Water tank fitted wrong way around by house builder!!!

Got a hot water tank in my airing cupboard upstairs. Never had a problem until recently when (I was told) one of the thermostats went faulty (causing hot water overflow).

Anyway, have had someone to look at it and apparently the thermostat is unreachable and unreplaceable because the tank has been fitted front to back which means that pipes/wall are in the way of removing it. Company has told me its an all day job to remove the tank and put it back in the right way.

Does this sound right?

Even though its ten years old I am considering chasing the developer (Barratt) about this if their incompetence in the first instance is causing me this additional cost.

Reply to
paulfoel
Loading thread data ...

Hi, Take a picture and host it somewhere (Flickr is good) so we can take a look.

Reply to
James Salisbury

Can you not just disconnect the thermostat and fit another one? They are really cheap; connect the new to the wires from the 'lost' one.

Reply to
nafuk

Some stats like ours are just held (though a cut-out in the tank insulation) against the wall of the tank by a stainless steel belt all the way around the tank, and tightend with a screw adjuster. i.e. they are not actually bolted TO the tank.

If this was the case, it's possible (assuming the c/h fitter left enough cable slack on the stat) the belt could be removed - or cut off and replaced if you can't get to the tensioning screw either directly or by moving the belt around to where you can get to it. Stat would drop off and could be fished out and replaced. Another cut out could then be made in the tank insulation to fit the new one where its more accessible. An hours job - even if the cable to the stat needed to be jointed/extended a bit.

It probably would take a good few hours to move the tank around if it HAD to be done, but if it was me, I'd be getting a mirror and a torch and having a good look behind myself first.

Midge.

Reply to
Midge

Could he be talking about the stat that's slid into an immersion heater instead? I can see one of those being impossible to remove.

SteveW

Reply to
Steve Walker

In article , Steve Walker writes

That's what I thought too. If the immersion were at the back of the cylinder facing the wall, it'd be impossible to withdraw the thermostat.

Reply to
Mike Tomlinson

Even then, I reckon there's a fair chance that you could unscrew the heater and swing it to point straight up.

Cheers,

Colin.

Reply to
Colin Stamp

Also depends on the height available - some of these are quite long.

Reply to
John Rumm

In article , Colin Stamp writes

good thinking. Means blocking header tank and part-draining cylinder tho.

Reply to
Mike Tomlinson

In article , John Rumm writes

The OP said it was "causing hot water overflow", presumably into the header tank, so it'll have failed closed.

Reply to
Mike Tomlinson

yup - fair enough then, a strap on(!) and a relay may do what you need.

Reply to
John Rumm

And getting the whole immersion unscrewed is even more of a bastard job than just getting the stat out! (especially when you are working round the back of a tank)

Reply to
John Rumm

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "Midge" saying something like:

Are you sure? It's not a pretty sight.

Reply to
Grimly Curmudgeon

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember John Rumm saying something like:

It's probably going to be easier to knock a hole in the wall at the back, assuming it's stud/pbd.

Reply to
Grimly Curmudgeon

Or cut a new hole in the front and slap a second immersion in it... just abandon the old one.

Reply to
John Rumm

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.