Electric hot water system making cold water

Greetings,

I have an electric hot water system - the type with a big tank sitting up in the roof.

Suddenly, it's not making hot water. I've checked the appropriate switches on the mains board and they're both "On".

I've been up in the roof, and it is refilling itself properly - it's just not heating up the water. I'd heard these systems kind of go on forever, so I'm wondering if there's something else I can check.

I've called the plumber - waiting for a call back - but would love to avoid the fees if I can sort it out myself.

But, it seems to me like it's just the electrics stuffed up. In which case, I won't be fixing anything.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

PS - probably a coincidence, but a couple of days ago, we had brown water coming out of all our taps - hot and cold. It took several buckets full of brown water until it eventually cleared up. That followed a day of 42 degree heat!

Sounds like your heating element has shat itself

Sounds like your heating element has given up the ghost. This is easily replaced as it sits in it's own space within the tank and can be easily removed.
The brown water could indicate that the tube around the element has rusted through and this normally means a new HWS:eek:

Thanks mate. Hopefully that's it. That'd be a job for the plumber, of course?

I hope not! Hopefully the fact that the cold water was brown too means it wasn't the heater doing it. Thanks for that.

I was under the impression that the element was a job for the electrician, and if the tank is stuffed a plumber as well.

Its funny how people always call a plumber when there is a problem with their hot water system. If there is water going in and coming out then its not a plumbing problem. Call your electrician.

You will need a sparky because some elements require a specalist spanner to undo them and where the wires connect to the element is a job for a sparky so if you don't know what you are doing be safe and call the sparky.