Economy 7 water heater burn marks

[sal1986]

Hello,

I have an Economy 7 electric water heater. A few days ago, the water wasn't heating up properly, so I turned the thermostat up. Today, I noticed some burn marks/melting around the outside of the tank and underneath. Please see the pictures attached. Should I call an electrician?

http://imgur.com/Xx6Ia4N

 

[bluetobits]

Are you sure it's burn marks? Looks like something has chewed the foam insulation from the pic. 

 

[sal1986]

Thanks for replying. Sorry, the picture isn't clear. The plastic around both the heating elements looks like it has melted, and the bottom of the tank looks black. The electric heater has tripped  aswell. 

 

[bluetobits]

Hello,

I have an Economy 7 electric water heater. A few days ago, the water wasn't heating up properly, so I turned the thermostat up. Today, I noticed some burn marks/melting around the outside of the tank and underneath. Please see the pictures attached. Should I call an electrician?

http://imgur.com/Xx6Ia4N

I would suggest that is the best course of action if your observations are indeed as you describe 

 

[NozSpark]

To me it looks like the element has been leaking and that "stuff" is lime scale...

IIRC there is no plastic around the elements,,, unless you're meaning the foam insulation,, which could have easily be burnt by a overzealous plumber.

If the MCB for the elements has tripped then you'll need to get someone in to test and possibly replace the element

 

[sal1986]

 

[Davethsparky]

That ain't burned, that be leaking! 

 

[sal1986]

Thank you for your replies.I have attached pics of both of the heating elements. The boost seems to be working fine. I have switched the water heater off for tonight. I will call someone tomorrow morning. 

 

[ProDave]

You will almost certainly find when he drains the tank and unscres the heater, that the element is all twisted and coroded.

Probably a hard water area.

 

[sal1986]

The water heater is less than 2 years old. I live in a hard water area (London). The water temp varies day to day. Some days it is scalding hot and other days, just warm. It keeps tripping regularly. I have tried adjusting the thermostat. I will definitely call someone tomorrow morning.

 

[NozSpark]

To me those pics of the foam insulation looks like someone's taken a saw to it rather than it being burnt or exposed to excessive heat

....and immersion heaters in hard water areas can fail on a regular basis.... make sure that any replacements are Incoloy rather than the regular type

 

[ProDave]

The water heater is less than 2 years old. I live in a hard water area (London). The water temp varies day to day. Some days it is scalding hot and other days, just warm. It keeps tripping regularly. I have tried adjusting the thermostat. I will definitely call someone tomorrow morning.

Come back and post a pic then it's out. I'll bet I am right.

I have one up the road from me who has very hard borehole water (unsual for these parts) and every 2 years when I change the heater, I scoop half a bucket of scale out of the bottom of the tank.  I certainly would not drink their water.

 

[sal1986]

It must've happened in the last few days. I only noticed it this evening. It looks like something did leak out. Is it a simple job? 

 

[Davethsparky]

It's a simple job if the tank drains ok, and if the old immersion heater comes out without too much of a fight. 

However it is a pain in the arse if the drain is clogged with scale and the immersion puts up a fight.

its a nightmare if you accidentally damage the tank whilst trying to persuade the element to unscrew. 

If if you have hard water then get a titanium element fitted otherwise you'll be replacing it again in a couple of years.

i had to change one about two months after it was installed, the idiot who did it had fitted a copper element in a hard water area! 

 

[steptoe]

It's a simple job if the tank drains ok, and if the old immersion heater comes out without too much of a fight. 

However it is a pain in the arse if the drain is clogged with scale and the immersion puts up a fight.

its a nightmare if you accidentally damage the tank whilst trying to persuade the element to unscrew. 

If if you have hard water then get a titanium element fitted otherwise you'll be replacing it again in a couple of years.

i had to change one about two months after it was installed, the idiot who did it had fitted a copper element in a hard water area! 

and that, is why I stopped doing immersion heaters,,,,

 

[sal1986]

Hi everyone. The plumber changed the gaskets and pit new immersions in. But now the overflow pipe is leaking..

 

[bluetobits]

Ballcock adjustment needed in header tank, easy task hopefully. 

 

[NozSpark]

Or it could be that the water has been that cold that it's expansion through hearing has caused it to overflow..... however there should be some tolerance for this between the fill height and the overflow position