Electric water heater

[jcsnewcastle]

Hi Guys,

Im in the middle of renovating a flat i bought a few weeks ago. There is currently an immersion water tank which isnt working. Before I replace it, it would be good to know what other people would do in the same situation. I was planning on installing an instant electric water heater (something like this http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/SOILX009.html?utm_source=froogle) as i dont have gas, to supply hot water to the kitchen and bathroom sinks, the bath and possibly a mixer shower. I dont need it to supply my heating as I have separate electric radiators.

If I go ahead with this what size heater would i need?

I have been told that I might be better off getting an electric shower, do you guys agree?

Your opinions would be greatly appreciated

Cheers

 

[kevplumb]

should be ok as long as the incoming water supply is up to it

anything to do with jcs in hartlepool

 

[OwainDIYer]

Bluntly, this *is* an electric shower, just one that can supply more than one tap.

A cylinder with two immersion heaters ('sink'-'bath') will give a more useful supply of stored hot water and offer the option of using Economy 7 electricity

 

[Steve]

Hi Guys,

Im in the middle of renovating a flat i bought a few weeks ago. There is currently an immersion water tank which isnt working.

I gather you're aware that you can just replace the element? And that you can just replace the thermostat? And that these parts are MUCH cheaper than a cylinder!

 

[matt1e]

should be ok as long as the incoming water supply is up to it

anything to do with jcs in hartlepool

speaking of hartlepool been me least favourite place this week
traffics been a nightmare with the tall ships being on

Matt

 

[jcsnewcastle]

Thanks everybody,

Just for a bit of background - I was on economy 7 but I’m only in on evenings and weekends so the majority of my power usage would be when the prices are highest. According to neighbours the storage heaters and water generally start running low on juice by this time, even if they weren’t used most of the day so most of them have fan heaters to top up the temperature later on. I see it being pointless heating them up through the night if I have to reheat everything again when I get in from work so I had the economy 7 meter replaced with a standard meter.

I’m considering my options on the heating side (thinking of underfloor, but will probably just go for some thermostatic & timed radiators) so I’m just left with the water options.

As I am getting a dishwasher all ill need in the kitchen is hot water to wash my hands and clean the odd cup. I was just going to convert the bathroom to a wet room, especially as it just has a shower cubicle and no bath at the minute, but a few people I talked to started to convince me to get a bath to add resale / rental value. Personally, all I want is a shower that is so hot and powerful it almost tears my skin off in the morning so if this would be jeopardised by a bath that I might use once a month and am only installing on the chance other people might prefer it I think I might go back to the wet room.

Therefore all I need is a water heater that can supply instant water when I want to have a shower, shave or peel a carrot. Therefore, as OwainDIYer said, I do just think I need a glorified shower. Do you guys agree?

If so what size ‘shower’ (water heater) do you think I should be looking for. At the minute I am asking as I am rewiring the place and I need to gauge the T&E size (prob 10mm im guessing) ill need and if I just need to wire up the water heater and possibly a seperate T&E to a shower.

Again, your comments be greatly appreciated and this forum has been invaluable to me doing this work from scratch with no prior knowledge of, well basically anything so thanks very much to all of you.

Oh and p.s. no relation to jcs monkey hanger (no offence intended)

 

[kevplumb]

Oh and p.s. no relation to jcs monkey hanger (no offence intended)

non taken

 

[matt1e]

Hi jcs
You're probably looking along the lines of a Zip or similar
Matt

 

[OwainDIYer]

a shower that is so hot and powerful it almost tears my skin off in the morning

You won't get that with domestic instantaneous electric. The biggest Zip heater is 13.5 kW and will give a max of 8 litres/min at 38degC with incoming water at 15degC. An *average* power shower is 16 litres/min with a 'drencher' head or full body sprays being more.


A Main Multipoint (the gas equivalent) is 27 kW, a typical gas combi boiler would be 25-30 kW.

To get a 'power shower' experience on electric you will need stored hot water, and unless your mains pressure and flow are excellent some form of pump or accumulator too.

"When comparing flow rates of different combis make sure that they are specified for identical temperature rises. They are commonly specified at either 35°C or 30°C rises, the lower the rise the greater the flow. However, the temperature rise required in practice is often a good deal higher than either of these figures. If the mains water temperature is 10°C (which it was at 21:00, on 20th November, 2000 in Reading) then with the boiler's output set to 57°C the required thermal rise across the boiler is 47°C. It would therefore be more realistic but less persuasive if boilers were specified at higher temperature rises.

Be aware that a boiler with a flow rate of 14 litres a minute for a 30°C temperature rise may have half that for a rise of 55°C (required in winter when mains temperatures are not far from zero)."
http://www.diyfaq.org.uk/plumbing/combi.html