Help - Immersion heater

[fleetwoodmac1975]

Hi,

I have an immersion heater with two thermostat elements really old.

One is for the sink and the other for the bath.

The bath one has gone so i don't get enough hot water to fill in the bath.

An electrician pulled out the rod from the tank and he says that it has gone and they do not replace them anymore. The whole unit is old.

I wanted to know if it is necessary to drain the whole system just to replace the thermostat rod. He told me this is what would have to be done.

Sorry for my ignorance in the subject

 

[JohnD]

The rod he pulled out would have been the thermostat. From what he said it may have been an obsolete type. You don't have to drain the cylinder to change a thermostat (as you saw) but if it needs an updated immersion heater, yes,it does need to be drained. When you take out the old heater it leaves a large hole in the cylinder. This is a bit of a job as the old one might be stuck in place or cause damage when removed.

If you can post a digital photo of the thermostat and the top of the heater, someone may recognise it and know if you can still get a thermostat to fit.

If the immersion heater goes into the top of the cylinder it does not have to be fully drained.

You can still get dual-element (sink and bath) immersion heaters, but they are surprisingly expensive and not widely stocked.

 

[fleetwoodmac1975]

The rod he pulled out would have been the thermostat. From what he said it may have been an obsolete type. You don't have to drain the cylinder to change a thermostat (as you saw) but if it needs an updated immersion heater, yes,it does need to be drained. When you take out the old heater it leaves a large hole in the cylinder. This is a bit of a job as the old one might be stuck in place or cause damage when removed.

If you can post a digital photo of the thermostat and the top of the heater, someone may recognise it and know if you can still get a thermostat to fit.

If the immersion heater goes into the top of the cylinder it does not have to be fully drained.

You can still get dual-element (sink and bath) immersion heaters, but they are surprisingly expensive and not widely stocked.

Thank you for your reply.

I will try to post the pic tomorrow.
The elctreician told me that since he cannot find the thermostat there is a need to drain the tank. I am assuming he meant that the inside stuff needs replacing as well. Correct me if i am wrong.

Regards,

 

[fleetwoodmac1975]

I've e-mailed the admin with my pics. Hopefully they will upload soon

 

[JohnD]

http://www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=73320


I use Photobucket

 

[fleetwoodmac1975]

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x210/fleetwoodmac1975/rod.jpg

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x210/fleetwoodmac1975/tank-3.jpg

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x210/fleetwoodmac1975/tank-1.jpg

 

[JohnD]

What's the thing in the first picture? Dimensions?

You can cut the power and take the black plastic caps off the heaters, may be useful to see what's inside and post a pic.

You will certainly have to drain the cylinder to replace either of those heaters, as they both go in from the side, not the top.