Immersion heater element blowing fuse

[Nick]

Hi

First of all - I know nothing about DIY!

I've got a problem with my hot water. The system I have in my flat is a big black plastic water tank with a few copper pipes attached, above an insulated hot water tank. The hot water tank has two immersion heating elements, one at the top and one at the bottom.

THe lower one hasn't worked since I moved in in Jan03 - suspect something wrong with the switch on the wall as the light doesn't light up when 'on'. (However there is no place to change the fuse in the switch....??) I have been using the upper element. However this has stopped working. It had flipped the switch at the main fuse box - so I put a new fuse in the wall switch and tried again - started working, so went to bed and then it had blown the fuse again when I got up the next day. Does this mean that the heating element has broken? If this is the case - how much will getting a plumber to put a new one in cost?

many thanks for any advice offered Nick

[Grunff]

Yes - it means the insulation between the element wire and the outer casing has broken down, and the element needs replacing.

Dunno. Depends on how easily the element comes off the tank. Sometimes they are a real pain, and you end up wrecking the tank.

If all goes well, maybe 2 hours labour + new element.

You considered DIY? :-)

[Peter Andrews]

In my flat the lower heating element only works on the off peak electricity, i.e. overnight, as do the storage heaters. Tis is controlled by a time switch adjacent to the meter.

Peter