Hot water off but water still hot.

theoretica

Turn the immersion off, see if the main control unit will now give you hot water when on timer as you expect.  And take gas and electricity meter readings so you can compare use before and after this change round.

Ebe_Scrooge

Louscorp said:

So I went and had a look and the immersion is on full power! I have turned it down but now wonder if I should just turn it off? When I moved in the inventory clerk showed me the controls in the kitchen but didn't give any instruction regarding the immersion. I didn't even realise I could turn this off an on. I presume if I turn the immersion off the boiler will control the hot water instead or do they work together?

Assuming it's a standard kind of set-up then yes - leave the immersion off and let the boiler heat the water.  Does the controller have anything on it that indicates "Central Heating Timer" and a separate "Hot Water Timer".  If so then it sounds like a pretty standard arrangement.

Louscorp said:

Thank you, this is very helpful! Should I have been shown this when I moved in or was it up to me to figure it out? I'm not the sharpest when it comes to this kind of thing.

Ideally yes, you should have been shown it.  Though not all letting agents are as thorough as they could be - and to be fair, they may not have known about the particular controls for your house.

Bendy_House

Louscorp said:

Bendy_House said:

Louscorp said:

So I went and had a look and the immersion is on full power! I have turned it down but now wonder if I should just turn it off? When I moved in the inventory clerk showed me the controls in the kitchen but didn't give any instruction regarding the immersion. I didn't even realise I could turn this off an on. I presume if I turn the immersion off the boiler will control the hot water instead or do they work together?

That seems to be the answer.

The immersion is really a back-up provider, only used when you need super-fast how water, or when your boiler is kaput. You wouldn't normally use the immersion heater as leccy costs a lot more than gas (at the moment...)

Instead of 'turning down' the immersion, it should be switched fully off. (How did you 'turn it down' anyway - via the wee 'stat in the round housing?)

For more info, please post a photo of the boiler controls, the hot cylinder and its surroundings, and any close-ups of important bits - where the immersion cable goes to, for example.

I turned it down using the dial you mentioned. There is another button there that switches another control from one bar to two bars to three bars. I was on three bars so have switched it to one bar and the humming noise coming from the immersion reduced when I did so! I'll take some pics and post! I think this silly error may cost me a fortune. Oh dear.

Eek!

That funny thing with three bars is almost certainly your circulating pump! This controls its speed - the speed it sends your system water around your boiler, radiators and hot tank. No harm done, and if your rads continue to heat up nicely, and your hot cylinder ditto, then the slower the speed the better! So you may - inadvertently - have done something quite cool :-)

Ok, at this point WE REALLY NEED SOME PHOTOS!

Louscorp

Bendy_House said:

Louscorp said:

Bendy_House said:

Louscorp said:

So I went and had a look and the immersion is on full power! I have turned it down but now wonder if I should just turn it off? When I moved in the inventory clerk showed me the controls in the kitchen but didn't give any instruction regarding the immersion. I didn't even realise I could turn this off an on. I presume if I turn the immersion off the boiler will control the hot water instead or do they work together?

That seems to be the answer.

The immersion is really a back-up provider, only used when you need super-fast how water, or when your boiler is kaput. You wouldn't normally use the immersion heater as leccy costs a lot more than gas (at the moment...)

Instead of 'turning down' the immersion, it should be switched fully off. (How did you 'turn it down' anyway - via the wee 'stat in the round housing?)

For more info, please post a photo of the boiler controls, the hot cylinder and its surroundings, and any close-ups of important bits - where the immersion cable goes to, for example.

I turned it down using the dial you mentioned. There is another button there that switches another control from one bar to two bars to three bars. I was on three bars so have switched it to one bar and the humming noise coming from the immersion reduced when I did so! I'll take some pics and post! I think this silly error may cost me a fortune. Oh dear.

Eek!

That funny thing with three bars is almost certainly your circulating pump! This controls its speed - the speed it sends your system water around your boiler, radiators and hot tank. No harm done, and if your rads continue to heat up nicely, and your hot cylinder ditto, then the slower the speed the better! So you may - inadvertently - have done something quite cool :-)

Ok, at this point WE REALLY NEED SOME PHOTOS!

This is such an education thank you! my partner is on a conference call upstairs until 4pm, dying to get in there and take some pics!!

Louscorp

theoretica said:

Turn the immersion off, see if the main control unit will now give you hot water when on timer as you expect.  And take gas and electricity meter readings so you can compare use before and after this change round.

Oh good thinking! I will do! 

Louscorp

Got 'em! So we have:
1: Whole immersion cylinder
2. The 'one, two, or three bar' control next to immersion
3. The immersion temp control
4,5. The back of the immersion
6. The boiler control pad downstairs

Louscorp

Am struggling to upload the pics. The red box has the switch that takes it from 1, 2, or 3 bars. The temp dial is on the front.

Louscorp

Bendy_House said:

Louscorp said:

Bendy_House said:

Louscorp said:

So I went and had a look and the immersion is on full power! I have turned it down but now wonder if I should just turn it off? When I moved in the inventory clerk showed me the controls in the kitchen but didn't give any instruction regarding the immersion. I didn't even realise I could turn this off an on. I presume if I turn the immersion off the boiler will control the hot water instead or do they work together?

That seems to be the answer.

The immersion is really a back-up provider, only used when you need super-fast how water, or when your boiler is kaput. You wouldn't normally use the immersion heater as leccy costs a lot more than gas (at the moment...)

Instead of 'turning down' the immersion, it should be switched fully off. (How did you 'turn it down' anyway - via the wee 'stat in the round housing?)

For more info, please post a photo of the boiler controls, the hot cylinder and its surroundings, and any close-ups of important bits - where the immersion cable goes to, for example.

I turned it down using the dial you mentioned. There is another button there that switches another control from one bar to two bars to three bars. I was on three bars so have switched it to one bar and the humming noise coming from the immersion reduced when I did so! I'll take some pics and post! I think this silly error may cost me a fortune. Oh dear.

Eek!

That funny thing with three bars is almost certainly your circulating pump! This controls its speed - the speed it sends your system water around your boiler, radiators and hot tank. No harm done, and if your rads continue to heat up nicely, and your hot cylinder ditto, then the slower the speed the better! So you may - inadvertently - have done something quite cool :-)

Ok, at this point WE REALLY NEED SOME PHOTOS!

Have added one pic, does this give enough info?

theoretica

The immersion heater is the thing on the top going to the electric switch on the wall - now off. Only use as a very occasional boost addition.

The temperature dial is for the gas boiler water heating, I would probably want it a bit higher because of legionella.  As mentioned, the red box will be the pump for the boiler.

Louscorp

theoretica said:

The immersion heater is the thing on the top going to the electric switch on the wall - now off. Only use as a very occasional boost addition.

The temperature dial is for the gas boiler water heating, I would probably want it a bit higher because of legionella.  As mentioned, the red box will be the pump for the boiler.

Thank you! I haven't turned it off though, the switch on the wall in the pic was already like that. So the pump control and the dial are for the boiler downstairs? The boiler downstairs also has a dial control, I'm so confused!