Handyman & electrician please check in.

[OffTopic1]

My baseboard heaters are not heating up in one or our room and none have a voltage regulator in it. The thermostat is an old mechanical one with bi-metal contact and no voltage regulator.
However, I found something in the basement that puzzle me with 1 black & the other is white wire connected to it.

Is the thing in the image that sits next to the breaker panel a low voltage regulator or is it the transformer for my door bells? (I don?t have a test meter see if it is a 24 volt device). I?ll try disconnecting it to see if the device is for the door bells tomorrow.

Heater Layout

Voltage Regulator?

[Update]
I found the damned low voltage regulator and it has shorted out the wiring. I cut 5 holes in the wall before I found it, and unfortunately only store in this town carry it isn?t open in the weekend.

Burned low voltage regulator.

 

[wedi42]

that looks like a power supply for the doorbell
but i know nuthin' about elec heat

 

[morkinva]

it looks like a transformer to me.

shouldn't a thermostat get wired to a relay?

 

[arcas]

My guess is it provides power to your thermostats or to your doorbells.

 

[AlienCraft]

That thing you're calling a "voltage regulator" is a transformer for the doorbell.
The temperature control is a thermostat and I doubt if there is any voltage regulation on the heater.

Please refer any repairs to a qualified electrician.

 

[Batti]

Baseboard units do fail. You may have just had one quit. Be very careful, these are high current devices at 220V. Not something to play with...

 

[OffTopic1]

Originally posted by: AlienCraft
That thing you're calling a "voltage regulator" is a transformer for the doorbell.
The temperature control is a thermostat and I doubt if there is any voltage regulation on the heater.

Please refer any repairs to a qualified electrician.

Had an electrician came in and said that it is the voltage regulator that fail. He doesn't know where the regulator is and wanted to run a new line. Also, a friend is an electrican and he said that it is very likely that the regulator that failed.
I don't want to rip out all the walls & look for the damned thing, but I will break the wall if I know where to look. Once I find the thing...I'll wire it together (only 24 volts) and then install a new regulator at the breaker panel.

 

[OffTopic1]

Originally posted by: Batti
Baseboard units do fail. You may have just had one quit. Be very careful, these are high current devices at 220V. Not something to play with...

3 fails at the same time is very unlikely. The line is 240 volt, but the thermostat is 24 volt that trip the circuit for the 240 heater.

 

[GeekDrew]

Originally posted by: OffTopic

Originally posted by: Batti
Baseboard units do fail. You may have just had one quit. Be very careful, these are high current devices at 220V. Not something to play with...

3 fails at the same time is very unlikely. The line is 240 volt, but the thermostat is 24 volt that trip the circuit for the 240 heater.

Have you ever had EIGHT fail at the same time? I couldn't believe it... electrician couldn't believe it... HVAC guy couldn't believe it... but one fall, for some unknown reason, we had to replace eight baseboard heaters in this house.

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: OffTopic

Originally posted by: AlienCraft
That thing you're calling a "voltage regulator" is a transformer for the doorbell.
The temperature control is a thermostat and I doubt if there is any voltage regulation on the heater.

Please refer any repairs to a qualified electrician.

Had an electrician came in and said that it is the voltage regulator that fail. He doesn't know where the regulator is and wanted to run a new line. Also, a friend is an electrican and he said that it is very likely that the regulator that failed.
I don't want to rip out all the walls & look for the damned thing, but I will break the wall if I know where to look. Once I find the thing...I'll wire it together (only 24 volts) and then install a new regulator at the breaker panel.

Please post a pic of the wall heater connection box.

 

[OffTopic1]

bump

 

[TechnoKid]

looks like some serious arcing going on in that box...figure out what caused the arcing.

 

[KMurphy]

It looks like a loose connection caused that. You have electric heat? Loose connections are really bad for high current circuits; such as electric heat. Wire nuts aren't the best terminating or splicing device for high current connections. When you re-terminate the splices, make sure the connections are very tight and clean.

The loose connection is basically resistance. Heat is generated in a squared relationship to current; I^2*R. Resistance increases as heat builds until the copper melts and you get an arcing fault and extreme fire hazard. It's a runaway condition that doesn't go away until the circuit is broken by melted wires or the thermstat kicks off. These types of faults are the most dangerous because typical circuit breakers do not trip until insulation burns off the wire and two legs touch or go to ground.

There are new arcing fault circuit interrupters on the market to prevent these faults, but it is not a code requirement yet.

 

[seanws]

looks bad. lucky all that burned was the wires.

 

[OffTopic1]

There are new arcing fault circuit interrupters on the market to prevent these faults, but it is not a code requirement yet.

It is readily available?
I?ll see if I can replace all my lines with ?arcing fault circuit interrupters?.

The wiring for the house & heat is almost 30 years old, therefore the low voltage regulator is bound to die. However I didn't expect the extend of the damage when fail, and luckily the junction box retained the fire...it could have burn down my house.

I'm going to see if I can move the low voltage regulator next to the breaker box for ease of access in the future.

 

[TechnoKid]

Originally posted by: OffTopic

There are new arcing fault circuit interrupters on the market to prevent these faults, but it is not a code requirement yet.

It is readily available?
I?ll see if I can replace all my lines with ?arcing fault circuit interrupters?.

The wiring for the house & heat is almost 30 years old, therefore the low voltage regulator is bound to die. However I didn't expect the extend of the damage when fail, and luckily the junction box retained the fire...it could have burn down my house.

I'm going to see if I can move the low voltage regulator next to the breaker box for ease of access in the future.

The arc sensing breakers are even more expensive than GFCI breakers. Last I checked they were over $15 each, but this was about a year ago, may have gotten cheaper or even newer technology.