How can I find out what size Immersion heater if fitted to thw water tank without having to take it out? It's fitted in the top of the tank and is 2.3 KW. looking on screw fix i see 2 options 11" & 27" Both being 3kw

Macc Glyn wrote:
How can I find out what size Immersion heater if fitted to thw water
tank without having to take it out? It's fitted in the top of the tank
and is 2.3 KW. looking on screw fix i see 2 options 11" & 27" Both
being 3kw

How tall is the tank?

If the immersion is your only source of hot water (not unusual in local
rural areas) it's almost certainly 27". I don't actually know what the 11"
ones are for though.


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

On 12 Jun, 22:45, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
Macc Glyn wrote:
How can I find out what size Immersion heater if fitted to thw water
tank without having to take it out? It's fitted in the top of the tank
and is 2.3 KW. looking on screw fix i see 2 options 11" & 27" Both
being 3kw

How tall is the tank?

If the immersion is your only source of hot water (not unusual in local
rural areas) it's almost certainly 27". I don't actually know what the 11"
ones are for though.

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?...ersion_Heaters


NT

wrote:
On 12 Jun, 22:45, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
Macc Glyn wrote:
How can I find out what size Immersion heater if fitted to thw water
tank without having to take it out? It's fitted in the top of the
tank and is 2.3 KW. looking on screw fix i see 2 options 11" & 27"
Both being 3kw

How tall is the tank?

If the immersion is your only source of hot water (not unusual in
local rural areas) it's almost certainly 27". I don't actually know
what the 11" ones are for though.

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?...ersion_Heaters



Thanks, but I realised a smaller element would only heat the top of the
tank - but why would you want to do that?


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

Hi Macc
If you are lucky there should be a label on the cover of the IM or if it is
a metal cover it is sometimes stamped into the cover wall.
This gives voltage watts and length.
In your post you say it's a 2.3 kw so you may have already found the cover
with no length info'.
Then you do have a problem.
Most top entry heaters are around 27" (the old heat rising thing so the
deeper it goes the more water it heats) however certain cylinders which are
designed for dual heat (central heating boiler and electric immersion
heater) are restricted internally to length of heater.

Something you could try is removing the 'stat from the heater if it is a
long thin brass stat (around 13" ) then it can't be an 11" heater.
The down side to this is ring,red-ring and the like made heaters with a std
6" stat (silver coloured about 15mm dia)so if you come across this you are
back to square 1.

Maybe others may have more advice.

HTH
CJ

On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 22:45:45 +0100, The Medway Handyman wrote:

I don't actually know what the 11" ones are for though.

They're for cylinders or tanks where the element is fitted into the side
(or even the bottom) rather than from the top. Commonly 'Fortic'-type
combination cylinders.


--
John Stumbles

I used to be forgetful but now I ... um ....

On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 14:56:25 -0700, meow2222 wrote:

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?...ersion_Heaters

'kin 'ell!

"wire across the built-in stat and add an external stat strapped to the
tank"

Er, how exactly does that comply with the regs for a non-resettable
overheat cutout to be part of the thermostat? Leaving aside that strap-on
stats are not typically rated at 13A.

Would someone else like to sanity-check this article?

Pro-tem I've put a caveat at the top of the page, as John Rumm did for his
excellent article on electrics in outbuildings, to warn anyone tempted to
Try This At Home (tm)

--
John Stumbles

On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 23:03:41 +0100, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:

wrote:
On 12 Jun, 22:45, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
Macc Glyn wrote:
How can I find out what size Immersion heater if fitted to thw water
tank without having to take it out? It's fitted in the top of the
tank and is 2.3 KW. looking on screw fix i see 2 options 11" & 27"
Both being 3kw

How tall is the tank?

If the immersion is your only source of hot water (not unusual in
local rural areas) it's almost certainly 27". I don't actually know
what the 11" ones are for though.

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?...ersion_Heaters



Thanks, but I realised a smaller element would only heat the top of the
tank - but why would you want to do that?

Just sink use, no baths.

On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 22:51:38 +0000, John Stumbles wrote:

Er, how exactly does that comply with the regs for a non-resettable

bzzt! I mean manually-resettable, err, not automatically self-resetting.
But you knew that didn't you? :-)

--
John Stumbles

The Medway Handyman wrote:

Thanks, but I realised a smaller element would only heat the top of the
tank - but why would you want to do that?

Often for a fast acting "boost" facility. It can get you a small amount
of hot water (rather than a large amount of warm water) in a short
period of time.



--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On 12 Jun, 23:51, John Stumbles wrote:
On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 14:56:25 -0700, meow2222 wrote:

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?...ersion_Heaters

'kin 'ell!

"wire across the built-in stat and add an external stat strapped to the
tank"

Er, how exactly does that comply with the regs for a non-resettable
overheat cutout to be part of the thermostat? Leaving aside that strap-on
stats are not typically rated at 13A.

article updated


NT

On 12 Jun, 23:51, John Stumbles wrote:
On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 14:56:25 -0700, meow2222 wrote:

http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?...ersion_Heaters

'kin 'ell!

"wire across the built-in stat and add an external stat strapped to the
tank"

Er, how exactly does that comply with the regs for a non-resettable
overheat cutout to be part of the thermostat? Leaving aside that strap-on
stats are not typically rated at 13A.

article updated


NT

On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 19:09:18 +0100 someone who may be Macc Glyn
wrote this:-

How can I find out what size Immersion heater if fitted to thw water
tank without having to take it out? It's fitted in the top of the tank
and is 2.3 KW. looking on screw fix i see 2 options 11" & 27" Both
being 3kw

To add to what the others have said, it depends what the heater is
used for. If it is used to heat the cylinder overnight on cheap
electricity then go for a long one. If it is for boosting the
temperature during the day, summer use or for backup then get a
short one.

Getting the old heater out may be a difficult task, especially if
someone used pipe jointing compound on the thread. Don't do this
when you fit the new one. In extreme cases the job can become
expensive as one ends up replacing the whole cylinder, in which case
it is worth considering one with a coil for a solar panel.


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

Dave,

Thanks, the tank is 36" its dual I have solid fuel central heating that heats the water also when lit.

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 11:01:52 +0100, David Hansen wrote:

Getting the old heater out may be a difficult task, especially if
someone used pipe jointing compound on the thread.

Keep tapping the end of the immersion heater spanner with a hammer until
it starts to turn rather than trying to wrench it around, and do it with
the cylinder mostly full rather than completely empty (you don't need to
empty it much for a tom-mounted immersion anyway)

--
John Stumbles

Fundamentalist agnostic

On Tue, 12 Jun 2007 23:33:00 +0100, Owain wrote:

The Medway Handyman wrote:
Thanks, but I realised a smaller element would only heat the top of the
tank - but why would you want to do that?

Because you might want a small amount of hot water quickly eg washing up
or handwashing, instead of a bathful.

And you might be paying full price for that electric, whereas the big one
will heat the bulk of the tank on cheaper over-night stuff.

--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at http://www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html
Choosing a Boiler FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/BoilerChoice.html
Gas Fitting Standards Docs he http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFittingStandards