Hello ,,,i rent out a property to some super tenents and they rang me the other day to tell me the water was cold even though the lights was on the boiler/tank to say it should be on.Anyhow i rang the plumbers straight away and they said for some reason its tripping off,,and they showed my tennants how to overide it so the water would come on,,this does work,,but it dosnt solve the problem , as my tenants have to have the hot water switched on for an hour or so before they can realise its tripped off,and then they can do the over ride procedure.The plumber wasnt too helpful really , he said it could be the thermostat but there is no guarantee its that,,I dont want to keep paying out for plumbers that dont seem to diagnose the problem,,Also the property has storage heaters(if that makes any difference) Ihave come on here for the first time for all of your help.The boiler is Heatrae sadia mega series,,,if thats of any use,,,thank you in advance for any replies
Water is Cold
- Thread starter Confused Landlord
- Start date
Firstly this is an electrically heated hot water cylinder and NOT a boiler!
Secondly I dont think you should be paying a "plumber" if he is unable to do the job requested of diagnosing the fault.
Its also quite possible that a "plumber" is not qualified or experienced to find your fault either.
You may need a competent heating engineer or even a very competent electrician.
Tony
Thank you for that,,you must excuse me i am a woman ha ha i dont understand these things,,i am just going to check if infact the plumbers do come under heating engineers ,,i think they do,,,what do you think though can you offer any advice????? I have just checked and they come under plumbing and heating services????so are these the right men for the job?????
just checking for replies
I am sorry but being a woman is no excuse under the sexual equality laws.
The classification in listings does not indicate any particular level of competence. For example "plumbers" are not listed under "cowboys"!
If its a megaflow then thats an unvented cylinder and anyone working on it needs a special certificate. Unfortunately that certificate is primarily related to plumbing and they may not have the required electrical skills.
If you said where you are and had your contact details in your profile then someone on here might be able to contact you.
Tony
thank you for your reply,,i jusy contacted the "plumbers" and they said it requires new thermostats,,,bout 150.00 +vat???i said but if that dosnt work then i am back to sqaure one with broken cylinder..They said if it isnt fixed then there willl be no charge...i will up date my profile later so if it isnt fixed hopefully somenone can contact me..Thank you for your replies,,most helpful
If it has ordinary (dry) immersion heater thermostats then you don't have to be anything other than sensible to replace them. If the thermostats are wet, then the person working on the appliance needs to be qualified, as Agile has pointed out.
You haven't described in any recognisable detail what it is that the tenant is having to reset. Please could you have a go at doing that?
Meanwhile, it sounds as though the tradesman you've engaged is just guessing. Ordinary IH thermostat replacement is quick and easy, and a reasonable charge would be between £50 and £70.
You haven't described in any recognisable detail what it is that the tenant is having to reset. Please could you have a go at doing that?
Meanwhile, it sounds as though the tradesman you've engaged is just guessing. Ordinary IH thermostat replacement is quick and easy, and a reasonable charge would be between £50 and £70.
thank you for your replies,,i do not know precisley the problem ,but i have been told today that it may be a job for an electrician and not a plumber and someone who holds a g3 certificate?????
sound as if the control stat is failing, and they are resetting the hi-limit
just a little concerned as to how its being accessed by tennant when they reset it
just a little concerned as to how its being accessed by tennant when they reset it
the plumbers showed them how to reset it,,also after speaking to my tenents earlier , they said some days its ok then some days its off,,,so its intermittent
ooops sorry dont know either
The G3 is the qualification required to work on unventeds. Its also a requirement for any electrician technically as well!
The thermostat on the electric heating element is a dry pocket type but costs about £35 + vat so its not cheap. It includes an overheat device with a manual reset.
If its tripping then either the water temperature is set too high or its sticking on and allowing the water to rise above the set temperature.
Better replaced!
I still think a competent engineer with G3 is preferable to an electrician as they usually have little understanding of the thermal issues.
Tony
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Blimey... I am certified to work on unventeds and I didn't know that I had a G3... I thought it was the guidance notes for the 16th edition of the wiring regulations 
Some clever sod must be paid a lot of dosh to come up with so much confusing BS... A ministers son perhaps?
Some clever sod must be paid a lot of dosh to come up with so much confusing BS... A ministers son perhaps?
- Joined
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Oops!
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