Calorifier leaking at top

[ditchcrawler]

59 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

It's much more exciting with a horizontal calorifier! 

I have done bottom entry domestic ones when the drain has been fully furred up .  One was was the discharge pipe off the top and a hose in and syphon, works best it the cylinder is upstairs, the othe way is crack the heater and try and catch it in a bowl.

3 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

Bear in mind that a 1 or 1.5 Kw heater will be very-very-very slow to heat any water at all - plan accordingly!

 

Nobody has mentioned - but remember that the cauliflower will try to rotate in the same direction as you apply the force, thus make sure that the tank is foxed somehow or have another person / device to stop it moving. Assuming that the attached pipes will hold it is mistaken....

About 3 to 4 hours for a 55 Lt cylinder

[GUMPY]

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

About 3 to 4 hours for a 55 Lt cylinder

Mine never seems to heat the whole cylinder, I always get more hot water if I use the Eber.  However the immersion does heat enough water to have a shower in about 15 minutes.

On another note when removing the immersion tighten it slightly first this makes it easier to remove and in my case, when I had the same problem, revealed that the immersion wasn't quite tight. 

I now have a spare immersion

 

[Slim]

6 hours ago, dor said:

i had an immersion heater that was impossible to undo.  It leaked slightly.  I fixed it by draining down slightly so the top of the cylinder/element would dry out then used Fernox Ls-X (google for suppliers) which fixed the problem.  It's magic stuff, nothing like ordinary silicone sealant even though it looks like it.

Oh for a leak! Mine went BANG ?

3 hours ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

It's much more exciting with a horizontal calorifier! 

As is mine.

[Slim]

4 hours ago, Bod said:

Do not be surprised if you manage to rip the top of the cylinder off!

Fill the cylinder with water, that will make it a bit firmer, search on this site for more information, there have been several topics raised regarding removal of immersion heaters.

If the cylinder itself is damaged, there is no way of repairing properly, only replacement.

Once the heater is loose, is there room above it to remove it?  It will be about a metre long, but thin, so an angle might work.

 

Bod.

I've got nothing to lose (apart from the cost of a new calorifier and pipework. I would have to site a new one elsewhere and lose storage space. The old one would have to be cut up in situ to liberate the space.

 

Strange how nothing seems quite as important as it did a couple of months ago.

[Flow]

2 hours ago, OldGoat said:

Bear in mind that a 1 or 1.5 Kw heater will be very-very-very slow to heat any water at all - plan accordingly!

 

Nobody has mentioned - but remember that the cauliflower will try to rotate in the same direction as you apply the force, thus make sure that the tank is foxed somehow or have another person / device to stop it moving. Assuming that the attached pipes will hold it is mistaken....

That's very good point. This particular one has 4 small brackets on the base screwed to the floor so hopefully that'll hold it but then there is always the risk of the whole thing or even just the top buckling as Pod pointed out in not so many words ?. I've taken canals are us' advice and dryed all around the nut and sprayed it with wd40 so hopefully it won't. 

Thanks again for all the great advice all of you. It really had me stumped. I consider myself a competent diy'er but have never even seen an immersion, having always lived in houses that had a boiler. 

[ditchcrawler]

5 minutes ago, Flow said:

That's very good point. This particular one has 4 small brackets on the base screwed to the floor so hopefully that'll hold it but then there is always the risk of the whole thing or even just the top buckling as Pod pointed out in not so many words ?. I've taken canals are us' advice and dryed all around the nut and sprayed it with wd40 so hopefully it won't. 

Thanks again for all the great advice all of you. It really had me stumped. I consider myself a competent diy'er but have never even seen an immersion, having always lived in houses that had a boiler. 

Plus gas is far better at penertrating than WD40

[WotEver]

10 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Plus gas is far better at penertrating than WD40

It is...

https://www.screwfix.com/p/norton-plusgas-formula-a-dismantling-lubricant-200ml/328ht

[Man 'o Kent]

As you are restricted for space in which to swing a hammer remember that it isn't just velocity you need, it's mass too. Try to find the head of a lump hammer or its like, it just needs to be as big as you can handle. Short clouts will impart as much energy as a full blooded swing with a hammer. (Just remember to change hands when you get to 99 or you'll finish up half Popeye & half Olive Oyle !!!)


There are also freezer concoctions used by plumbers, if you were to build a dam in plasticine around the hexagon and fill it with this stuff I would expect it to shrink the immersion's thread enough to "crack" the hold between calorifier thread and heater. There will be conduction between immersion and calorifier off course so heating the calorifier will help maintain a temperature difference.

Of course if you could get your hands after some liquid Nitrogen . . . .


It is also possible to hire eddy current heaters but for this you would need a reliable mains electricity supply, you would also need one with a large enough loop to go around the hexagon, possibly a big ask. The up side is that an eddy current heater can get things very hot which might be enough to soften any sealant that hads been applied to the thread, the down side is that you could get the thing hot enough to melt soft solder.

Edited May 6, 2020 by Man 'o Kent

[WotEver]

As you are restricted for space in which to swing a hammer remember that it isn't just velocity you need, it's mass too. Try to find the head of a lump hammer or its like, it just needs to be as big as you can handle. Short clouts will impart as much energy as a full blooded swing with a hammer. (Just remember to change hands when you get to 99 or you'll finish up half Popeye & half Olive Oyle !!!)


There are also freezer concoctions used by plumbers, if you were to build a dam in plasticine around the hexagon and fill it with this stuff I would expect it to shrink the immersion's thread enough to "crack" the hold between calorifier thread and heater. There will be conduction between immersion and calorifier off course so heating the calorifier will help maintain a temperature difference.
Of course if you could get your hands after some liquid Nitrogen . . . .


It is also possible to hire eddy current heaters but for this you would need a reliable mains electricity supply, you would also need one with a large enough loop to go around the hexagon, possibly a big ask. The up side is that an eddy current heater can get things very hot which might be enough to soften any sealant that hads been applied to the thread, the down side is that you could get the thing hot enough to melt soft solder.

 

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