Information about English Electric heater

[richrussell]

I've had an English Electric bar heater sitting around in my garage for years after a friend gave it to me when he found it at the back of his shed. Also in the shed was an HMV Cavendish fan heater which I've cleaned up and use occasionally (I don't always remember to oil the fan on 1st January though).

After tidying my garage this wet Bank Holiday weekend I rediscovered the English Electric one, but apart for it missing the two bar elements and having no mains cable, I can't find any information online about it. The plate on the back says: 'The English Electric Co. Ltd. London', 'Cat No. 1003S', 'Ser No. L', '2000W', 'Volts 230', 'Amps 8.59', 'Made In Great Britain', 'AC Only'.

So no real clues as to manufacture date, though it's clear it accepts two 1KW bars, for which it has spring loaded pegs on the ceramic holders. There's no guard other than the two chrome bars.

Does anyone have anything they can tell me about it? If I can find suitable bar elements I might put a cable on it, but given how unguarded they are maybe that's not such a good idea.

[Paul_RK]

Dualit at least for a while used the serial number area of the manufacturer plate for a year and month code on their toasters: 82-9R for instance meant, I take it, September 1982, I don't know what the "R" signified. Would it be fanciful to guess that "L", Roman numeral for 50, could indicate 1950 manufacture? Any other reports of English Electric appliances might serve to dismiss or just possibly strengthen the guess, but meanwhile the form and style of the heater and of the plate very much suggest 1950 as an approximate date to me.

Paul

[Refugee]

The elements are easy enough to get.
Measure the length in inches before you search.
I like the steam punk design.

[richrussell]

I'll maybe take the back off tonight to see if there are any markings inside that might help, and also no doubt clear out a few decades worth of dust and fluff.

[Herald1360]

Unless you have active rugrats, there's no reason not to use it- it's no more dangerous than an open fire! By the same token, you could use a fireguard anyway.

If you clear out all the dust and fluff, you won't get that wonderful(?) smell the first time it's fired up after its long rest.

[richrussell]

Inside the case is a possible clue. There's a rubber stamped QA mark, which says 'Operation Checked 1D-65'.

No rugrats but we do have 6.5 foolish dogs (one's only 14 weeks old, hence 0.5). But yes, fair enough we have open fires and we've never set a dog on fire yet (though there has been some singing of tails)

I think it's worth getting some metal polish and giving the chrome a clean, and seeing if I can sort out the scuffs on the cream paint without destroying it. I wonder about replacing the wiring inside as it looks to be a solid core with a woven coating that's possibly cotton dipped in something (borax?). Don't think it's asbestos but it's clearly meant to be heat proof, so I'll find something that looks similar or use some glassfibre sleeving over silicone wire possibly.

[Refugee]

The sleeveing may well be glass fibre so it will most likely be all right.

[PaulR]

Originally Posted by Herald1360

Unless you have active rugrats, there's no reason not to use it- it's no more dangerous than an open fire! By the same token, you could use a fireguard anyway.

If you clear out all the dust and fluff, you won't get that wonderful(?) smell the first time it's fired up after its long rest.

Yes it is a wonderful smell! To my mind they have a slight smell all the time which only the open element heaters have. There is also the "plink plink" noise as they warm up or cool down.

[Phil G4SPZ]

What a nice fire. Its styling would suggest to me that it may be earlier than 1950, perhaps even pre-WWII. Is the cream metal casing made of cast iron or pressed steel?

Hopefully someone will come up with the appropriate page from an English Electric catalogue.

[richrussell]

It's all sheet steel, though very solidly made.