immersion thermostat

[VirginPlumber]

Hi,
ive just replaced a thermostat on a very old immersion cylinder as the cable leading from thermostat to element had burnt out and had no hot water. I replaced the whole thermostat and cable and this seemed to be working fine. Two weeks on the hot water is off and I see that the reset button has popped up. Ive reset that and now it is working...but for how long?

Can anyone give me an idea what may have originally caused the wire to burn out (the old termstat had no reset) and is probably now causing the thermostat to trip???

Do I need an electrician???

Many thanks

 

[seco services]

what have you set the stat to ?
poss the element is on it's last legs.

 

[VirginPlumber]

the old thermostat (more than 10 years old) went up to 80 and had been set on exactly that...the new one i put up to just under the max (70)....

does this make a diff?

 

[seco services]

set to 60 you don't need it no higher unless you like being scalded.
and 60 to keep out the legionnaires

 

[VirginPlumber]

is that what is causing it to trip?

sorry if im asking dumb questions but why do they make them go so high? Is it worth replacing the element if it keeps happening?

thanks for your advice...

 

[seco services]

i go to many that have tripped and on checking they are set to high.
plus your's is old.
leave on 60 is it trips again change element. if it's been in years maybe a pig to remove anyway.

 

[VirginPlumber]

i was going to replace the lot, but the cylinder is vey old, and there was not a chance of getting it out whole....i'll try turning down to temp and if that doesnt work it will be a whole new cylinder.....

As it is just for hot water, no central heating coil, how much is a sensible price to pay for a replacement & labour? i was thinking about 500 quid?

 

[seco services]

ya give or take not seeing the job.
no heating to drain or re-fill, so saved ya time there.