Immersion Timer nearly on Fire

C

coldcake

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41
Woke up this morning to a strong smell of electrical burning. Tracked it down to the hotpress.

A year ago we got a timer placed on our immersion.
At the same time we got our fuse box replaced too. All the work done by the same electrician.

When I looked at the timer this morning the cover seemed to be out of shape and when I opened it up it was totally burnt. Please see pic.

Trying to track down an electrician now but don't want to call the guy who done the job as I'm worried that this was down to bad workmanship.

Just lucky the whole house didn't go up as there was lots of clothes in the press that could have caught fire!

The timer says it's for immersions and it was only on for around 20 minutes.

Can anyone give any insight why this may have happened.

Still a little freaked out by this. Photo below

[broken link removed]
 
OMG that looks awful, I think you were very lucky the place didn't go up.
 
I have seen that happen with a number of timers over the years, It may be a slightly loose connection with the connectors supplied by the manufacturer and I have come across a few that have stopped working about a month after the warantee ran out. I maintain the timers are not as good as they used to be. They are giving a lot of trouble ( all installed by different electricians)
 
I second what bertie says its just a loose connection the connectors could be badly manufactured,ive come across it myself plenty of times. I wouldn't blame the electrician for this.
 
Why wouldn't you blame the electrician for leaving a loose connection?
 
It is advisable to inspect your power shower switches too.
If in doubt, purchase a reputable switch. I have used MK or LeGrande.
 
Thanks for your help folks.

I think I'll get the electrician to check all connections when installing the new one and I think I'll go digital and spend a few bob more on getting a better timer.

Any recommendations for a new timer would be welcome.

Coldcakes
 
coldcake said:
Thanks for your help folks.

I think I'll get the electrician to check all connections when installing the new one and I think I'll go digital and spend a few bob more on getting a better timer.

Any recommendations for a new timer would be welcome.

Coldcakes
Click to expand...

Digital or otherwise, it still needs to switch the same level of current. I would recommend retightening all connections about 1 week after initial installation.
BTW. All that needs to be done to your existing timer is for the connector(s) to be changed, assuming there is no further damage than what is shown in the photo.
 
coldcake said:
Thanks for your help folks.

I think I'll get the electrician to check all connections when installing the new one and I think I'll go digital and spend a few bob more on getting a better timer.

Any recommendations for a new timer would be welcome.

Coldcakes
Click to expand...

I think you may need to employ another electrician.
I strongly recommend you ask a competent M&E consultant to inspect.

I would ask him to check the entire house, determine the actual cause of this and issue a report.
There should be no need for a layperson to go around tightening connections a week after fitting by a competent electrician.


ONQ

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon as a defence or support - in and of itself - should legal action be taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in Real Life with rights to inspect and issue reports on the matters at hand.
 
onq said:
There should be no need for a layperson to go around tightening connections a week after fitting by a competent electrician.


ONQ
Click to expand...

Yeah, I accept that I did not make myself very clear, I did not nor would I suggest that a non qualified person go around tightening electrical connections.

However I stand by what I said, that I find it good practice to check/retighten heavy current connections after a week or so.
Just something borne out of experience, tends to help avoid what occurred with the OP.
 
onq said:
I think you may need to employ another electrician.
I strongly recommend you ask a competent M&E consultant to inspect.

I would ask him to check the entire house, determine the actual cause of this and issue a report.
There should be no need for a layperson to go around tightening connections a week after fitting by a competent electrician.


.
Click to expand...


Wow, talk about making a mountain out of a molehill! Its pretty clear what the problem is! Absolutely no need whatsoever for a full inspection by an M&E consultant!

How much would that cost? Just get the timer changed..
 
Interesting to see someone immediately denying the need for suggested professional involvement.
This suggests there is not need, which there is, and that its costly, which is not shown.

Making assumptions about the cause of a life-threatening event is bad practice.
There may be a claim for negligence arising our of this unusual occurrence.

Spontaneous combustion of electrical components happens for a reason.
Where there is one faulty fitting or connection there may be others.

Independent professional advice is given without fear or favour.
Its relatively affordable compared to having a house fire.

When in doubt, ask a qualified professional.
Don't accept lower standards.


ONQ

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon as a defence or support - in and of itself - should legal action be taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in Real Life with rights to inspect and issue reports on the matters at hand.
 
SparkRite said:
Yeah, I accept that I did not make myself very clear, I did not nor would I suggest that a non qualified person go around tightening electrical connections.

However I stand by what I said, that I find it good practice to check/retighten heavy current connections after a week or so.
Just something borne out of experience, tends to help avoid what occurred with the OP.
Click to expand...

(nods)

I made that clarifcation because although you responded to the OP who was talking about getting a sparks in, it could be interpreted either way by someone skimming the thread.
I have no problem with the advice BTW - its very similar to advice I used to follow when I serviced my motorcycle - checking bolted connections was a weekly occurrence!
Its not normal in a house though - and its worrying that no electrician has ever offered to perform this follow up service or suggest that I should do it myself.

ONQ

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon as a defence or support - in and of itself - should legal action be taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in Real Life with rights to inspect and issue reports on the matters at hand.
 
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