Should the pipe from the top of the Water Cylinder be hot rather than warm

[Shimmasok]

Hi all, I have a Megaflo Heatrae Sadia running from a conventionla boiler. The boiler is 12 months old, the cylinder about 6 years old.

The cylinder has two separate pipes in at the bottom left, both of which are too hot to hold for more than a second. There is a stone cold pipe going in the bottom at the front and the one with the drop inspection thing at the front centre which is also cold.

Out of the top, is, what I presume the feed to the hot taps and that is only warm and I can hold on to it absolutely fine.

My hot taps periodically only run luke warm even when the hot water has been on for over an hour before.

I tried to turn the immersion heater on for around 25 mins and felt the pipe at the top again and it is still luke warm.

I've taken the grey panel off the front and the red dial is set to 4 out of 5 so presume that is correct.

Big question - Could someone please confirm whether that top pipe should be almost as hot as the scalding ones going in or at least too hot to hold for say 5 seconds?

If so, my first guess is a new thermostat for the cylinder which I think can be done without draining the tank?

Any help on the above would be appreciated.

Many thanks in advance

John

 

[king of pipes]

Post some pictures please which top pipe are you referring to ?? Kop

 

[Shimmasok]

Post some pictures please which top pipe are you referring to ?? Kop

Hi KOP, thanks for looking, pictures below

 

[king of pipes]

Its all correct bud the luke warm top pipe should get hot when hot water is used , the low two are from the boiler and should be hot when theres a hot water call to reheat the cylinder, cold pipe is drain for the safety valves , ice cold one is the mains cold water in to the cylinder , check your programmer for reheat times . Kop

 

[Shimmasok]

Its all correct bud the luke warm top pipe should get hot when hot water is used , the low two are from the boiler and should be hot when theres a hot water call to reheat the cylinder, cold pipe is drain for the safety valves , ice cold one is the mains cold water in to the cylinder , check your programmer for reheat times . Kop

Thanks KOP. Will run a hot tap and see if it is gets any hotter. Runs off Hive and had definitely been on for hours.

 

[king of pipes]

Is this valve open there's a small lever that should feel free to move if it's open , if you feel resistance then its closed ?

 

[Shimmasok]

Feels a bit scrapey when moving it, like it needs a good oil? Can move with one finger but scrapes against casing I'd say

 

[Shimmasok]

Should I move it back to position nearest cylinder where it started or towards wall where I've moved it to now?

 

[king of pipes]

No it will only motor closed when the cylinder thermostat is satisfied it will remain floppy till then ? Or switches off on the hive hot water control

 

[Shimmasok]

Definitely would go as far as saying its floppy, if a mechanism in valve is due to move it at some point I think it may struggle with stiffness so that could be the first thing to try replacing 👍

 

[king of pipes]

It is possible to lock the valve open manually to try it's operation if you take a look ?

 

[Shimmasok]

Just experimented and it moves from left to right when hot water turned off, but then when you turn it on, it doesn't move back again and it does seem to be getting stuck on that right hand side where it is much stiffer, so I think even though it is pretty new it is that valve which has gone

Thanks for all your help KOP 👍👍👍

 

[Shimmasok]

I will turn hot water on now again and move left myself and leave for 30 mins and see if water hotter 👍

 

[John.g]

Hi KOP, thanks for looking, pictures below View attachment 60610View attachment 60611

Even though the two coil heating pipes are "roasting", might be no harm to check the position of the manual valve with the red handwheel, it should take ~ 4 to 5 full turns to open or shut it, shut it fully, then reopen it fully, shut it fully (again) then reopen it ~ 1 to 2 full turns or if it was fully open originally return it to this position, the coil should heat the cylinder, depending on its volume, in 15 to 45 minutes so 1 hour should definitely heat it except programme time too short or cylinder stat set too low or faulty. If heating it with one electric immersion can take a few hours, depending on cylinder volume.

 

[Shimmasok]

Even though the two coil heating pipes are "roasting", might be no harm to check the position of the manual valve with the red handwheel, it should take ~ 4 to 5 full turns to open or shut it, shut it fully, then reopen it fully, shut it fully (again) then reopen it ~ 1 to 2 full turns or if it was fully open originally return it to this position, the coil should heat the cylinder, depending on its volume, in 15 to 45 minutes so 1 hour should definitely heat it except programme time too short or cylinder stat set too low or faulty. If heating it with one electric immersion can take a few hours, depending on cylinder volume.

Thank you John, will give that a try as well 👍