Immersion Heater Replacement

[bauerjan]

Good Evening to all.

I need to replace the immersion heater in my copper tank.

The job does not really present a great problem. However, I have one specific problem.

The drain plug for the copper tank is inaccessible - the tank is in a hot press and the drain plug is located at the back. I cannot get at it.

If I turn off the cold water supply to the tank and turn on all the hot water taps in the house, would it be possible to siphon off some water from the tank when I remove the immersion element ? Or, would I have a flood ?

Any suggestion would be most welcome

Many thanks,

Jimmy

 

[picasso]

Where is your immersion heater, on the top or on the side ?

 

[Jackrae]

If you can see the bottom (cold) feed into the tank you could always fit a self-drilling service valve as typically used for washing machines. This will then provide a draining point to get below the level of the immersion boss.

 

[bauerjan]

Hello Picasso.

The immersion is on the top

 

[picasso]

If you turn off the main supply into your house and run the hot taps it will empty the system down to the level of the take off from the cylinder, you should only get a small amount of water when you open the immersion.

 

[bauerjan]

@ Picasso

Many thanks for your help.

Best regards,

Jimmy

 

[Agile]

I deal with this problem by applying air pressure to the top of the cylinder to force the contents back up the supply pipe.

Tony