyond this, only qualified electricians or engineers should attempt storage heater repairs. Thermostat and elements have been known to require replacing every couple of years. You will know when an element fails because a section of the heater will turn cold.

Spare parts that commonly go wrong:

In order of occurence:

1. Thermostat
2. Heating Elements
3. Terminal blocks (loose connection)

The majority of the time these would be the things that go wrong.

If a storage heater stops working, looking at it simply it can be one of two possibilities. Provided it hasn't been accidentally covered by clothing or similar.

i) a faulty thermostat
ii) a broken element

These are easily replaced and relatively cheap.

How can I check the thermostat in a Dimplex storage heater?

It is possible to fix the storage heater by performing a thermostat manual reset by doing the following: Make sure you turn power supply off and isolate it. If you are a competent enough user to go inside and take off the front panel, there are two screws at bottom of the heater, unscrew these and carefully remove the front panel.

At the top of the storage heater, look for what what looks like three round polos stacked on top of each other. The Thermostat looks like a little black cap nubbin with a red dot - push it down to reset thermostat, if you hear a distinct click it should work on next charge period overnight, if not, the thermostat could be faulty and need replacing. Put front panel back on, turn power on and wait until your next off peak charge overnight to see if it takes next charge. If not, call a service engineer for a quote to see the cost of a call out and storage heater repair, or see if its worth removing and buying a new replacement storage heater.

What affect does age have, when should I replace the heater based on the age?

Storage heaters have been known to have a healthy life span of 40 years. Storage heaters have a long life typically although an element or thermostat may fail after 6 or 8 years. Before replacing a broken storage heater check that there isn't a fault with the wiring, switch or circuit breakers with help from an engineer or competent user.

For an engineer or electrician - what is the checklist of measures to eliminate other possible problems?

Service engineers should check circuit - open circuit, trace round to find faulty component. Measure resistance to check for failed elements.

How do I book an engineer call out? If I am not sure about a broken heater, installation or fixing spare parts...

Most storage heaters operate on the same basic principles and use similar control systems. As the only surviving manufacturer of storage heaters in the UK, Dimplex customer services based in Southampton should be able to recommend service engineers for customers of major brands covering the whole country. Dimplex customer service - Tel: 0845 600 5111.

Alternatively where can i get someone cheap to look at it broken?

Check with your local electrician/ electrical contractor.