Immersion heater replacement across London
An immersion heater is an electric element, screwed into the top or side of the hot water cylinder, that heats the water directly, rather like an oversized kettle element. Some homes keep it as a backup for times when the boiler is off or broken. In others, often converted flats without gas, it is the sole source of hot water. Ninja Plumbers replaces faulty elements and thermostats, and tests both before anyone raises the idea of a new cylinder.
- Gas Safe registered and fully insured
- DBS-checked engineers
- Emergency callout available 24/7
- Price agreed before work starts
- Workmanship guaranteed
Monday – Sunday, 7:00 AM – 10:00 PM · Out-of-hours emergency? Call 020 3576 5825
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What this covers
- Replacement of failed immersion elements
- Immersion thermostats tested and swapped
- Diagnosing a cylinder with no hot water
- Removing elements that are scaled up or seized
- Draining and refilling the cylinder
- A frank opinion on whether the cylinder is worth keeping
Before you book
Some of this could mean you never need a callout, and we would rather you heard it from us first.
Put simply, what is it?
It is a heating element inside the cylinder, run from its own wall switch and controlled by its own thermostat. Because it is wired separately from the boiler, it keeps working when the heating fails, and it can break down while everything else in the house carries on as normal.
Signs that it has stopped working
The most obvious one is no hot water from the immersion while your heating works normally. Water that stays lukewarm and never gets properly hot suggests the same, and so does an immersion switch that trips the power the moment it is turned on. If it trips, the element has failed inside and should stay off until someone has checked it.
Hard London water usually finishes them off
Limescale from hard water coats an element until it is encrusted. That layer insulates it, so the element has to work harder, gets hotter and in the end burns out. Scale and corrosion also make an old element hard to get out, as they all but weld it into the cylinder boss.
Element or thermostat, the cylinder still gets drained
From the tap, a dead thermostat and a dead element look exactly alike, so we test both instead of guessing. Fitting a new element means draining the cylinder beforehand and refilling it after, and that takes up most of the job. Connecting the element is electrical work, which our electricians carry out, so a single visit deals with both sides.
Questions people ask
The heating works, but the immersion gives no hot water. Why?
Because the immersion runs on its own circuit, that pattern usually points to the immersion, not the boiler or the cylinder. The element or its thermostat is most often at fault, and we test both before replacing either.
Why does the immersion trip my electrics?
If it trips as soon as it is switched on, the element has failed internally and current is leaking where it should not. Keep it off and get it replaced. Do not keep resetting the switch to squeeze out one more tank of hot water.
Element or thermostat: which has failed?
From the tap you cannot, as either fault leaves the water cold or lukewarm. The thermostat is the less expensive part, so we test it first, but with an old, scaled element in a hard water area both have often failed.
Can you handle the electrical work as well?
Connecting the element is electrical work and must be carried out by someone competent to do it. We cover the plumbing and the electrics alike, we are fully insured, and our engineers are DBS-checked and employed directly, not subcontracted. In every case the price is agreed before any work begins.
Related heating & hot water services
Need a repair rather than a new installation? These pages deal with that side.
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Boiler Repair
Heating off, hot water gone or a fault code on the display. We find the cause, then fix it.
More on Boiler Repair -
General Plumbing
Radiators, pipework, taps and toilets: the small jobs that keep getting put off.
More on General Plumbing
More appliance jobs
- Underfloor Heating
- Radiators & Power Flushing
- Hot Water Cylinders
- Water Softener Installation
- Boiling Water Taps
- Washing Machine Plumbing
The same fitting and servicing is carried out for businesses too, including art and pottery studios.
Looking for immersion heater replacement in London?
Explain what has gone wrong and where you are, and you’ll have our price before anything is done.