Immersion Heater Installation & Repair in Kent

Common immersion heater faults

An immersion heater is a simple thing, an electric element in your hot water cylinder, but when it fails you notice fast. The faults we’re called to across Kent are nearly always one of three: no hot water at all, a circuit that trips when the immersion is switched on, or a heater that runs constantly and never switches off. Each points to a different cause, and each is usually fixable.

We diagnose the electrical side properly, fix the circuit, switch, or thermostat, and where the element itself needs changing we coordinate that so you’re not left without hot water longer than necessary.

No hot water from the immersion

When there’s no heat at all, the usual suspects are a failed element, a tripped or faulty thermostat, a blown circuit, or a failed switch or timer. The element and thermostat are the most common, and they fail with age and limescale.

We test the circuit and the controls to find which it is, rather than swapping parts on a guess. If the element has gone, that involves draining the cylinder, so we’ll let you know what’s involved before starting.

When the immersion trips the electrics

An immersion that trips the RCD the moment it’s switched on almost always means the element has broken down internally and is leaking to earth. The RCD is doing its job by cutting the supply. Repeatedly resetting it won’t help and isn’t safe.

The fix is a new element and, where the wiring or switch has been cooked by the fault, putting that right too. We test to confirm the cause before quoting, so you’re paying to fix the actual problem.

Timers and Economy 7

If you’re on an Economy 7 or similar off-peak tariff, the immersion can be wired to heat on cheap overnight electricity, often with a twin-element cylinder and a timer. Set up well, it heats a tank of water overnight for far less than heating on demand during the day.

We wire and set up immersion timers and dual-element arrangements, and we’ll explain how to get the most from your tariff so you’re not paying peak rates to heat water you could have heated overnight.

How we approach immersion work

Tell us the symptom: no heat, tripping, or always on. We test the circuit, thermostat, and element on site, then repair or rewire the electrical side, or coordinate an element swap where that’s the cause. We finish by confirming the water heats and the controls switch correctly.

It’s all quoted before we proceed, and we’re upfront about anything that involves draining the cylinder.

Related work

For a fuse board that keeps tripping more widely, see electrics keep tripping and consumer unit replacement. For an electric shower on a similar high-load circuit, see electric shower installation. To book, get in touch with the symptom.