Heaters Just Won't Stop Turning Off?

[Albert Clark]

I am suggesting replacement of the power strips bc the circuitry goes bad in them over time. Most power strips should be replaced annually bc of this. That includes some surge protectors as well. Some are better than others internally and are warrantied for extended periods of time. I think that will be a good starting point for troubleshooting the true etiology of the problem.

[bigsnakegirl785]

Originally Posted by Albert Clark

I am suggesting replacement of the power strips bc the circuitry goes bad in them over time. Most power strips should be replaced annually bc of this. That includes some surge protectors as well. Some are better than others internally and are warrantied for extended periods of time. I think that will be a good starting point for troubleshooting the true etiology of the problem.

I was wondering why you're suggesting me replace the power strip to solve my heater issue when my heater isn't even plugged into a power strip. I suppose I could get a new one for my thermostats, but they've been working quite well so I was just wondering how it would affect them.

Originally Posted by Princess-dad

If I understand you right all you have to do to restart your heater is turn the hard set power switch off and then back on . Ok Im gonna jump out on a limb here and say the reason for your problems as best as I can understand is this . Your heaters internal thermal breaker is opening , this type of curcuit protection has a safety device built in . As long as the power switch on the heater remains in the on position the breaker will not reset . Thats to keep what ever tripped the internal fuse from burning down your house when you are not home . Thats why the switch has to be physically turned off and on , that way it can not restart on its own with no one home to reset it . Next problem why us it over heating and opening the thermal protection in the heater ? My best answer would be this , the voltage being suplied to the heater is low for some reason . Check the voltage available on the second half of the wall socket with the heater on and after having been on for some time . This can be acomplished by useing a multimeter set to AC voltage on the 200 volt scale . It should be in the 115 120 volt range . If out of spec call an electrician . I personally would just shut off the main curcuit breaker , and replace both the breaker for that room and the wall sockets myself .I beleive you are experiancing a low voltage situation and that will cause a heater to overheat .

That's very possible. With my usual heater, I just push the power button, with my mom's oil-filled one I have to unplug it and plug it back in after turning the dial to the OFF position, and then turn it back on when it's plugged in again.

I don't actually have a multimeter, but we could have one of our friends come over and test it.