Your Water Heater Is Not Heating Water Enough
Are you finding that the water from your shower head or your taps is lukewarm/not hot enough? This could have something to do with your water heater. Before calling in a professional, here are the things you can check and fix yourself.
THE POTENTIAL CAUSES FOR THIS FAULT:
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The thermostat is not correctly set
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The day/night switch is turning off too early
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The thermostat is defective
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One of the heating elements has failed
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The heating element or elements are furred up
WARNING
Before you do anything to your appliance, make sure you disconnect it from the power supply.
There is a risk of electric shock.
The thermostat is not correctly set
It's possible that the thermostat on the hot water cylinder has been accidentally knocked when someone has been doing something on the boiler previously, or has simply been set incorrectly.
If this is the case, switch off the electricity to your cylinder, then, using a cross-head screwdriver, remove the access cover, which will normally be located underneath the cylinder and held in place by a few screws. You will now be able to see the thermostat.
Simply turn the adjustment dial to select a suitable heating temperature then switch the power to the cylinder back on.
The day/night switch is turning off too early
You probably have a switch next to your fusebox that enables your boiler to be automatically turned on at night, during off-peak hours. This will usually be in AUTO position. The switch control (in many cases it will be controlled remotely by EDF) will send a signal to the switch to turn on (and so turn the water heater on) based on when off-peak (night-time) and peak (daytime) hours begin and end.
It's possible that the off-peak and peak hours have not been programmed correctly. This could cause the switch to turn off too early, preventing the cylinder from heating the water enough.
To check if this is the case, try putting the switch in forced operation position (position 1) for the night. If your water is properly heated and hot the following morning, this will confirm the switch is not set correctly. If this is the case, you will need to call in an electrician or contact your electricity provider to get the issue resolved.
If you've already followed the two sets of steps above and the water temperature is still the same, carry out the following checks.
The thermostat is defective
Water still lukewarm? It's possible your thermostat has failed completely or won't work at its maximum setting for some reason. You can check its condition using a multimeter in ohmmeter mode. To do this, disconnect the thermostat's connectors and place the meter's two probes on the thermostat's terminals. If there's no continuity, you'll probably need to replace it.
One of the heating elements has failed
VHave the multimeter tests shown that your thermostat and heating elements definitely have continuity? In that case, it's possible the water is only getting lukewarm due to limescale build-up on the elements, which, once it reaches a certain point, will prevent them heating properly. You'll therefore need to drain and dismantle your hot water cylinder and clean it (you should also be prepared to replace the seal or the heating element if necessary).
Buy a water heater heating element
The heating element or elements are furred up
Already checked everything detailed above and, despite this, the hot water cylinder still won't come on? Unfortunately, this means you're going to have to contact an electrician, who'll be able to identify the fault on your water heater for you.