Electric immersion heater

dave030445

Hi all im hoping someone can help me or should i say my nan. She has Economy 10 meter and her water heats up at night. She use very very little hot water from the tank during the day. She had a new immersion and stat fitted, the stat has a safety cut out with a manual reset. After a couple of months the safety cut out tripped, so i reset it and it lasted again a couple of months, then it tripped again. So I took it back to the shop and got a replacement. Today its tripped again Im thinking maybe its that she is using very little hot water maybe this is coursing it. any help would be great.

Owain_Moneysaver

Turn the thermostat down so there's more headroom between the normal setting and the safety cutout.

There isn't a second boost heater on the cylinder which has been left on is there?

dave030445

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

Turn the thermostat down so there's more headroom between the normal setting and the safety cutout.

There isn't a second boost heater on the cylinder which has been left on is there?

Hi thanks for your reply It's only set at about 55 so don't really want to go any lower yes there is a second booster but that is off and stays off all the time we are thinking of putting a timer on the booster one just for 1/2 hours per day and leaving the economy 10 one off

Le_Kirk

I wonder if the thermostat (although set at 55) is actually cutting out the immersion. This could be why the safety cut-out is operating. Unfortunately, due to it being Economy 10, it has to be tested at night (well early morning) unless you obtain the service of an electrician who can test the actual switch.

lstar337

If she is using very little, then why not forget the overnight heat up (turn it off) and just use the boost when required? Or better still use the kettle when required.

If she really uses very little then there isn't much point in heating up the whole tank every night, it's a waste of electric.

dave030445

lstar337 wrote: »

If she is using very little, then why not forget the overnight heat up (turn it off) and just use the boost when required? Or better still use the kettle when required.

If she really uses very little then there isn't much point in heating up the whole tank every night, it's a waste of electric.

that maybe the way to go but would need to put on timer as she would forget to turn it off. I know this is like asking how long is a piece of string. How long should the water keep hot for if only using a basin full a day?

wealdroam

dave030445 wrote: »

How long should the water keep hot for if only using a basin full a day?

That can only be answered when we know how well insulated the hot water tank is.

If there is no insulation, you can work it out yourself.
Fill a basin with hot water and see how long it stays hot.

lstar337

dave030445 wrote: »

that maybe the way to go but would need to put on timer as she would forget to turn it off. I know this is like asking how long is a piece of string. How long should the water keep hot for if only using a basin full a day?

If it is a properly set up boost element then it should turn off after an hour anyway, that is how they are meant to operate.

Bottom element heats the whole tank overnight to a set temperature. Top element provides a 1 hour boost to the top of the tank to heat up a smaller amount of water for 1off use.

If its for a single basin, would the kettle not make more sense?

dave030445

wealdroam wrote: »

That can only be answered when we know how well insulated the hot water tank is.

If there is no insulation, you can work it out yourself.
Fill a basin with hot water and see how long it stays hot.

Yes sorry that might help it is fully insulated in green hard foam.

dave030445

lstar337 wrote: »

If it is a properly set up boost element then it should turn off after an hour anyway, that is how they are meant to operate.

Bottom element heats the whole tank overnight to a set temperature. Top element provides a 1 hour boost to the top of the tank to heat up a smaller amount of water for 1off use.

If its for a single basin, would the kettle not make more sense?

No its not set up like that yes it's just a basin but don't what her walking from kitchen into bathroom with a kettle full of hot water