Hot water from cylinder not hot

[wayne16v]

hi i have similar problems
i havent altered anything to heating/radiators or water flow but on sat night i ran bath for kids and water was stone cold
heating working fine but as above no hot water..
havent got a clue what type of tank it is as im no plumber
checked temps on all pipework and the infeed to the tank is v hot but the outfeed pipe is stone cold
did what weargas suggested about draining water off (did this till it virtually drained tank dry )
it did the trick in part as i now have warm - hot water but its no way as hot as it should be..
any other ideas or is it time to splash the cash n get some one out to it??
speedy replies would save me pennies and time
thanks in advance
wayne

 

[JohnD]

Is yours a sealed system with a pressure gauge on the boiler, or does it have a Feed & Expansion tank in the loft?

How old are the radiators?

How old is the boiler? What sort is it?

//www.diynot.com/wiki/plumbing:faq:faq40

 

[matt1e]

If you do not know what sort of system/cylinder you have, then try to load some pictures please, it will be a huge help

Matt

 

[wayne16v]

first sorry for hijacking didnt know i was doing wrong as the previous topic fit the bill


johnD
i cant see a pressure gauge on anything.
yes it has expansion tanks in the loft
no idea how old the rads are as i only moved here 12 months ago
no idea of age on the boiler either. its a gas fired back bolier system

i havent altered anything since i moved to this property
i just dont understand why its gone from fine on friday to stone cold water on sat eve
i know im not much help but like i say. im no plumber

 

[JohnD]

back boiler?

probably more than 20 years old

a cold cylinder is often due to lack of water.

Bleed the highest radiator and see if water squirts out vigorously, without pressure dropping off. Tell us. How high is this rad compared to the cylinder?

Climb up into the loft and look at the Feed and Expansion tank (about 18" x 12" x 12"). Has it got water in it? How deep? Is there a lot of mud at the bottom? When you push the float down, does more water squirt in?

Can you see an electric thermostat strapped to the side of the cylinder? It will have a cable that might go to a connection box near the boiler

Don't worry about the suddenness of the fault. Things work for a while, then they go wrong. That's the nature of faults.

 

[wayne16v]

matt1e
hope these 3 pics help
have posted them in my profile

 

[JohnD]

can't see them

//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=129539

 

[JohnD]

In this picture, there is a strap round the cylinder, and a square hole has been cut in the foam insulation. There should be a thermostat in it. Where is it?

Untitled

• wayne16v
• 22 Mar 2010
• 1

like this, or similar

 

[matt1e]

as john has said,can you see the cylinder stat lying about? it will look similar to this

 

[matt1e]

john did you just sneak an image in ?

 

[JohnD]

(tee hee)

 

[wayne16v]

have added pic of stat to profile
small brass tube in shape
it was behind the black shrouding
have been in loft.. theres 2 tanks, one big one small
both clear water , no major debris in them and both topping up fine
beld radiator last week as master bed was not as hot as rest all upstairs rads are same level as cylinder

 

[JohnD]

and did water squirt out vigorously? Try it again today.

 

[JohnD]

Untitled

• wayne16v
• 22 Mar 2010
• 1

it might be some kind of thermostat, but it is not correct for a cylinder. the wires and connections look very frightening as they carry mains voltage. I can't see any way to adjust it. Cylinder stats should be tightly clamped to the cylinder with the strap, and usually have a black or white mains flex attached, and a temperature adjuster on the front.

 

[wayne16v]

re bled radiator
was hot but not as hot as rest
released some air then fast flowing hot clean water
the "thermostat" is just a small brass tube with a silver single strand wire that goes to a valve on the infeed pipe to the cylinder didnt know it would have power to it so obviously have touched it. didnt get a shock so dont think its wired to anything mains wise