I'm in cold water!!!

[OldBlueLady]

Literally....it seems I have no hot water. Now, we have economy 7 bloody rubbish storage heaters, so although the system did 2 baths last night it should have had ample time to replenish. Ok, admittedly daughter has been cooking this afternoon and probably had the hot tap running as she attempted to clear/clean up, but not enough to empty the tank and having had the boost on for an hour I was expecting to have some hot water to be able to have a shower.

Seems not though, just ran the tap in the kitchen and there's nothing there, nada.

As the old man is away now til Friday, can anyone give me any sensible suggestions for what to check first? We are entirely electric, no gas so there's no boiler to consider.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Check MCB's, fuses (if you're antiquated!) on dis. board. If it's economy 7, doesn't it heat up the water overnight?

 

[OldBlueLady]

Check MCB's, fuses (if you're antiquated!) on dis. board. If it's economy 7, doesn't it heat up the water overnight?

Yes Paul, but that's what I'm saying, it's not had to give out a load of water since before when it should have restocked - if you see what I mean. No showers or stuff today at all so far.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Well somewhere in your house there is a distribution board (under the stairs?) Could be something as simple as a tripped circuit breaker.

They look like this: Red lever needs to be UP!

 

[davewebbsbrain]

Literally....it seems I have no hot water. Now, we have economy 7 bloody rubbish storage heaters, so although the system did 2 baths last night it should have had ample time to replenish. Ok, admittedly daughter has been cooking this afternoon and probably had the hot tap running as she attempted to clear/clean up, but not enough to empty the tank and having had the boost on for an hour I was expecting to have some hot water to be able to have a shower.

Seems not though, just ran the tap in the kitchen and there's nothing there, nada.

As the old man is away now til Friday, can anyone give me any sensible suggestions for what to check first? We are entirely electric, no gas so there's no boiler to consider.

I have had this before. Someone had been in the airing cupboard and inadvertently caught the switch that turns the power off to the boiler.


Worth checking.

 

[OldBlueLady]

It's in the garage, everything is hunky dory on or up as appropriate! Oh, and Phil, I have no airing cupboard - don't ask, Cricko and his mate Roy have had a good laugh about my house, and now understand why I get so bloody cross about it!

 

[MK Shrimper]

If its not the MCB's or something simple like the switch, I'd suggest you call out a specialist in the morning if there's still no hot water.

 

[davewebbsbrain]

If its not the MCB's or something simple like the switch, I'd suggest you call out a specialist in the morning if there's still no hot water.

I think OBL could have worked that out for herself!

 

[MK Shrimper]

I think OBL could have worked that out for herself!

:p Always have to rule out the obvious before you spend £75 on a call out charge!

 

[davewebbsbrain]

:p Always have to rule out the obvious before you spend £75 on a call out charge!

Oh I agree, check the obvious possibilities. If it isn't any of those, the next step is the tradesman.(that was the obvious bit)

There must be a plumber on here that can take a look!!

 

[OldBlueLady]

Oh I agree, check the obvious possibilities. If it isn't any of those, the next step is the tradesman.(that was the obvious bit)

There must be a plumber on here that can take a look!!

I'm not having any old random plumber coming round to check my plumbing thank you very much!

 

[davewebbsbrain]

I'm not having any old random plumber coming round to check my plumbing thank you very much!

That's well beyond repair!!!

 

[OldBlueLady]

That's well beyond repair!!!

You're telling me!

 

[steveo]

If its a fairy modern economy 7 system you will probably have an immersion heater - basically a big hot water storage tank that works like a kettle. If the power to this isnt working thats the problem. As already said, check the fuses, the switch and any trip switches on the mains box. It could even be a faulty element.

 

[OldBlueLady]

to borrow a quote from Alice in Wonderland, I was thinking myself that it must be the element but this morning, there seems to be at least some hot water. Not tried a shower yet, but definitely some hot water. Very strange.

 

[BalmainShrimper]

Economy 7 systems have two elements - one which heats up at night (the E7 bit) and a booster element, usually at the top of the boiler, which you switch on manually when you need extra hot water.

It could be that the main element has lost power, or broken, in which case you'll only get hot water if you switch on the booster. As this is at the top it only heats a little bit of water at a time, and if the boiler is full of cold water, maybe not at all.

I had this set up and it did appear to have a mind of it's own. The main E7 element is typically the first to go as it's switched off and on every day, and if you're in a hard water area, furs up quickly

 

[OldBlueLady]

Thanks for that, that's quite helpful actually, and of course, here in the South East we are in a hard water area. As I say, I'll see what happens during the course of the day although I did try the boost twice yesterday evening and it didn't produce anything of note.

 

[steveo]

Thanks for that, that's quite helpful actually, and of course, here in the South East we are in a hard water area. As I say, I'll see what happens during the course of the day although I did try the boost twice yesterday evening and it didn't produce anything of note.

Can you overide the economy 7 and turn the main element on all the time?

If you are only getting a limited amount of hot water, maybe the timer is not working properly

 

[OldBlueLady]

Can you overide the economy 7 and turn the main element on all the time?

If you are only getting a limited amount of hot water, maybe the timer is not working properly

Now that's a bit technical and being as the hot water tank is above my bedroom I'm not doing anything too drastic! My neighbour's a heating and plumbing engineer, so if it's still playing up later I'll go and ask very nicely if he'll come and have a look. Was just too late last night to go doing that! Thanks everyone anyway.

 

[TrueBlue]

Ball-Valve sticking simples!