Yesterday afternoon my mother noticed a problem with her hot water - it
wasn't hot, it was stone cold. Soon after that the boiler came on and
the heating and hot water were fine (note: whenever her boiler comes on
the heating and hot water heat simultaneously - it's one of those
boilers where you can't ONLY turn on the heating (manually or via the
timer) instead you need to turn on the hot water first THEN the heating
a split second later)).

All was well this morning, but she's been out during the day and came
back in to find the hot water is stone cold again.

This is not normal - there is usually some hot water left in the tank
and, as mentioned, this only started yesterday.

I can't check it myself as I live a few hours drive away.

No taps are on or dripping, there's apparently no sign of any damp
patches on the ceiling.

My gut instinct says it's perhaps a leak underneath the floor somewhere
(she lives in a house with a ground and upper floor, plus an attic).
But she hasn't had any really really hard frosts in her area (unlike
some) and even if she had I can't imagine pipes with warm water in them
freezing that easily.

But what else could it be? It's rather worrying.

Thanks
--

John Rumm wrote:

It could be the cylinder thermostat cutting out too soon (if there is
one!)

Need to know more about the arrangement of valves etc, or if the
water is heated just by a gravity circulation loop.


Afraid that I haven't a clue how it's all plumbed in - it's a gas-fired
boiler on the ground floor. I do know that you can't just turn the
heating on, you need to turn the hot water on first and then turn on
the heating. Not sure if that's a clue or not?

What would determine how it's plumbed in? I think (from memory) that
there's a red wheel valve on one of the large pipes to (or maybe from)
the boiler, but I'm not 100% certain.

Thanks for your help.

I'm rather concerned that there's a leak somewhere to be honest, but
I'm hoping it's something far less serious and easier (and cheaper!) to
repair.
--

Matt wrote:
John Rumm wrote:

It could be the cylinder thermostat cutting out too soon (if there is
one!)

Need to know more about the arrangement of valves etc, or if the
water is heated just by a gravity circulation loop.


Afraid that I haven't a clue how it's all plumbed in - it's a
gas-fired boiler on the ground floor. I do know that you can't just
turn the heating on, you need to turn the hot water on first and then
turn on the heating. Not sure if that's a clue or not?

What would determine how it's plumbed in? I think (from memory) that
there's a red wheel valve on one of the large pipes to (or maybe from)
the boiler, but I'm not 100% certain.

Thanks for your help.

I'm rather concerned that there's a leak somewhere to be honest, but
I'm hoping it's something far less serious and easier (and cheaper!)
to repair.

A leak is probably the cheapest job to repair...now if it's a faulty
boiler....

That said, it's highly unlikely to be a leak - she had hot water this
morning, and if it was a leak, the boiler would be fired up almost
continuously, heating the replacement water lost from the cylinder

--
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008

Phil L wrote:

A leak is probably the cheapest job to repair...

True, but not if some damage as been done to the property (depending on
where the leak is).

now if it's a faulty boiler....

That said, it's highly unlikely to be a leak - she had hot water this
morning, and if it was a leak, the boiler would be fired up almost
continuously, heating the replacement water lost from the cylinder

Yes, true, but I doubt if she would notice if it's firing continuously
when it's on.
--

Matt wrote:
Yesterday afternoon my mother noticed a problem with her hot water - it
wasn't hot, it was stone cold. Soon after that the boiler came on and
the heating and hot water were fine (note: whenever her boiler comes on
the heating and hot water heat simultaneously - it's one of those
boilers where you can't ONLY turn on the heating (manually or via the
timer) instead you need to turn on the hot water first THEN the heating
a split second later)).

All was well this morning, but she's been out during the day and came
back in to find the hot water is stone cold again.

This is not normal - there is usually some hot water left in the tank
and, as mentioned, this only started yesterday.

I can't check it myself as I live a few hours drive away.

No taps are on or dripping, there's apparently no sign of any damp
patches on the ceiling.

My gut instinct says it's perhaps a leak underneath the floor somewhere
(she lives in a house with a ground and upper floor, plus an attic).
But she hasn't had any really really hard frosts in her area (unlike
some) and even if she had I can't imagine pipes with warm water in them
freezing that easily.

But what else could it be? It's rather worrying.

Thanks
does she actually HAVE a hot water tank?

The Natural Philosopher wrote:


does she actually HAVE a hot water tank?


Blowed if I know. :-)

However, she managed to get the plumber in and the problem was ........
a dripping hot water tap in the bath!

She hadn't noticed that it had a fast drip (plumber says it was losing
about a pint of water every few minutes) so he's replaced the washer.

So that's that I hope! Thanks for all your help folks. :-)
--