Sorry if this intro is tedious enough to be deserving of one of those naff "cool story, bro" pics, but here goes anyway in order to avoid a series of "did you try..." or "what else is..." or "is there a..." type of questions!
900x450 Telford Copper cylinder. Going by pre-01 phone number I reckon it must be at least 15 years old, but water in mid-Wales is soft and ph 6.9 so not acidic. Telford say cylinder should be OK, but 15 years is good going.
The problem: 3 Masterplug switches have failed in 3 years, always the relay. Masterplug say that while the relay is 13a rated for resistive loads, it's only 2a rated for inductive loads. I think it unlikely that an immersion heater would be producing an inductive spike when the thermostat breaks contact. There's a 2 year old Salamander RGP80 water pressure booster pump as the only other device on that spur. But that shouldn't be sending inductive spikes into the circuit, right?
Shortly after that, it stopped heating properly. Thermostat stopped clicking when only lukewarm, so I withdrew thermostat and was surprise to find it was only a long, this, heavily corroded wire. Having bought £18 of new thermostat from my local rip-off merchant, I realised that the previous thermostat DID have a tube, but it had become corroded in place. 24 hours of excessive WD40 later and I'm just left with torn stumps of copper where I tried to get the old tube out.
Now the problems pile up! The ceiling space above isn't high enough to allow the withdrawal of the entire immersion, even in the unlikely event I could unscrew it. The previous owners helpfully built the airing cupboard around the cylinder, meaning that the connections are all at the back, close to the wall. Oh, and I'd lost the receipt for the new thermostat.
The cylinder is a primary/secondary vented type, but the primary side isn't used any more as it was once fed from a now-removed back boiler and is now immersion-only. So it would probably benefit from a new direct heated bottom entry (fnarr!) cylinder.
All of which is a long way of saying that I think I only have one option now:
Smash down the plasterboard wall enclosing the tank, take it out, get a new one delivered and attempt to refit it.
In that size, immersion only, I've narrowed it down to two choices - any personal experiences of either of these is appreciated!
Discounted Copper Cylinders in Manchester:
£228.99 for a Telford Maxistore twin (bottom and middle) immersion tank including the two immersion heaters fitted, and a 10 year guarantee and delivery.
OR
Similar thing from CopperCylinders.co.uk for £180.00 which includes 1 free immersion heater and delivery.
BUT only 2 year guarantee
I only really need 1 immersion anyway, but something is telling me that although £50 is £50, it's also buying me an extra 8 year guarantee.
What would YOU do? Have I missed a trick here? If I could get that effing old tube out, I'd be sorted for the time being. Sigh.
900x450 Telford Copper cylinder. Going by pre-01 phone number I reckon it must be at least 15 years old, but water in mid-Wales is soft and ph 6.9 so not acidic. Telford say cylinder should be OK, but 15 years is good going.
The problem: 3 Masterplug switches have failed in 3 years, always the relay. Masterplug say that while the relay is 13a rated for resistive loads, it's only 2a rated for inductive loads. I think it unlikely that an immersion heater would be producing an inductive spike when the thermostat breaks contact. There's a 2 year old Salamander RGP80 water pressure booster pump as the only other device on that spur. But that shouldn't be sending inductive spikes into the circuit, right?
Shortly after that, it stopped heating properly. Thermostat stopped clicking when only lukewarm, so I withdrew thermostat and was surprise to find it was only a long, this, heavily corroded wire. Having bought £18 of new thermostat from my local rip-off merchant, I realised that the previous thermostat DID have a tube, but it had become corroded in place. 24 hours of excessive WD40 later and I'm just left with torn stumps of copper where I tried to get the old tube out.
Now the problems pile up! The ceiling space above isn't high enough to allow the withdrawal of the entire immersion, even in the unlikely event I could unscrew it. The previous owners helpfully built the airing cupboard around the cylinder, meaning that the connections are all at the back, close to the wall. Oh, and I'd lost the receipt for the new thermostat.
The cylinder is a primary/secondary vented type, but the primary side isn't used any more as it was once fed from a now-removed back boiler and is now immersion-only. So it would probably benefit from a new direct heated bottom entry (fnarr!) cylinder.
All of which is a long way of saying that I think I only have one option now:
Smash down the plasterboard wall enclosing the tank, take it out, get a new one delivered and attempt to refit it.
In that size, immersion only, I've narrowed it down to two choices - any personal experiences of either of these is appreciated!
Discounted Copper Cylinders in Manchester:
£228.99 for a Telford Maxistore twin (bottom and middle) immersion tank including the two immersion heaters fitted, and a 10 year guarantee and delivery.
OR
Similar thing from CopperCylinders.co.uk for £180.00 which includes 1 free immersion heater and delivery.
BUT only 2 year guarantee
I only really need 1 immersion anyway, but something is telling me that although £50 is £50, it's also buying me an extra 8 year guarantee.
What would YOU do? Have I missed a trick here? If I could get that effing old tube out, I'd be sorted for the time being. Sigh.
