Immersion Heater Replacement

Service Description

***NOTE: If you have a combi boiler with no hot water, please refer to our fixed-price boiler repair service. If you have a hot water cylinder but no hot water, where the cylinder is heated indirectly by a gas boiler, please book our diagnosis call out service.*** ** If you need to replace your cylinder altogether, please fill in our contact form for a quote ** As the name suggests, an immersion heater is an electric heating element that is submerged/immersed in water to directly heat it. Obviously, the element is sealed from the water surrounding it by means of a metal sheath to prevent electricity passing through water. The main failure of immersion heaters come about as a result of overheating and burning out. This is generally caused by a build-up of limescale around the sheath, forming a layer of insulation that traps heat inside, in areas with hard water. Other times, corrosion may be eating away at the sheath surface and piercing through, putting water in touch with the electricity and causing a short circuit. In most circumstances, a faulty immersion heater will cause the electric fuse or RCD to trip and cut the electricity out. The solution is to replace the immersion heater. The hot water cylinder must be isolated and drained to be able to remove the immersion heater. The heater is also particularly hard to remove at times as it may have been glued in by a previous installer, using silicone or jointing compound. There’s also a danger that an old copper cylinder may get torn as the immersion element is screwed out, and by booking this service you accept to indemnify us against such damages and its replacement costs. Replacing an immersion heater is best carried out by a person who is competent both with the plumbing and the electric side of things. This service is to replace an immersion heater with an equivalent size of Titanium or Incoloy variant, which are known to be more resistive to limescale build up and therefore longer lasting. The labour charge is fixed at £180. A replacement Incoloy heater element typically costs between £25-£50 depending on the thread size, and will be charged separately. To further limit the rate of limescale build up, it is advisable to install an inline magnetic/electrolytic limescale inhibitor device on the cold feed pipe to the cylinder. This can be done for £70 extra (including parts) whilst the cylinder is drained down and the immersion heater is being replaced.

Cancellation Policy

For cancellations, please contact us at least 48h in advance to avoid loss of your service job deposit. Rescheduling, however, can be arranged up to 24h prior to the scheduled service date, without loss of your securing deposit.

Contact Details