Fuse Mystery

[Barry Young]

Hi everybody,

I was just looking at my consumer unit, trying to figure out what's what. I reckon I've got most of it worked out now, things labelled "cooker" and "immersion heater" are pretty self-explanatory. However there are two fuses labelled "heater". I assume one of these is for the solitary storage heater, but what about the other? I've noticed there's a fused connection unit in the bathroom in the correct position for a heater - might this be what it's for? Please say yes, as I'm about to stick a heater in the bathroom and it'd be nice not to put too much stress on my poor ring main.

Incidentally, bathroom heaters - infra-red or fan? I'm leaning towards fan because they're cheaper and blow the air around. I've noticed quite a few are switchable between 1kw and 2kw - what do I need for a smallish bathroom (area: about 3.5 m^2, volume: about 10.5 m^3)?

Or should I just get a girlfriend who's better at handling the cold?

Cheers.

[stefek.zaba]

Rather than assume, test: get a non-contact mains tester ("volt stick") - under a tenner from your friendly local electrical distributor, or maybe a big B&Q-a-like. Then watch whether it lights and fails to at the place(s) you guess the circuit feeds as you turn the MCBs on and off.

Fan's better for warming the whole room; IR for instant relief from cold (but only on the side of you that's facing it). If you can remember to turn it on as you get into the shower, I'd go for the fan. (You will get a bathroom-compatible, pullcord-switch model for your small bathroom, won't you...)

Nah. In fact, make sure you get a 1kW model only, then it's likelier she'll want to get back under the sheets to warm up properly with you ;-)

Stefek

[Christian McArdle]

Get the fan heater. Make it 2kW, but ensure it is thermostatic. It will cost no more to run than a 1kW (assuming the 1kW is enough the heat the room), but will warm up quicker. The thermostatic control means it will turn off when the room is warm, so no energy is wasted.

Check your bathroom zoning so that you install an appropriate device in an appropriate location, reducing the risk of electrocution.

Christian.

[Andrew Gabriel]

I have one, Dimplex IIRC, which I've had for perhaps 15 years. It's had the odd repair, and the pullcord now operates a contactor rather than the elements directly, which very conveniently fitted where an integral shaver socket and light went in a slightly different model, the switch having burned out within first year switching the full 2kW load. This heater has an internal switch (accessible only during installation) to switch between 1 and 2kW; IIRC, you were supposed to set it to 1kW for very small bathrooms. However, it also has a thermostat to drop it down to 1kW when room gets above some temp (22C maybe?), and this scheme works very well.