Faulty water cylinder thermostat?

Joined
21 Aug 2019
Messages
310
Reaction score
9
Country
United Kingdom
43014B72-11D8-4FB6-8589-80CF8679C101.jpeg
Hi everybody I have brought a new house, the hot water does not seem to be coming hot enough after the boiler has been switched on for an hour, the central heating works ok but the temperature of the hot water is Luke warm all around the house, I went into the loft and looked at the cylinder thermostat and it looked like this (see picture), is this setting pointing to over
80, is the thermostat faulty? Should I adjust the temp on the thermostat or how to test if it’s faulty, any help or advice would be much appreciated thank you ( I’m assuming the setting is over 80 on the thermostat ) eg is that where the arrow pointing
 
Sponsored Links
This thermostat often has a white plastic knob in the middle of the "cross". However, these break off quite easily (or can be removed to stop people tampering) leaving what you have.

If you use a screwdriver to turn the thermostat knob anti-clockwise, you should be able to hear a slight click when it goes past the temperature it is actually recording. If you don't hear a click I'd suspect the thermostat is faulty, although they are usually pretty reliable. Probably the cheapest diagnosis / repair you can do yourself is to just replace it like for like. BUT remember you are dealing with mains voltages on the terminals, so turn the power to the house off at the consumer unit. Don't rely on switching off the boiler or other controls, I've seen thermostats with "borrowed" lives and neutrals. Use a multimeter to make sure there is no live voltage at the terminals. Should be able to get one for around £20 to £25.
 
Ok thank you for the advice can you tell me what the reading is of the thermostat in the picture? Is it above 80
 
Sponsored Links
Not to take away from the excellent advice already given (and this is the first advice I've offered on these forums so please be gentle :))

but

To me, it looks as if that arrow (if that's what the right-angle beside the cross, is) could be pointing sort of at the 'min' setting (i.e. at the very minimum setting, rather than past the highest setting)...

... have you tried actually turning it clockwise to see if it goes to a higher setting?
 
Hi everyone, I checked the thermostat today and left the hot water on boiler running for 2 hours the thermostat is working because it clicks but it clicks at 40 degrees not at 60 degrees the water cylinder doesn’t get that hot ? Also the pipe coming out of the top of the tank is not too hot? I’m just wondering what the problem could be? Generally the hot water around the house is only like warm and advive would be great thanks
 
What is the thermostat on the boiler set to? Regardless of the temperature on the hot water cylinder thermostat, it won't get any hotter than the water from the boiler supplying it.

For example: If the boiler is set to 55 degrees the hot water cylinder will never exceed that no matter how long the hot water is left on for, or what the cylinder thermostat is set to.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CBW
The thermostat is not the problem, show us the other controls that you have, valves boiler etc so we can see your set up
 
As above, my money is on the stat being fine, I'll wager it's a S plan system and the HW valve is goosed. Pretty confident Mojo, that stat is on it's highest setting in the photo, turn it back to around 60-65, I dont think that is your problem. Look at the hot water cylinder, should be 2 pipes coming out the side, one above the other. On the top pipe, is there an electrical 'box' connected into the pipework? If so, can we have a picture please. (y)
 
CC7840B6-CD2A-44F7-9307-198D683A0A6E.jpeg
4F253E83-FA12-4C07-88AC-AB5E2A07EEA4.jpeg
8F637E71-6D86-4A96-AA68-4F7A0F9E3871.jpeg
CC94FB92-0B37-4B2D-B954-6A199AB1FE9B.jpeg
9681DF2B-0212-484D-8363-CEFEC2E4EBDD.jpeg
1E438AA3-9B87-4151-A079-C9EF1535B77D.jpeg
22074040-7DA9-478F-8438-60F57784F9F6.jpeg
7466263C-70DF-436A-BC3E-10A21DBCDE8B.jpeg
C2928DB9-4E93-4319-93BA-07906BBF16DD.jpeg
097A1AD2-D91D-44A3-AA36-79A61A478E1E.jpeg
Hi everyone thanks for the help and advice I managed to get into the loft and here’s some pictures of my setup, I have checked the thermostat and it works but it clicks at 35 degrees not 60 so does that mean the tank is at 35 degrees? Should it heat up to 60, I have set it now to 65, previously it was set to 80 max,
also the water cylinder the two pipes going in are luke warm and the pipe coming out at the top is mildly warm, the boiler seems to be set at 60 degrees but I’m not sure, the pressure on the expansion tank seems between 1-2 bar,
I’ve added some pics any advise or help would be great sorry for the poor light in pics it’s difficult to take pics on the loft as space is tight
 
4D787138-2FD5-429E-A3BE-1273ACDF03D0.jpeg
909C625B-DDC7-4EF5-BD49-F8D6DA7F3AA3.jpeg
6C3EA610-487E-4B0C-AFED-431D8BF677B7.jpeg
DEFFA058-9F2A-492A-BBAA-154B9DBB6EC2.jpeg
FA510380-7039-4403-932C-5859E3D739FF.jpeg
5FEBEFF3-B39A-452D-A874-CA2568DEA991.jpeg
2F824129-E854-43E4-B463-0285409C3AC3.jpeg
F091EA48-3955-44A4-B7EF-EAD81EC0733B.jpeg
25AA5900-D664-4FE9-88E2-373357D919DA.jpeg
Also here are some further pics of the boiler setup which is located in the downstairs garage
 
Sorry for the long post but I wanted to know

-how long should the boiler be on for to get hot water in morning and fill tank up
At the moment I have it for 1 hour is that enough or should I do it for 2?

- the cold water storage tank has no lid should I get a new lid or have the whole tank replaced it looks old and manky

- I’m not sure the water cylinder is ok? How would I test it to know it it needs replacing could it rust over time?

Thank you
 
Its your boiler output temperature which is too low to heat the water. Boiler output temperature has to be higher than the cylinder temperature, or no heat will be transferred and the boiler will futilely burn lots of gas trying.
 
Insulate those pipes. You are throwing money away. If they are in an unheated area, one day they will freeze and burst.

The cylinder will not rust, it is made of copper. One day it will leak. This may take 20-50 years.

Your cold water tank must have loose-fitting lid and an insulating jacket. Clean it out while you are working. If the cold bath tap is supplied from tank (not the watermain) use it to drain the tank and while you are rinsing after cleaning.
 
How do I check the boiler output temperature? Isn’t it 60 as shown in the picture? I thought 60 was ok?
44DD4AD9-F587-48C0-B288-DB0F2905EB65.jpeg
 

DIYnot Local

Staff member

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.


Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

 
Sponsored Links
Back
Top