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Plumbing

Vented Hot Water Cylinder - Hot Water runs out

Anonymous user 09/03/2024 - 2.41 PM

I need advise on the issue below; I have hot water cylinder in my Flat which supplies hot water to the taps and shower in the flat. The hot water cylinder has 1 x top immersion which is connected to the fuse-A, and is fed directly by its own supply from the cold water storage cistern mounted immediately above the hot water storage cylinder.. this is causing problems with the hot water pressure in Kitchen Sink and Bathroom basin. The main issue is that hot water runs out after 20-25min of shower and it takes 60min to have water available for second person to take shower. The temperature I have set on the tank is 55 degree C. If I increase the temperature to 65 degree C, the hot water tank reset button kicks in. Should I install second immersion (bottom) on the tank with segregated fuse to ensure the water gets hot quicker? It is going to help me increase hot water availability for a longer period of time/any quicker than 60min? Is there any risk that you foresee with no external thermostat? How about electric connection, both the fuses will be depending on one cable connecting back to the main switch board.

Are you a tradesperson and able to answer this question?

1 Answer

Martin House Plumbing Services

Rating: 4.8 out of 5

Lymington

Hello Ausaf. In the normal way if a vented HW cylinder was described as having 1 immersion heater at the top then I would expect it to be at least a 27" Imm htr fitted vertically in the top. However, from what you say, there would seem to be a Boss for another heater at the bottom so I can only guess that you have either an off peak (economy 7) type cylinder or a Fortic tank. If it were the latter then you would neither have sufficient height or stored water volume for an adequate shower anyway, given that the cold supply would also need to be fed from the same header too. So, I am assuming that it's an off peak cylinder you have with the heater going into the side at the top. Well this would be all wrong, as all this is for is a manual boost for hot water during the day & will only heat the top of the cylinder. You should also have 1 in the bottom of the cylinder which heats the whole lot overnight from an off peak meter on a timer. From what you describe the heater has been fitted in the wrong place for your particular installation & your immersion heater needs to be in the lower boss. Simply, all you need to do is to abandon the top 1, fit a new heater in the bottom & connect the electrical supply to that 1 instead. You need to be careful as in removing the boss plug or old heater (whatever is in there) it is very easy to tear the cylinder wall. These can be rather tricky to remove, but once out you should be home & dry. Of course, you must make sure to have drained the cylinder properly before taking out the old plug or heater. I strongly advise you to leave the top 1 in place but to disconnect the cable. Do not try to re-use it. If you are in any doubt about how to go about this procedure then you are best advised to engage a professional to do it, as things can go badly wrong very easily, especially if the correct tools are not utilised. Also, as this seems to be your primary source of hot water,, Fit a heavy duty titanium immersion heater. The standard ones are rubbish these days & only really intended for occasional use. Again, if you are not very sure that you are competent to do this then engage the services of a pro. I hope this helps to resolve your problem, Regards, Martin

Answered13 September 2016