Hot water cylinder/ immersion heater

Hugbubble

Hi

Got an electric powered megaflo heater (it's a flat, hence no gas) which ordinarily heats up over night.

The past couple of weeks have noticed that the water doesn't seem to be very hot/ runs out quickly. Today there was absolutely no hot water for my morning shower.

A man is coming out later, but, in the interests of being forewarned, can anyone suggest what might be the problem? Can the elements on these things just "go"?

FYI it is about 10 years old.

Cheers for any advice

katecheshire

Yes they can go - but if that is the case should be a relatively simple process to replace the element. Can't say what the cost might be though!

Canucklehead

Hugbubble wrote: »

Hi

Got an electric powered megaflo heater (it's a flat, hence no gas) which ordinarily heats up over night.

The past couple of weeks have noticed that the water doesn't seem to be very hot/ runs out quickly. Today there was absolutely no hot water for my morning shower.

A man is coming out later, but, in the interests of being forewarned, can anyone suggest what might be the problem? Can the elements on these things just "go"?

FYI it is about 10 years old.

Cheers for any advice

Good morning: if your appliance is a Megaflo unvented cylinder make sure your plumber has his/her G3 qualification.

Canucklehead

Hugbubble

Canucklehead wrote: »

Good morning: if your appliance is a Megaflo unvented cylinder make sure your plumber has his/her G3 qualification.

Canucklehead

What is that? What does it mean?

27col

Yes, an electrical element can fail without warning at any time.

Hugbubble

27col wrote: »

Yes, an electrical element can fail without warning at any time.

What confuses me is that it seemed to be sub-optimal for a while and then gave up completely.

Is it likely, or even possible, that one of the immersions went and then the other within a few weeks?

Thanks for all these useful comments....

macman

Hugbubble wrote: »

What is that? What does it mean?

It means that they are specifically qualified to work on an unvented appliance, which can be dangerous if not set up correctly.

Owain_Moneysaver

Hugbubble wrote: »

What is that? What does it mean?

The G3 qualification is for working with pressurised water systems.

Special training is required to work on Megaflo and similar systems because they contain a large quantity of water stored under pressure. It's a legal requirement to have the G3 qualification to work on these systems.

When properly installed with all the safety systems in place (and they should also have an annual inspection by a G3 person; in some water conditions more frequent inspection is advised) British unvented systems are very safe and reliable. No-one has ever been killed by a British unvented domestic hot water system. However here is an American video of a test setup where one goes bang:

http://www.waterheaterblast.com/

Hugbubble

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

The G3 qualification is for working with pressurised water systems.

Special training is required to work on Megaflo and similar systems because they contain a large quantity of water stored under pressure. It's a legal requirement to have the G3 qualification to work on these systems.

When properly installed with all the safety systems in place (and they should also have an annual inspection by a G3 person; in some water conditions more frequent inspection is advised) British unvented systems are very safe and reliable. No-one has ever been killed by a British unvented domestic hot water system. However here is an American video of a test setup where one goes bang:

http://www.waterheaterblast.com/

Thanks for the info.

In that case, I assume he is G3 compliant as he is the guy recommended by the building's management company for getting the tanks serviced yearly, and for if the overflow is dripping.

ormus

im amazed we are allowed to make boiling hot coffee without the correct authorised training.

gas4you

From your post, I would say the bottom element has gone. This is the one that only comes on overnight on the E7 tariff, or whatever you may have.

It could be worth just checking the overheat protection hasn't tripped. If so a 'red dot' would be sticking out and visible on the element head.

This could just be pressed back in to reset, but if it went again, then there would obviously be a fault elsewhere.

sadly though, Megaflo elements are around £70 each and may not be shelf stock in many places.

Use the top element as the boost to give you about 1/3rd a cylinder of water to keep you going.