"Bob Mannix" wrote in message ...
"Adam" wrote in message
om...
-8- for brevity -8-

Have we got electrically heated water in addition to the gas boiler?

Yes, or even only electrical.

-8- more snip -8-

It would have been installed anyway as part of the original installation, if
nothing else as a backup. Accepting that...

If you didn't get any hot water until you turned on the electric heater,
possibly, or maybe the boiler was never designed/installed to.

Most importantly, can I find out what in
installed in my house without paying a fortune to get a plumber in to
suck his teeth and tell me I need to spend a fortune on replacing it
all?

Find out exactly what stuff is there and post again here. Follow pipes,
especially around the boiler and the tank. Find out *exactly* how many pipes
enter the hot water tank and where. If, for example, there is one pipe out
the top and one pipe in the bottom, then the only water heating you have is
electric.

Thanks Bob, I will. I didn't get a chance to do anything last night,
but I will try to take a few minutes noting everything and posting it
here.

As you are getting boiling, the the thermostat for the tank may be faulty.
This is a relatively simple DIY task to change but involves electrical
connections. If you feel you are not competent, get someone who is. It will
be found under a cylindrical metal cap on the cylinder somewhere (isolate
before taking the cap off). The thermostat will slide out separately and cna
be replaced (with one of the same length). There is clearly nothing wrong
with the element itself!

Excellent, I'll give that a try. Is it possible that it is simply a
matter of adjusting the thermostat, or are these set at a fixed
(presumably just below boiling) level?

Also worth noting is that last night, when I drew a bath, the hot
water was plenty hot enough, but definitely not scalding. I can try
to get hold of a thermometer to measure the temperature at the tap...

So, either:

1. Your only water heating is electrical by design - expensive to run,
expensive to change (but, bar the thermostat possibly, it is working!)

2. The water heating part of the heating circuit driven by the boiler (if it
exists) is not operational. Shouldn't be too expensive to fix.

Thanks for the advice - I'll post the info as soon as I get a chance.

Cheers - Adam...