It's three years since I posted in these forums. (Then I was agonising how best to clean out 40-year-old pipework prior to having a new boiler fitted - all went well, with an excellent father & son removing the rads, hosing out a great deal of sludge, then refitting with thermostatic valves).
This time, I'm enquiring on behalf of a Polish friend who three years ago moved into a brand-new house near Stansted Airport. Her water is taking longer and longer to heat up. A British Gas engineer said the cylinder is good quality, but the system needs a power flush. (I've seen the thread expressing scepticism about BG's enthusiasm for this process.)
An independent engineer says that the cylinder is poor quality and needs to be replaced - at a cost of £3000
My first thought was that the immersion element was lime-scaled and needed replacing, but that wouldn't explain slow heating with the gas boiler.
Given that I know next to nothing and that my friend and her husband know even less, I wouldn't want to trouble you to enter into too many (indeed any) theories and suggestions. My only question is this: would a hot-water cylinder really need replacing after just three years? (My first one lasted 20 years.)
This time, I'm enquiring on behalf of a Polish friend who three years ago moved into a brand-new house near Stansted Airport. Her water is taking longer and longer to heat up. A British Gas engineer said the cylinder is good quality, but the system needs a power flush. (I've seen the thread expressing scepticism about BG's enthusiasm for this process.)
An independent engineer says that the cylinder is poor quality and needs to be replaced - at a cost of £3000
My first thought was that the immersion element was lime-scaled and needed replacing, but that wouldn't explain slow heating with the gas boiler.
Given that I know next to nothing and that my friend and her husband know even less, I wouldn't want to trouble you to enter into too many (indeed any) theories and suggestions. My only question is this: would a hot-water cylinder really need replacing after just three years? (My first one lasted 20 years.)