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m0cemdave · 11th Apr 2020, 11:57 pm

My mother (96) has one of those in her house and it still works, although the immersion heater is only there as a backup in case the CH boiler fails. It's been there since before my parents bought the house in 1956, and probably dates from the 1930's.

When I was about 14 years old the neon lamp had blackened so badly with age that it was getting too dim to see in daylight. I found a replacement in a junk box in the garage and fitted it... on turning on the switch there was a loud BANG and the bulb disintegrated. What I had found was an ancient fluorescent light starter with the same construction and base, but having a bi-metallic shorting switch inside instead of the neon. Surprise and embarrassment all round...

After pulling the mains fuse (which of course needed rewiring) and fishing out all the bits of bulb, the correct replacement neon was eventually sourced and it has been there ever since - about 50 years.

11th Apr 2020, 11:57 pm	#6
m0cemdave Octode Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, UK. Posts: 1,223	Re: Very Old (Immersion Heater?) Switch My mother (96) has one of those in her house and it still works, although the immersion heater is only there as a backup in case the CH boiler fails. It's been there since before my parents bought the house in 1956, and probably dates from the 1930's. When I was about 14 years old the neon lamp had blackened so badly with age that it was getting too dim to see in daylight. I found a replacement in a junk box in the garage and fitted it... on turning on the switch there was a loud BANG and the bulb disintegrated. What I had found was an ancient fluorescent light starter with the same construction and base, but having a bi-metallic shorting switch inside instead of the neon. Surprise and embarrassment all round... After pulling the mains fuse (which of course needed rewiring) and fishing out all the bits of bulb, the correct replacement neon was eventually sourced and it has been there ever since - about 50 years.