Water Storage tank using large amounts of water

Annabee

We bought this house about 3 months ago. The house is only about 12 years old. 2 years ago the owners put in a new boiler, but it is not a combi and they continued to use the cylinder hot water tank originally installed by the builders for hot water.

Just before Christmas we suddenly had no hot water, although the heating and radiators were working fine. I was in a panic that we wouldn't be able to get anybody out before Christmas, and I found a local company on Google who could come out. Their reviews seemed fine. The guy came and got the hot water going again, He apparently replaced a '2 port valve'. I did query what he had done later though, as the boiler is constantly operating (you can hear it) and he has the hot water 'advance' button fixed on 'on' all the time. He came back and looked and told me it was normal, and it wasn't using power. But it wasn't set up like that before (before we lost hot water), and the boiler used to be quiet when the heating was off.

However, we just had our first water bill and it has shot up from what we used to pay in our old house. We are not using any more water than before personally, and I spoke the water company who said we have double the useage - we are now high useage. I told them about the water tank and they said it was probably that.

Due to a mix up I had not received the bill from the plumbers visit. We had (naively) thought that because the fix was not quite right they had decided not to bill us. However, now we received the bill, and I was shocked anyway at the amount (over £300) and obviously something is wrong as it is eating up water - the power bills have also increased.

I said this to them and they are coming back in the week with a senior member of staff to look over what has been done. I am thinking that maybe we need a new cylinder tank or something? But not sure if I would trust this company to do it now. Do you think I could negotiate a reduction in the bill as the fix is not satisfactory anyway? And what to do about the tank?

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6653267/water-storage-tank-using-large-amounts-of-water

Do you know where the overflow pipe is from the cold water storage tank? Is there water coming out of it?

On the face of it, the work you've described should have no effect on how much water is used in the household. If the heating system is somehow the cause of the increased water consumption then the excess water has to be going somewhere…..

Annabee

I'm not sure, really. The hot water tank is upstairs in the airing cupboard? Im not aware of any leaks and presumably he checked for them when he came out in December.

I am the least clued up person ever when it comes to DIY etc but I Googled and found that faulty water storage tank is a common cause of increased water use. Also that it is set to 'on' all the time and the boiler working away 24 7, that can't be right can it?

Otherwise I don't know how our water bills have doubled from our old house, and energy bills increased too, when we have not changed our habits.

twopenny

Do you have a water meter? You could read it over a couple of days and check it against the bills before and after the repair.

Is there a thermostat on the immersion tank? Mine has a setting on the outside so I can change the temperature.

And no, the hot water should not be heating all the time. Only for the time you set.

But remember if you use a small amount of water it will top up with cold so reducing the temperature or causing it to heat again. Just some thought and organising can deal with this.

Do you take showers from the tank?

Section62

I am the least clued up person ever when it comes to DIY etc but I Googled and found that faulty water storage tank is a common cause of increased water use.

That could refer to a water tank in the loft, which stores cold water to feed the hot water cylinder. The cold tank has a ballvalve to control the water level - if that was faulty then the tank could get overfull and start overflowing via pipe (usually outside). Unless the plumber fiddled with the ballvalve (no reason why they would need to) then that shouldn't be the cause of your problem. And you'd know because water should be coming out of the overflow pipe somewhere.

Also that it is set to 'on' all the time and the boiler working away 24 7, that can't be right can it?

The hot water cylinder should have a thermostat, so once the water is heated the boiler will stop until either the water in the tank cools down, or enough hot water has been used. Ideally the timer would be used so you only heat (extra) hot water when you need it, but if you aren't using hot water all day then the extra energy consumption isn't going to make a massive difference.

Different homes can have different water and energy consumption figures even if you don't change your habits. You'll need to do some sleuthing to find out why, but unless the plumber did something really silly there's no obvious reason why what they did would have such an effect on your bills.

Annabee

Thanks everyone, I am going to call the water company and the energy company tomorrow and see if there was a marked difference in consumption after the date that the plumber visited.

I am quite confused still.

plumb1_2

I suspect that one of the 2 tanks in the loft is overflowing ( ball valve issue) or the cylinder stat is faulty any pumping over into the tank.

Can you actually see the overflow pipes coming out of your loft? Maybe there feed into your gutter ( which is incorrect) and your not aware.

Technically they are a warning pipe, too alerting of any issues

WIAWSNB

We need more info, Annabee.

Could you take some photos, please;

The hot cylinder. And the CH and DHW controls (the one that's on all the time)

From this we should hopefully be able to suggest what you canook at.

Re the 2-port valve, it makes sense that a faulty one of these was responsible for a lack of DHW. But there's no reason for him to have left the DHW running constantly. Can you recall the setting - timings - you had it on before?

Annabee

Thanks, but I can't do that tonight. Might pop back with photos tomorrow.

grumpy_codger

the boiler is constantly operating (you can hear it) and he has the hot water 'advance' button fixed on 'on' all the time. 

If 'constantly' really means constantly, I think this can happen if the water thermostat in the boiler is set to lower temperature than the HW cylinder thermostat. In this case the pump keeps pumping water through the cylinder indefinitely if HW heating is ON.

kipsterno1

Is this your first water bill since moving to the new house? If you don't have a previous bill from this address it's hard to say if it's the heating system that is the cause. I would recommend that you check everything that uses water especially the toilets. Modern systems have the overflow set up to drain into the bowl so often go unnoticed and even a small overflow can lose a large amount of water. As mentioned earlier check your water meter and if possible don't use any water, run taps, flush toilets for several hours and check again.