Immersion heater

first problem will be finding who has the key to the loft hatch in the loft you'll find a few tanks one for each flat not always
marked. but if your lucky the tenement may have been renovated and a new tank installed if so there should be a gate valve
on the 22 mil pipe from loft to the bottom of the tank if you turn this off the hot tap should stop and hopefully there is a drain off pipe but a lot of tenements in Glasgow still have old tanks usually in a cupboard 10 feet up in the kitchen so I would go look first before committing to the job

 

I have packed up work now but when I did immersion replacements you need to have a proper spanner really & give the spanner 1 or more sharp clouts which is better than tapping it. Also the tank is very thin so you need the tank to be full of water to loosen the element. Once you can get the element to move, tighten it up again & proceed with draining

 

There's no need to drain the tank completely, in fact it's better not to as the tank is much more stable and rigid when full of water.
You only need to drain a couple of cups full out to get the level below the immersion boss, assuming of course that it's a top mounted element and not in the side!

 

As you say sen if the element is on the top no need to drain to much off. I used to put plenty of cloths around the immersion neck & have a short bit of hose in my mouth ready to suck out some water as soon as the element come out.

 

Hi Wally, yes I had one recently where the drain outlet was completely blocked so I put a couple of towels around the immersion boss and I was amazed at how little water actually came out! I must admit I don't like doing immersions when they're upstairs though, not so bad on ground floor if something does go wrong.
Are you still managing to stay in retirement Wally? or have you given in and done some jobs, (it'll only be a matter of time before someone talks you into doing something)

 

The best immersion I used to work every few years was one which was directly over the bath. It was the type where the element was under the heater bolted to the base with 4 bolts & had a helical or crown element. Once I unbolted it I just let the water go. Cant work even if I wanted to, I am suffering with severe back acre for the past week, doctors can't give me any pain killers due to the other types of tablets I am having for diabetes & ulcer so I am stuck at the mo. Might do the odd jobs later on but Im not to much bothered, time will tell when I'm full of bounce later on.

 

Hope your condition improves soon Wally.

 

So do I sen

 

Just a point check your insurance as you may find your insured for electrical jobs and not plumbing thats why I dont change them