Immersion Heater sounds like a kettle

[Strang]

Afternoon all, and thanks in advance for your help.
About 2 years ago, the immersion heater in our hot water cylinder broke so we had it replaced. Now I can't remember 100% but I'm sure that before the change, when we put the immersion on it didn't make much noise.

Since the change, as soon as you put the immersion on, it sounds like a kettle - a kind of hissing/bubbling noise that a kettle makes as soon as you switch it on - and this continues until it reaches its 'completion' and then it turns off.

My questions are:

1.) Is this normal and am I just mis-remembering the old one?
2.) If not normal then what could be going on with it and what can I do to change it?

Other factors which may/may not be a factor are the system I have- solid fuel Rayburn heating the hot water (and radiators). We don't use the immersion when we are using the Rayburn.

 

[happyflyer]

It's a long time sine I heard an immersion heater singing, in fact my tinnitus sound like everything is singing like a kettle, the surface area
on an immersion heater in small for the heat release, 3kw the water blisters on the element and they can make a noise, I take it there is no insulation on the cylinder with the Ray-burn banging at it, if so that makes things sound more, perhaps you have tinnitus and its not the heater, is the thermostat working OK, ???

 

[huddster]

fairly normal, after all its just an element in water just like your kettle, add some scale into the equation and they both make similar noises, as long as your getting hot water i shouldnt worry to much

 

[Best]

If the element is touching the cylinder wall perhaps could cause noise?
There is an external immersion heater called a Willis Heater & it puzzles me why some can be near silent & others kettle a bit. The 11" element in these tends to be close or touching to the copper sleeve.

 

[Strang]

happyflyer - yes there is insulation - it's a Fortic F3. It isn't on the level of tinnitus, as soon as you turn it on it sounds like a proper churning kind of sound like on a kettle.
Huddster - yes we get plenty of hot water out of it, I just honestly don't remember getting that noise with the old immersion coil hence my slight concern.

I guess my question is more, are immersion heaters in these kind of Fortic cylinders meant to make the kind of noise that you can hear a couple of rooms away?

 

[JusKel]

You might want to get the wiring checked on the immersion.
Ive seen installs where the wiring under the cap has been altered
and one were the stat was by passed, that was like a kettle boiling
until it was switched off.

 

[kay-jay]

happyflyer - yes there is insulation - it's a Fortic F3. It isn't on the level of tinnitus, as soon as you turn it on it sounds like a proper churning kind of sound like on a kettle.
Huddster - yes we get plenty of hot water out of it, I just honestly don't remember getting that noise with the old immersion coil hence my slight concern.

I guess my question is more, are immersion heaters in these kind of Fortic cylinders meant to make the kind of noise that you can hear a couple of rooms away?

I wouldnt worry too much if its working!
Likely scenario is your new immersion element is shiny and not scaled up causing the noise when heating. Your old one will have had scale build up and reduced efficiency resulting in less of a noise

 

[Ermintrude]

My kettle sounds like a broken immersion... Oh it's also broken .

Your new immersion should have a thermal cut out but in so if it's heading south it will switch its self off