Economy 7 Immersion Heater Help.

Welshchris · 13-11-2010, 01:05

I wonder if any of u guys can help me.

I have an econemy 7 immersion heater and its been problematic since day one when i moved in...

In the 2 years ive been here its been repaired 16 times, 2 years ago it had 2 new elements and 4 new thermestats and today now its had another 4 new thermestats. Whats happening is when they fit them they r fine until they switch power on and then they trip out and from then on it has to be on maximum to get any sort of hot water what so ever.

The electrician today has stated that all it can be is the element and the tank has to be drained AGAIN! and 2 new elements placed in it AGAIN!

Its really starting to stress me out now, before i moved in it was supposed to have been changed and never was and even when i moved in wasnt working and i feel as if im being messed about. Can anyone shed any light on this?

Osem · 13-11-2010, 10:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Welshchris

I wonder if any of u guys can help me.

I have an econemy 7 immersion heater and its been problematic since day one when i moved in...

In the 2 years ive been here its been repaired 16 times, 2 years ago it had 2 new elements and 4 new thermestats and today now its had another 4 new thermestats. Whats happening is when they fit them they r fine until they switch power on and then they trip out and from then on it has to be on maximum to get any sort of hot water what so ever.

The electrician today has stated that all it can be is the element and the tank has to be drained AGAIN! and 2 new elements placed in it AGAIN!

Its really starting to stress me out now, before i moved in it was supposed to have been changed and never was and even when i moved in wasnt working and i feel as if im being messed about. Can anyone shed any light on this?

Could hard water could be your problem? In hard water areas like ours, you need specially treated elements which are resistant to corrosion. We had E7 immersion water heating until last year and the elements and thermostats do need replacing fairly regularly. It's a simple job I used to do myself but on occasion I inadvertently purchased the wrong type of element and they only lasted about a year before being totally corroded. The elements on my system were always supplied with integral rod type thermostats which slide inside the element so I hope you aren't being charged as if these are 'extras'.

Taf · 13-11-2010, 10:35

I've seen lot of heating elements that were DOA, or fail withing the first few hours of use. Checks showed that suppliers were being duped into buying counterfeit items through a wholesaler... less cost to them, big cost to the user.

Osem · 13-11-2010, 12:29

This is the type of 'Incoloy' element I used very successfully:

http://www.qvsdirect.com/3kW-Incoloy...-pr-18335.html

If hard water isn't your problem then dodgy parts or some problem with the installation seems the most likely reason.

Welshchris · 14-11-2010, 23:26

Apparently they are coming tomorrow to drain the tank and fit two new elements.

bopdude · 15-11-2010, 00:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Welshchris

today now its had another 4 new thermestats. Whats happening is when they fit them they r fine until they switch power on and then they trip out and from then on it has to be on maximum to get any sort of hot water what so ever.

If the element has had 4 stats fitted and it's still not working it can only be a ceratin number of things, my guess is the stats aren't of a high enough rating for the element, try and find out off the rating plate what size the element is, and then see what your stat is rated at, for it to keep blowing there is something really wrong, and I mean with the install, maybe it's down to shoddy gear, if so, go to a reputable suppliers, buy it yourself and we can talk you through an install.

raging bull · 15-11-2010, 06:25

To think that the hardest part about changing an element is removing the old one.
10 years is the expected life of an element, thermostat can't predict on lifespan.
As has been said earlier incalloy is the prefered material for elements because of its chemical resistance.
(I have one element (base of tank) still o'k after 20years but lost count on No of thermostats that have been fitted).
Point to remember hard water plus to high a temperature shorten life of element, (read the instruction leaflet for stat 60°C max)

Osem · 15-11-2010, 10:11

Surely, where Economy 7 water heating is the sole source of hot water, it's far more demanding on the elements than where an immersion heater is just being used to supplement the hot water provided by, say, a gas boiler. Perhaps not a surprise that the elements need more frequent replacement then?

One other thing. IIRC copper cylinders are supplied with an internal sacrificial anode which is supposed to limit the effects of corrosion inside the tank. Before we had our E7 system ripped out, I noticed the anode inside the cylinder had been completely eroded away over the years and I'm wondering if this is what caused the gradually increased frequency of problems we had with failing elements over time.

The cyclinder we had was a very large on and the hardest part of the job for me was draining it in order to access the elements (hose pipe into cylinder and suction to drain the water). If tradesmen are doing likewsie and charging hourly (which most do) I wouldn't be surprised if they quite like a nice easy immersion heater job...

Welshchris · 15-11-2010, 16:35

2 new elements and 2 new thermistats today. The Thermistat worked for 6 mins in the booster immersion and died Now waiting for them to see if they can come back out today.

raging bull · 15-11-2010, 18:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Welshchris

2 new elements and 2 new thermistats today. The Thermistat worked for 6 mins in the booster immersion and died Now waiting for them to see if they can come back out today.

Did they leave any of the instruction leaflets with you?
The heaters are a nominal 3Kw = 12 amps load
The thermostats are 15amp switching capacity
Unless they have picked a foreign make, that should have been o'k.

Welshchris · 15-11-2010, 18:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by raging bull

Did they leave any of the instruction leaflets with you?
The heaters are a nominal 3Kw = 12 amps load
The thermostats are 15amp switching capacity
Unless they have picked a foreign make, that should have been o'k.

No idea, but they even fitted a stat in without a thermal cutout and it instantly died.

Well hopefully its done now.... 2 new elements and 3 new thermastats just got to wait till the morning now to see if the Econemy 7 Works.

I hope no one was listening by my door when the plumbers were draining the water... The drainage valve on the bottom wouldnt open so they had to drain from top of tank, u had one plumber by the tank and the other one in the bathroom sucking on a hose saying "This is discusting its hitting the back of my throat and gagging" and then u had the plumber by the tank saying COME ON SUCK IT SUCK IT!.

Welshchris · 15-11-2010, 21:10

Well the booster part when u run out of hot water on the econemy 7 isnt working properly and needs to be looked at again. Was on for 95 mins and give me about 4" of hot water in the bath before going freezing cold again.

This will be the 19th time tommorrow that its been looked at in 2 years.

raging bull · 15-11-2010, 22:57

Is this a council property?
If so I would be speaking to someone with a loud voice.
Housing association likewise would be getting a tongue lashing.
Its just unbelievable that something like this is happening today.
(As a retired electrician this should not happen, words fail me.)

Osem · 16-11-2010, 09:44

This all seems very odd to me. Are the guys doing this work competent and trustworthy? Have the same people always done the repairs or have different companies and suppliers been involved?

If I was paying for all this nonsense I'd be hopping mad!

Welshchris · 16-11-2010, 13:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by raging bull

Is this a council property?
If so I would be speaking to someone with a loud voice.
Housing association likewise would be getting a tongue lashing.
Its just unbelievable that something like this is happening today.
(As a retired electrician this should not happen, words fail me.)

I have my Housing officer coming out later who i cannot stand and have had more than a few run ins with him him in the two years. On one occasion the same electrician thats coming out later thought i was gonna punch him because hes smug, arrogant and always thinks he knows best and even people who work with him cannot stand the guy. One other resident called him a useless ADMIN EDIT to his face a few weeks ago which made me laff.

Before i moved in back in Nov 2008 i was told the tank was gonna be replaced and a few other jobs were due to be done. They kept the keys for 6 weeks and NO! jobs were done, The immersion still wasnt working when i moved in, they were supposed to have painted the place before i moved in as its a Housing association property and they didnt do that, they told me the radiators were leaking and were gonna be changed yet they r storage heaters so how can they leak? and this is why i put in a complaint with the ombudsman and it was upheld back in 2008

---------- Post added at 13:42 ---------- Previous post was at 13:38 ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Osem

This all seems very odd to me. Are the guys doing this work competent and trustworthy? Have the same people always done the repairs or have different companies and suppliers been involved?

If I was paying for all this nonsense I'd be hopping mad!

They r a local firm contacted to the housing association and to be honest they r useless, for example u report 3 bulbs out in the communal halls, u even put signs on the lighst saying BULB OUT! they will come out change 5 bulbs and still have 2 lights out.. HOW HARD! is it to put all the lights on see whats not working and change the bulbs and starters in them? it doesnt take an einstein.

My electric heater wasnt working in the bathroom and i told the electrician the element was going and he said i quote "no its not, i have been doing this job for over 10 years, u can turn them up inside". He took the cover off the heater, did something turned it on and there was a loud bang, a blue flash and it took 2 days to get the smell of singed plastic out of my flat. i said to him "well if u have been doing this for 10 years i think u best find another vocation".

ADMIN EDIT (CHRIS): The swear filter is there for a reason. Please don't try to dodge it by selectively *ing out words.