Old Fashioned Storage Heaters

[Opara]

Hi, I'm in charge of a relatives estate and clearing the house out.The house has now been sold subject to contracts been exchanged.I was talking to the buyer's yesterday, they said the storage heaters needed to be removed prior to them moving in.

Do these count as radiators or is it my responsibility to move them? They are old heaters from the 70's and weigh a ton(4ft by 3ft by 2ft), are they at all valuable or would I have to pay somebody to come and dispose of them?


Thanks

[21TonyK]

Basically a worthless steel box full of bricks. Either dismantle and take down the tip yourself or get a man with a van to take them away.

[Opara]

Thanks mate, I'd not thought about dismantling them.There's seems to be 2 wires, one is a standard plug and the other goes straight into the wall, any idea what this is?

Edited by Opara on Sunday 28th September 16:09

[Crafty_]

Electric element that gets hot, warms up the bricks.. they then slowly radiate their heat over the day.

I would have a word with the solicitor about removing them, just in case they are mentioned as fixtures & fittings. If the buyer wants them removed as a condition of sale it should be a part of their offer shouldn't it ? rather than "ere mate you'll have to get rid of them".

ETA the wire going in the wall will be something like a direct 30amp feed to the unit. Get all the electrics off, take the faceplate off and remove the wiring that goes to the unit. The unit will just unscrew to reveal the bricks, which you can just lift out, they won't be fixed in (they're chuffing heavy!)

[Opara]

Actually maybe it's one for elements and the other for running the fan.

[mph1977]

Opara said:

Actually maybe it's one for elements and the other for running the fan.

i've also seen Storage heaters with what is effectively a fan heater built in for exctra heat or or when the bricks have cooled down ( the bricks being heated by Economy 7 )

[jollysoutherner]

Worth checking if they contain Asbestos before you strip them.

http://www.storageheaters.com/asbestos-list.htm

[TorqueVR]

OK and now back to the actual question - they are a fixed heating appliance and form part of the house. You are selling the house as it is and if the buyer's don't want the heaters that that's their problem. Are you prepared to strip out the bathroom and kitchen if the buyers intend to refit them? Thought not, don't let them bully you.

[discodeek]

Could be peak/off peak switches, or may have a fan heater as well - either way - weigh a ton !!!

If you remove just watch for wall damage/discoloration behind them

[C Lee Farquar]

The bricks are perfect if you know someone who wants to make a pizza oven

[Simpo Two]

In my experience of storage heaters, if they're hard wired they're on the Economy 7 circuit and will only work when the cheap rate kicks in (ie at night); if they're just plugged into a socket then they're probably on 24 hours - megabucks. But as said, not your problem.

[Spare tyre]

I'd be careful bout removing em, what happens if the sale falls through and you've sent em to landfill already. The next buyer will probably want some sort of basic heating in place which they will use to knock you down.

Either tell em to ps off or knock some money off for them to do it

[Sowler]

They are not worthless at all! Check on eBay! I had a load in my house when I was renovating and thought the same after skipping one. You'll get £100-200 per unit depending on size. People want them for their rental properties. Less maintenance required than a boiler and rads etc. And obviously the landlord isn't the one paying the electric bill.

Every person that came to collect mine where landlords.

[jjones]

remove the bricks, helpfully stack them into all the kitchen cupboards. scrap the metal carcasses.

[RichA35]

Digging up an old thread but have been asked a question of which I have no idea what the answer is…..

I have 4 Storad storage heaters and hot water cylinder, both work of Economy 7.

I’ve had no hot water or heating for a number of years, element replaced last week by plumber, still no hot water, reckons E7 issue, electrician fault finded, recommended to replace meter.

Electricity provider replaced standard meter to smart meter, next morning with the off peak, horah I have hot water, but no heating.

Electricity provider said they’ve done all they can do, as power is going in, recommend electrician.

Should we replace one heater to test if it’s the heater or could it be fuses.

All heaters have an off peak socket next to them and are switched on. Main socket switch for off peak is switched on. Off peak fuse box has been tested. Power tested heaters all ok.

Any ideas? How do we know if it’s a heater issue or E7 issue? Heaters stopped working one by one not all at once.

Edited by RichA35 on Tuesday 4th February 20:15

[Gladers01]

RichA35 said:

Digging up an old thread but have been asked a question of which I have no idea what the answer is…..

I have 4 Storad storage heaters and hot water cylinder, both work of Economy 7.

I’ve had no hot water or heating for a number of years, element replaced last week by plumber, still no hot water, reckons E7 issue, electrician fault finded, recommended to replace meter.

Electricity provider replaced standard meter to smart meter, next morning with the off peak, horah I have hot water, but no heating.

Electricity provider said they’ve done all they can do, as power is going in, recommend electrician.

Should we replace one heater to test if it’s the heater or could it be fuses.

All heaters have an off peak socket next to them and are switched on. Main socket switch for off peak is switched on. Off peak fuse box has been tested. Power tested heaters all ok.

Any ideas? How do we know if it’s a heater issue or E7 issue? Heaters stopped working one by one not all at once.

Edited by RichA35 on Tuesday 4th February 20:15

There will be an over temperature cut out switch inside which may have tripped, isolate the mains power and take the cover off to check and reset if necessary.

Also ask the sparky to check there is mains power going in when in off peak mode, chances are it will be a simple fix.

[RichA35]

Thank you, I will give that a try.

[scot_aln]

The E7 will only come on at certain times won't it. Is it something like 1am to 7am. Either get a tester on the socket at this time or have something else wired to one of the E7 sockets that you know to work. A lamp for example. Does modern smart meter e7 still run 2 circuits or does the whole house just switch to e7 at the right time?

[SlimJim16v]

Plug something electrical into the socket, wait until economy 7 kicks in and see if it works.

[Wacky Racer]

They will almost certainly be full of asbestos matting

Take extreme care and use mask and gloves and dispose afterwards.