Hot water problems and how to solve them
Hot water is vital for daily activities such as bathing, showering, dishwashing, and cooking. For simple solutions to hot water issues, please scroll down.
What do you do when you have no hot water?
- Check what type of hot water system you have. Is it a combi, an instantaneous heater, or a hot water tank?
- Look at the boiler or tank to see if there are any fault codes displayed.
- Correct any fault codes if possible. For example, can you top up the pressure or press a reset button?
- If no obvious fault is found turn a tap on or switch the controls and see if there is any reaction from the boiler. If the boiler doesn’t make a noise maybe it’s the controls not working. If the boiler makes a noise but no hot water it could be a fault with the boiler.
- Do you have an immersion heater? Is this working? To see if it is doing anything compare your electric meter before and after turning the immersion on. They use a lot of electricity so if it’s working you will see a difference in the speed electricity meter goes up.
- When you turn the hot tap on does your combi boiler respond? If not the flow turbine or flow sensor could be faulty.
- Once you have narrowed the type of fault down follow our easy guides below for more advice.
Types of hot water systems
There are two main ways to provide hot water:
- Combi boilers (including other instantaneous water heaters)
- Stored hot water
Combi boilers
This type of water heater takes up less room in a property but is much more complicated.
Stored hot water
This is much less complicated but takes up more space. For example, a hot water tank would take up a whole airing cupboard. They can be heated in a variety of ways such as gas, electric immersion heaters, or even solar.
Types of hot water problem
Follow the links to find the type of hot water problem you have:
Megaflo overflow dripping
Why is the megaflo overflow dripping? The tank dripping is a sign it needs to be serviced. Solving this problem is a normal part of owning a megaflo hot water cylinder.
Follow this link for more megaflo advice
No hot water on combi boiler.
No hot water with a combi boiler is either a fault code blocking the boiler or the boiler doesn’t know the tap is running.
Click this link for more combi boiler hot water help.
No hot water with a hot water cylinder.
Check the boiler when you turn on the timer. Does it respond and start to heat the water up.
Do you have an immersion heater? Is this working? To see if it is doing anything compare your electric meter before and after turning the immersion on. They use a lot of electricity so if it’s working you will see a difference in the speed electricity meter goes up.
Click here for more in-depth help.
Hot water not getting hot enough – combi boiler.
Is the water hotter when you slow the flow of water down? Do any radiators heat up when the tap is running?
Click here for more in-depth help.
Hot water not getting hot enough – cylinder
Is the thermostat set at the right temperature? Is the boiler heating the water to the correct temperature.
Click here for more in-depth help.
Hot then cold water from a combi boiler.
This is caused by the boiler cycling between getting too hot and shutting off then restarting a few seconds later. Normally caused by a blocked plate heat exchanger.
If your combi is giving you hot then cold water click this link
Intermittent hot water from a combi.
Sometimes when you turn the tap on does the boiler do nothing? This means the boiler doesn’t know the tap is running. Either the flow rate is too low to activate the boiler or the boiler can’t tell that the tap is running.
Click here for more in-depth help.
Run out of hot water fast – hot water cylinder
Are you heating the water for long enough? Is there something introducing cold water into your hot water system? Maybe the thermostat isn’t set high enough.
Does your hot water run out too fast? Click here for help.
Summary
A fully functional hot water system can improve your quality of life. Many plumbing issues can be easily resolved, so consult our guides before hiring an expensive plumber.