airing cupboard immersion

[glennb]

Hi there,

i need some advise about the immersion in my house

We have just moved in to a new house which has an immersion thing in the airing cupboard (our previous house had combi boiler)
Neither of us have used an immersion thing before. We usually turn it on for a while before we have a bath/shower etc.
When should we be turning it on and how long for? Should it turned on each day for a set amount of time, or only when we use hot water.
To be honest - i don't really know what it does!
I know this sounds a bit silly, but i don't want to be wasting electricity or water when i don't need to be.

Many thanks

Glenn

 

[JohnD]

It has a thermostat. verify that this is working correctly by leaving it on for a couple of hours. The water should get "hot" and then stop getting "hotter". It should not reach a temperature which is liable to scald anyone in the house (including babies or the elderly).

If you observe the electricity meter you should be able to detect that the current drawn will reduce when the water comes to the preset temperature.

If this doesn't happen, you can alter the thermostat setting fairly easily.or fit a new one if it is seized (older ones can fail "on." Modern ones fail "off" to avoid the risk of scalding). You do not need to drain the water to change the thermostat as it is contained in a watertight pocket.

It is very important that the cylinder is well-insulated or you will be pouring money up through the ceiling.

During the winter,when you are running the boiler,it will be cheaper to let the boiler keep the cylinder hot. During summer,it may be cheaper to use the immersion. Electricity costs about three times as much as gas, though.

Please describe the insulation and cylinder size, or post a pic if you can. a well-insulated cylinder will keep the water hot for 16 hours without difficulty and without needing the immersion to be turned back on. But it is more economical to use a timeswitch to turn it on before you get up in the morning,and before you need hot water in the evening.

An immersion element uses almost exactly the same amount of electricity as an electric kettle, and delivers heat at the same rate into a larger volume of water.

If you have an "Economy 7" or other dual-rate electricity meter, it willcost you about half as much to heat the water at night when electricity is cheaper.