Devastated: Hot water cylinder flooding house any day now and no money for replacement

lohr500

Phones4Chris said:

Have you turned off the cold feed to the hot water cylinder, assuming we're talking about an indirect cylinder? Once done, surely you can drain it by opening a hot water tap?
Strikes me the plumber you had in may be a bit of a jobsworth, maybe try another plumber?

On my indirect cylinder, turning off the cold feed to the hot water cylinder wouldn't enable me to drain the cylinder.
And I think most indirect cylinders will be plumbed in like mine.

The cold feed enters at the bottom of the tank and the hot water leaves from the top. The hot water is forced out at the top by the higher pressure on the cold water feed.

If the top fitting of the OP's tank is sound, then it should be possible to turn off the cold water feed, open the hot water taps to drain off any water in the pipes,  remove the top fitting and then syphon out the tank, catching any initial leakage from the top fitting using towels, etc.

doodling

Hi,

ratcliffe_mike said:

doodling said:

I am confused about the repeated mention of rust - is it a steel tank?  Hot water cylinders are usually either copper or stainless steel and whilst it is possible to persuade stainless steel to rust under the right circumstances, it doesn't happen very often.

Yep, it's a "stainless steel" cylinder but the bottom few inches are all rust and the bottom is bulging and has already started slowly leaking water, leaving a puddle on the floor underneath with a constant drip, drip, drip.

A few months ago I realized hot water had been discharging through the tundish for a good few months. This made the cupboard the cylinder is installed in like a sauna for a few months. I didn't realize when it was fixed that this had caused so much damage to the cylinder... like you I assumed it would be fine because it is a stainless steel cylinder with a theoretical 25 year lifetime, so it shouldn't be like this after 12 years.

The PRV and most of the pipes are surrounded with rust where they connect. I suppose I could drain it through the tundish but even twisting the PRV looks risky. I haven't had it serviced in the last 12 months so my home insurance won't cover any damage if the cylinder fails. On the other hand, if it fails when the plumber does it then his insurance would pay.

Are you certain that it isn't just the outer casing that is rusty - have you removed the casing and insulation to reveal the tank underneath?

Phones4Chris

lohr500 said:

Phones4Chris said:

Have you turned off the cold feed to the hot water cylinder, assuming we're talking about an indirect cylinder? Once done, surely you can drain it by opening a hot water tap?
Strikes me the plumber you had in may be a bit of a jobsworth, maybe try another plumber?

On my indirect cylinder, turning off the cold feed to the hot water cylinder wouldn't enable me to drain the cylinder.
And I think most indirect cylinders will be plumbed in like mine.

The cold feed enters at the bottom of the tank and the hot water leaves from the top. The hot water is forced out at the top by the higher pressure on the cold water feed.

If the top fitting of the OP's tank is sound, then it should be possible to turn off the cold water feed, open the hot water taps to drain off any water in the pipes,  remove the top fitting and then syphon out the tank, catching any initial leakage from the top fitting using towels, etc.

You are quite correct, I did not engage my brain before making that comment!! I was thinking because they are normally vented .......... because .........
It all depends on how the OP's plumbing is installed. Another way I can do mine is to turn off the feed from the cold water tank but leave the feed to the cylinder open, then open a cold tap, it flows back the other way, but that only half empties the cylinder because of the pipework layout!!

FreeBear

lohr500 said:

Phones4Chris said:

Have you turned off the cold feed to the hot water cylinder, assuming we're talking about an indirect cylinder? Once done, surely you can drain it by opening a hot water tap?
Strikes me the plumber you had in may be a bit of a jobsworth, maybe try another plumber?

On my indirect cylinder, turning off the cold feed to the hot water cylinder wouldn't enable me to drain the cylinder.
And I think most indirect cylinders will be plumbed in like mine.

The cold feed enters at the bottom of the tank and the hot water leaves from the top. The hot water is forced out at the top by the higher pressure on the cold water feed.

If the top fitting of the OP's tank is sound, then it should be possible to turn off the cold water feed, open the hot water taps to drain off any water in the pipes,  remove the top fitting and then syphon out the tank, catching any initial leakage from the top fitting using towels, etc.

If the fittings are anything like mine were, unscrewing them is next to impossible. Years of corrosion and lack of space meant that most of the fittings had seized up and swinging a spanner was next to impossible. Fortunately, the drain down cøck was easy to get to and didn't need huge amounts of force.

@ratcli@ratcliffe_mike - Do you have any photos of the offending tank ?

housebuyer143

ratcliffe_mike said:

My hot water cylinder has started to fail (very rusted and leaking from the bottom).

A plumber has had us turn off hot water etc. because it is likely to completely fail any day.

We don't have any money to pay for a new one because I'm unable to work due to a neurological disability. I am on full PIP, my wife is my full-time carer. We have 3 boys (10, 10 and 11) and no heating or hot water.

I have seen lots of charities offering grants for boilers but can't find anybody that offers grants for hot water cylinders.

I feel completely helpless here because we have this emergency and no way to address our problem... is there any way you could help or do you know anybody that might be able to help?

I'm truly desperate at this point.

What model is it? If it's a megaflow then they have a lifetime guarantee or it's 25 years now - either way it's more than 12. Just call the helpline and they will come out and give you a replacement. If it's not, try the manufacturer anyway in case they have a similar guarantee.

When I moved into my new house the cylinder was leaking and by chance did this and free £1300 tank. I didn't need a receipt as they had registration details on the system. Only had to pay for install.

markin

Get a quote from octopus for a heatpump, The grant can in some cases almost cover the entire cost, or could at least be cheaper than a new tank.

Either way you may have to get a small loan.

casper_gutman

If you genuinely can get a grant for a new boiler, then possibly you could consider getting a combi boiler which would render the tank unnecessary.

ashe

I'd agree, surely there will be some boiler change grants and you can get a combi in, removing the need for a tank? 

https://www.gov.uk/apply-boiler-upgrade-scheme

chris_n

If this installation has a tundish does that not suggest a pressurised system?  Either way if this cylinder is not on the lowest floor of the house it is dangerous. If it is dripping because of a rust hole how far away from catastrophic failure can it be?

ThisIsWeird

I understand the mains supply to it has been isolated, so it isn't under any additional pressure.

It would be useful if RatMike came back with some additional info such as the make and model of cylinder, in case there's a chance HB143's suggestion could work.

Meanwhile, RatMike knows that there's a cylinder full of water that he's been told could burst at any time. If it does, then there's a real risk that his insurance co will try and get out from paying up.