Water cylinder element....

[FST4RD]

Anyone know a place over the holidays where I can get a water cylinder element? I went to a few places on christmas eve but they were all shut...

Also does anyone have the socket that fits that I could borrow to take it out?
My mates a registered sparky and said that he would wire it all up and what have you as long as I get the element.
Oh and he tested everything and it's deff the element, everything tested fine.

[Bling]

Plumbing world would be my first stop, should have them on the shelf. (not sure on their hours though)

Brisbane Street is the best branch in chch size wise.

How big is the socket you need? 3/4" 1"? Could just drain it empty then take out the element? Plumbing isn't my strength

[d1 mule]

i am a apprentice sparky, and we always get plumbers to do HWC elements, so maybe its not as simple as you think...???

[flygt4]

nope its definately easy. am a sparky and we do them all the time.
when the element blows it normally pops the fuse and most plumbers look at it, see no power and get us in.

you need:

- element removal tool
- decent length of steel bar or threaded rod. a long screwdriver sometimes works depending how tight it is.
- new element , there are tin,nickel and stainless types, depending on how "hard" your water is. if you have high calcium buildup , or your soap is hard to lather then consider your water "hard". also make sure you get the correct sized element, should be on the side of cylinder ie 2000w or 2kw
-small clip on style ammeter (current meter) of some sort


1)make sure its all turned off via the isolater switch
2)crack the element before you drain the tank. the sides are very thin and you'll rip the thread right out if you try to crack it when its empty.
3)drain water via taps bleed/drain valve and isolate water supply to tank . 95% of cylinders have a drain valve, a few won't. use your common sense to trace the plumbing and figure which is which. in a house theres usually a pipe outside dumping into a drain.
4)disconnect wires off element and unscrew, can be a bit tight as when they blow out they often swell outwards, use pliers to crush the element inwards to get it out
5) screw in new element, making sure to use new washers etc that come with it.
6) reconnect wiring, usually pretty obvious as you just disconnected them from the old element.
7) refill cylinder, turn power back on, and check current draw , a 2kw element will be approx 8-8.5amps, 3kw approx 12amps, this tells you its drawing the correct power and is heating. itll take a few hours to get hot though.

done. pretty easy really if you use common sense. only time its a pain is when there no drain valve, then you need to prepare to get wet. have heard of people siphoning it out,or doing a quick change on a full tank.
I have had to drain a small amount at a time via the element hole before using the element as a bung. draining via the taps only can leave up to 30L of residual water in the cylinder.

[FST4RD]

nope its definately easy. am a sparky and we do them all the time.
when the element blows it normally pops the fuse and most plumbers look at it, see no power and get us in.

you need:

- element removal tool
- decent length of steel bar or threaded rod. a long screwdriver sometimes works depending how tight it is.
- new element , there are tin,nickel and stainless types, depending on how "hard" your water is. if you have high calcium buildup , or your soap is hard to lather then consider your water "hard". also make sure you get the correct sized element, should be on the side of cylinder ie 2000w or 2kw
-small clip on style ammeter (current meter) of some sort


1)make sure its all turned off via the isolater switch
2)crack the element before you drain the tank. the sides are very thin and you'll rip the thread right out if you try to crack it when its empty.
3)drain water via taps bleed/drain valve and isolate water supply to tank . 95% of cylinders have a drain valve, a few won't. use your common sense to trace the plumbing and figure which is which. in a house theres usually a pipe outside dumping into a drain.
4)disconnect wires off element and unscrew, can be a bit tight as when they blow out they often swell outwards, use pliers to crush the element inwards to get it out
5) screw in new element, making sure to use new washers etc that come with it.
6) reconnect wiring, usually pretty obvious as you just disconnected them from the old element.
7) refill cylinder, turn power back on, and check current draw , a 2kw element will be approx 8-8.5amps, 3kw approx 12amps, this tells you its drawing the correct power and is heating. itll take a few hours to get hot though.

done. pretty easy really if you use common sense. only time its a pain is when there no drain valve, then you need to prepare to get wet. have heard of people siphoning it out,or doing a quick change on a full tank.
I have had to drain a small amount at a time via the element hole before using the element as a bung. draining via the taps only can leave up to 30L of residual water in the cylinder.

Thanks!
Yeah all fuses are fine, thermometer thingee is fine, but the element isn't doing what it's ment to when you run the multimeter across it apparently....
It does have a 1 way brass valve thing under the tank so i can drain it thank god! Also has an isolation tap which is handy
Good to know to crack the element before the water is drained!
So i'll whip the element out and take it in and get a new one....
Just got to get the removal tool I guess.
It's just a really big socket right? Cause there's a place that hires tools out down the road and they got some HUGE sockets for trucks and large machinery so I'm sure I could grab one off them.
Sure you be using thread tape when putting it back in or will the o-rings take care of that?

[85AW20v]

It'll probably have a thick paper type gasket to seal against the face of the element and the brass boss that is silver brazed into the cylinder. If it does have an o-ring, that wil be all that is needed. Don't use any threadtape on anything. You can use some sort of anti seize compound on the thread so that it's easier to get the element out if there's a next time.

To drain the cylinder first turn off the power. Follow the pipework from the cylinder towards the floor, there should be a gate valve, a tee going out through the floor/wall, the pressure reducing valve(PRV, a brass thing looks a bit like a UFO) with a 15mm inlet and 20mm outlet, then another gate valve. Turn off the 15mm gate valve as that stops the cylinder filling. If there is a gate valve on the tee above the PRV, then the water will probably drain stright out under the house. If no valve, then there should be a plugged pipe somewhere outside along whichever wall is closest to your cylinder. Two crescents to get the plug out. It could take 15 minutes to empty so have a beer handy. You'll need another one when it's time to fill it too. Leave a hot tap turned on when filling.

If you have problems with flow once everything is back together, you'll have an airlock somewhere. Use a piece of hose between the hot and cold taps over the handbasin/tub/sink. Turn the hot fully on, and a bit but not too much cold as if you use too much pressure, the jumper/washer in the hot tap will drop and you'll get very wet as the hose blows off.

And remember, water might make you wet but electricty makes you dead so make sure the power switch is off and taped off - you don't want to bump it.

I was a plumber in a past life.....

[FST4RD]

Thanks guys!
Everything is appreciated....
I do alot of car electrics and I know when things go wrong and you electricute yourself it's not the end of the world... I do realise that getting electricuted from the house mains won't tickle like 12v car battery does My mates a sparky so i'm sure he'll sort it out from me that side of things, like removing the fuse, switching it off at the wall etc....
I think the hardest thing to do is getting the fitting to drain the water, although my brother has a stack of fittings for his business so hopefully I can find one to fit.

[flygt4]

the socket is massive, its usually a large double ended (there are 2 thread sizes, one each end) metal cylinder shaped thing with a couple of holes near each end and a hex shape on the the end.
you put the socket tool on, push a bar or screwdriver through the holes in the middle (the threaded rod is good here) and unwind it.

its not actually a typical socket as you would think of it.

[Jason T]

the socket is massive, its usually a large double ended (there are 2 thread sizes, one each end)

Brought from Bunnings from the staff members advice returned after use





Then brought a new hot water cylinder from Master Trade