Unvented Cylinder Installation & Repair
Unvented hot water cylinders installed, repaired and replaced, including safety valves, vessels and annual checks.
No Hot Water? Immersion Heater Repair or Replacement
A failed thermostat or loose connection can be repaired. A burnt-out or seized element has to be replaced. Norbert finds out which before you spend anything.
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Repairable Fault or New Element
A failed thermostat or loose connection can be repaired. A burnt-out or seized element has to be replaced. Norbert tests first, so you know which before you spend anything.
Signs It Is Time To Call
- No hot water when the immersion is switched on
- Water that is only lukewarm however long it heats
- The immersion switch or its circuit keeps tripping
- Scalding water from the hot tap
- A burning smell or scorch marks at the switch
- Hissing or crackling from the cylinder
Repair or replace depends on what failed
An immersion heater is an element inside the cylinder, a rod thermostat that switches it, and the wiring between them. Norbert tests all three before changing anything, so you pay for the part that has failed.
- Element, thermostat and connections each checked with a meter
- You pay for the failed part, not the most expensive one
- Any one of the three can stop the hot water
What can be repaired
The most common repairable fault is a thermostat that has failed open, stuck on or drifted off its setting. Scorched or loose connections are next. Both usually take under an hour, with hot water heating straight away.
- Thermostat replaced without draining the cylinder
- Loose, scorched or corroded terminals remade
- Heat-damaged flex replaced
What has to be replaced
A burnt-out or split element, or one tripping the circuit, cannot be repaired. Replacement is normally a same-visit job. In the hard water of Kent and Surrey, scale can bond an old element in so it will not draw.
- Cylinder isolated and drained, new element fitted with a new seal
- Care taken, because tearing the cylinder turns a small job large
- If it will not come out, the cylinder needs replacing
- Pressurised cylinder? Unvented hot water cylinder work is Norbert’s speciality
What he brings and how long
He attends with a meter, common sizes of element and thermostat, new seals and the tools to drain down. A thermostat swap is quick; an element takes a few hours, mostly draining and refilling.
- No hot water or a leaking head may justify emergency plumbing
- Kent, Medway, Surrey, Sussex and south-east London
- One year warranty on parts and labour for every job
Why people ring Norbert
20+
Years in plumbing1 year
Warranty on parts and labour24/7
Emergency call-out1
Plumber, start to finish
What the job covers
Fault finding first
Testing the element, thermostat and connections to find which part has failed before anything is changed.
Thermostat replacement
Fitting a new rod thermostat where the old one has failed open, stuck or lost its setting.
Wiring and connection repairs
Remaking scorched, loose or corroded connections at the heater head, and replacing a heat-damaged flex.
Immersion heater element replacement
Draining down, drawing the old element and fitting a new one with a fresh seal.
Seized elements and unit replacement
Removing an element welded in by scale, and replacing the cylinder where the element cannot be drawn.
New immersion installation
Fitting an immersion heater to an existing cylinder with a spare boss, or as part of a new cylinder.
Immersion Heater Replacement & Repair in pictures
How a job with Norbert runs
No call centre and no hand-offs. The same man takes the call, quotes the work and does it.
- 01
You call or send the form
Tell Norbert what is happening. He rings back himself to ask the questions that matter before anyone drives out.
- 02
He comes out and quotes
He looks at the job, explains what has failed and what the fix involves, and gives you the quote before work starts.
- 03
The work is done and tested
Fixed, tested and cleaned up, with a one year warranty on parts and labour for the work he has done.
Often needed alongside immersion heater replacement & repair
Emergency Plumber
A 24-hour emergency call-out for burst pipes, flooding leaks and backed-up drains, answered by Norbert himself.
Plumber
Everyday plumbing repairs and replacements from Norbert himself, backed by over 20 years' experience and a one year warranty.
Immersion Heater Replacement & Repair: questions answered
01How do I know if it is the element or the thermostat?
You cannot always tell from the symptoms, which is why testing comes first. No heat at all points to either a burnt-out element or a thermostat that has failed open. Water that gets far too hot points to a thermostat stuck on. A circuit that trips as soon as the immersion is switched on usually means an element that has split and is leaking to earth. A meter test confirms which it is in minutes.
02Can an immersion heater be repaired, or does it always need replacing?
Many faults are repairs. A failed thermostat is a quick swap without draining the cylinder, and scorched or loose connections at the heater head can be remade. Replacement is needed when the element itself has burnt out or split, because elements cannot be repaired. Where the element has seized into the cylinder with scale and will not come out, the cylinder may need replacing too.
03How long does immersion heater element replacement take?
A thermostat change is usually done within the hour. Replacing the element takes longer, because the cylinder has to be drained down first, and on a large or slow-draining cylinder that is most of the job. On a straightforward cylinder, Norbert typically has hot water heating again the same day.
04What happens if the element will not come out?
In hard water areas, scale can bond an old element into its boss so firmly that the correct spanner will not move it. Norbert uses the right tools and a careful technique, but forcing it too hard risks tearing the cylinder. If an element will not draw without damaging the cylinder, he will stop and explain the options, which may include replacing the cylinder.
05Is it safe to keep using the immersion if it is faulty?
If it simply produces no heat, leaving it switched off is safe. If it trips the circuit, smells of burning, shows scorch marks at the switch or produces scalding water, switch it off at the isolator and leave it off until it has been looked at. A thermostat stuck on can overheat the cylinder, and scorched wiring is a fire risk.
06Do I need a plumber or an electrician for an immersion heater?
For the heater itself, a plumber. Replacing the element involves draining and refilling the cylinder and making a watertight seal, and Norbert handles the thermostat and connections at the heater head as part of that. If the fault is further back, such as a failed circuit or a problem at the consumer unit, that part is an electrician's work.
Tell Norbert what needs doing
A line about the job is enough. Norbert reads every enquiry himself and rings you back to talk it through before he quotes.
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