Hi,
I am staying in a rental property and we have got a new heater from good guys. and next day due to this heater one of the power line got short circuited and some of the switchboards were not working.
I need some suggestion on how to go about it on questions like who has to pay for fixing electricity repairs and in case i have to pay for fixing is there any way i can get the money from heater manufacturer as the cause is due to the heater. I dont have any conceirge service.
Thanks,
the heater is not working. I tried to put the heater in another plug point even that plug point stopped working by giving a sound. Hence i believe that it is some proble m with the heater
I wouldn't tell the landlord that.
thats pretty bad to ask landlord to fix it when you know the appliance he bought is causing the issue
karma !
@CheapSticks: "you know the appliance he bought"
The appliance may have a fault. Some do.
That's why there are standards regarding circuit-breakers, fuses and wiring gauges to protect the house, wiring and occupants from such failures.
That the heater had a fault is down to The Good Guys or the transport. That in no way whatsoever affects the observation that the household protection devices failed at their task and were not fit for purpose.
Any tribunal, presented with "the heater caused the damage", would probably utter a laugh reminiscent of the one Stalin did just before he enslaved Eastern Europe…
That said, it sounds like the O.P. has just blown a fuse or tripped a circuit breaker. If not, I would let the landlord know, as it is their investment that such cut-outs protects. If they had any wish to take it further, I'd give them a copy of the receipt and point them in the direction of the store.
some of the switchboards were not working
What do you mean the switchboard is not working? What happens when you try flipping the switch back on the switchboard?
It may just be that the heater is drawing too much power along with other appliances.
The plug points were not working at all now. and powerpoints/switches linked to this line were also not working.
one of the power line got short circuited and some of the switchboards were not working.
TBH you sound like you need personal and knowledgeable advice. Perhaps ask an informed neighbor/friend, or if they can't help get the agent/sparky out to show you around the switchboard.
I'm a sparky, so I'll do my best.
From what I can gather, you've plugged the heater in, switched it on and now there are multiple sockets not working?
It sounds like you've over loaded a circuit and tripped off the circuit breaker in the meter box.
I'd unplug everything in the house, go back to the meter box and switch the circuit back on.
If the switch immediately flicks off do not attempt to hold it on, as that would mean there is indeed a short circuit. Contact your real estate agent immediately.
If the switch stays on, plug in the heater again and see if it works. If it doesn't, there could be a problem with the heater.
Could you post a link of what heater you purchased?
The link of the model.
https://www.thegoodguys.com.au/delonghi-2300w-panel-heater-w…
I tried to switchoff and switch on the circut meter and tried with the heater . the heater didnt on or any of the sockets(the line linked to this socket).
I tried to connect the heater to another socket which is working and heater turnedoff with a spark and sound .after that the socket is not working ) hence i thought its a problem with heater.
Ok so correct me if I am wrong.
You switched the circuit breaker back on.
Plugged in the heater.
The circuit breaker switched off again?
I'd be inclined to say a faulty heater. Could be an insulation breakdown inside causing the Residual Current Device to trip off.
As I said, that's my best guess based in your info.
Cheers
Hi Benson,
Sorry for the confusion caused. We have the main switch and then 5 fuses in the fuse board. There are no circuit breakers.
The heater was turned on for few hours after which there was a spark and sound near the heater. Post that we observed that there are 4 other sockets which are not working along with the socket where heater was connected (may be all the sockets connected to that circuit).
Hope I am able to explain what had happened. Appreciate any suggestions. Thank you!
This definitely sounds like the heater has died, cause a short circuit and popped the fuse.
Generally, I'd say to rewire the fuse and test again.
In this instance I don't suggest this. Call your real estate agent to organise an electrician.
The reason why is, it wouldn't hurt to have a licensed electrician take a look at the home. Rental houses of a certain age must have Residual Current Devices installed, hard wired smoke alarms and a few other standards to uphold.
Long story short, sounds like the heater died. An electrician will be able to confirm if it is the appliance, or internal wiring.
@BensonP:
BensonP, you are awesome.
In some states (e.g. WA), it is compulsory for all rental properties to be fitted with Residual Current Devices.
There is a process the OP can go through to compel the landlord to fit RCDs.
Just google rental property rcd and the name of the state you're in.
All repairs are totally the landlord's responsibility. Even if the heater is faulty, the switchboard should just shut off the power without damaging anything (apart from perhaps a fuse wire).
Just curious, when you switched the circuit meter off and on (i'm guessing this is the circuit breaker in the meter box), did you still have power through the relevant circuit? i.e., did other electrical devices work in the power points associated with that circuit?
none of the power points associated to yhat isnot working.
Hey Benson,
I have a circuit in my house which often trips. This usually happens when multiple appliances are being used (toaster, microwave, dishwasher, kettle, washing machine and clothes dryer are all on the same circuit). Will the circuit breaker die prematurely if it is tripped frequently (e.g., once every 2 months or so)? If so, what's the going rate for a sparky to split up the circuit so that it doesn't keep tripping?
Thanks,
For once every 2 months, I wouldn't even bother. And the tripping don't hurt it.
There is generally a little buttons on the circuit breaker that allows you to press it and test the tripping of the circuit breaker.
As for price, you could be looking at anywhere from a couple of hundrdd upwards, depending on length of cable runs, access to roof and wall spaces, cost of new circuit breakers etc.
Personally, it comes down to if it annoys you too much.
Cheers
Yeah, we've lived with it for a few years now. Probs not worth it on its own, might add it to another job if we need a sparky to do something in the future.
Thanks!
due to this heater one of the power line got short circuited
using a heater doesn't short circuit power lines.
By power lines, I think they just mean cables in the walls.
This is what you should do:
Unplug the heater and take back for a refund.
Open your meter box and switch the breakers that have popped off back on.
If you are unsure how to do this then ask a neighbour or a friend to do it.
Make sure that heater is not plugged in anywhere.
Some places have over sensitive breakers in the fuse box and will switch off with some appliances… we have had a couple do this that have worked fine in another place. Very common problem.
Call in a professional or contact your agent. I don't think you are qualified enough to handle this situation at all by yourself by the looks of things and always better safe than sorry unless you don't need to use the power until you see your landlord next.
With 2300W electricity use there should be no other appliances on the same circuit.
I have connected only the heater to the plug point. there were not other devices connected to the plug point.
Thing is usually multiple power points are on the same circuit.
Usually power points in same room will be on the same circuit. Sometimes multiple rooms will be on the same circuit though.
It's simple enough to figure out which power points share a circuit by using the circuit breakers. EG. Turn all of them off except one and plug a light into each socket. Draw a plan of your house with the power points and record which is which.
Not true.
2300w will pull 10 amps at full load.
10 amp socket outlets are protected by (generally) a 16 amp circuit breaker.
You can have up to 16 amps before the breaker trips. You could get away with a few chargers and a TV with the spare 6 amps, no problem. But I doubt you could use the kettle.
Where applicances have constant, high draw such as certain types of heaters, I treat the circuit as having 80% capacity.
If its quite a old property you never know if its due to potentially needing a new switchboard or some wiring has gone bad or wasnt done right in the first place. I lived in a property where things started to go haywire with the wiring, warning signs were burnt plugs and one day when we had a new heater running we could smell something toxic and had to get the fire brigade to suss things out. Half the house wasnt powering appliances and then the fuses werent corresponding with the right circuit. Take the heater back to the good guys to suss it and get the real estate to get a sparky out to test things if you have further issues, its a urgent repair and not your fault
If I am reading correctly….heater tripped/blew circuit.
When you flipped switches in fusebox power to affected (wall?) sockets power did NOT return.
If this is the case
Return the heater (this applies to all iterations of the situation - should not have damaged, even tripped*, circuit….as you said it was working then popped and sparked I'd guess there is a manufacturing fault which the heat of operation has bought out.
* I am assuming here you did not plug anything else in - any extra draw may have been the straw that broke the camels back)
If the circuits HAVE remained inoperative you must contact the agent as there could be a lurking fault/inadequate/aged wiring that needs attending to urgently…you do want all circuits working and??? fire hazard. No idea on who bears cost here……I suppose an independent sparky could give you an honest answer as to whether it was actually inadequate wiring and thus agent is responsible for upgrading to proper specs - perhaps an agent sparky wouldn't tell you that. Difficult.
Firstly BEFORE LAYING ANY BLAME…
Circuit breakers or fuses should trip out to prevent any damage.
Have you checked these first and attempted to reset circuit breaker and/or replace blown fuse. This is YOUR REESPONSIBILITY!
Secondly..It all depends on how and why the damage occurred.(if any)
If the heater is faulty and caused a power surge then you are liable for the damage but need to claim the cost of damaged against the retailer who sold it to you.
If the heater is not faulty but you overloaded the circuit by placing too many appliances on the same circuit then you may be liable - check circuit breakers/fuses first
Take the heater back to the good guys and get them to plug it in at the store to test it out.
So I'm guessing the heater hasn't simply tripped the circuit because of too much current right…
It's the landlords responsibility to ensure the utilities are working. Does the heater work fine in the other outlets? I'd imagine the heater was a coincidence.
Contact the real estate agent and ask them to repair the electricity.