Immersion heater.

Appleyard

Appleyard

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THis may have been covered before in these forums,so apologies for asking again.
I want to fit an electric immersion heater to the h/w cylinder on the boat.We can get h/w via the engine ,but obviously not when sailing,and as there is shore power available in many places it would seem sensible to do this.
Has anyone done this themselves and can give some info? Firstly I need a supplier of an immersion heater ..about 1 or 1 1/2 Kw,as I don't want to overload the supply. Then I will need to cut a hole in the tank and use an internal flange to fit the unit.
The electrical supply,wiring etc. is no prob.
Any advice appreciated
 
Yes you can fit one but if your tank is covered in foam type insulation it will not be so easy.Assuming its made of copper you need to solder a flange to the top of the tank,not sure if you can buy these from Plumb Centre if not probably a friendly plumber will let you take one off an old tank.The heaters used in boats are usually about a foot long and the flange is a smaller dia. than household types.If you solder the flange, you need "plumbers metal" type solder it comes in big sticks about 9inch by 1inch, both tank and flange want to be very clean,tin the flange as well as the tank, then put together and solder round flange.If you get a square of rag put plenty of flux on it and then wipe round the joint while still molten(plasticy).DONT forget its HOT.If you have a word with Plumb Centre you may be able to buy a Flange that is mechanically made water tight.I know you can get them in smaller sizes but not sure if you can get biggish ones. Someone on the forum will probably know.Mine is 1000 watt and is perfectly OK.
 
James, wouldn't it be easier to fit a new tank with the element already installed? afterall it is pressurised to your pump pressure. Aquafax, Vetus or Surejust are 3 makes.

http://www.surejust.co.uk/index2.html

I just we had a bigger tank, 20L goes cold and runs out in less than 24 hours.

Pete
 
Pete7 said:
James, wouldn't it be easier to fit a new tank with the element already installed? afterall it is pressurised to your pump pressure. Aquafax, Vetus or Surejust are 3 makes.

http://www.surejust.co.uk/index2.html

I just we had a bigger tank, 20L goes cold and runs out in less than 24 hours.

Pete
Click to expand...
Yes that is one solution ,however as the boat lives in Turkey and I am in Scotland,I tend to try and work things so that I can carry out any work on the spot,so far this has been very satisfactory.Buying a new tank for the sake of avoiding fitting an immerser seems a bit wasteful.The existing tank (45 Litres) is easily accessed and it would be fairly simple to remove it and do the work.
Nedmin. thanks for your input.. The tank as you say is insulated,so I would of course have to cut away the insulation from the area around the proposed hole.
I had not thought about soldering a flange,My initial idea was to fit an Essex Flange to suit the size of the immersion heater,but If I can't get hold of the right size of Essex flange then this might be the way to go.

Anyway...if someone can answer my initial query.....Where can I buy an immersion heater about 1000 -1500 watts and flange to suit? Also has anybody done this job themselves and can offer any tips or advice,particularly how to avoid the calorifier coil when deciding where to fit the unit??
I have a fair bit of experience in this type of work,having installed several bathrooms,kitchens and central heating systems over the years,all of which are still operational!!,so I am really looking for specific info.
 
ASAP-Supplies

You could probably get the immersion tank brass ring from Plumbase or suchlike.

520921 IMMERSION SUPA HOTPOT 240V 1KW 28cm
Hotpot immersion element with thermostat. 2-1/4"bsp male thread with O ring seal, 240volt AC, 1.0kw. Element length 28cm
EACH £32.58 £25.54 Qty Inventory: Usually in Stock

520922 IMMERSION SUPA HOTPOT 240V 1.25KW 28cm
Hotpot immersion element with thermostat. 2-1/4"bsp male thread with O ring seal, 240volt AC, 1.25kw. Element length 28cm
EACH £32.58 £25.54 Qty Inventory: Usually in Stock

520923 IMMERSION SUPA HOTPOT 240V 1.5KW 28cm
Hotpot immersion element with thermostat. 2-1/4"bsp male thread with O ring seal, 240volt AC, 1.5kw. Element length 28cm
EACH £32.58 £25.54 Qty Inventory: Usually in Stock
 
Immersion heater

Thanks Philip!! That,s exactly what I was after.. I had tried ASAP already,but was obviously using the wrong search words!!
The 1.5 KW should do the trick.
(PS it is for a Westerly)
 
jamesmar said:
Thanks Philip!! That,s exactly what I was after.. I had tried ASAP already,but was obviously using the wrong search words!!
The 1.5 KW should do the trick.
(PS it is for a Westerly)
Click to expand...

Surecal will sort you the bits (on ebay and very helpful). But I wonder about the 1.5kw on such a big tank? We have a tiny tank - just 10L and a 1KW element. The tank still takes 45 minutes to heat up until the thermosat cuts it out. Add to that you will loose a lot more heat from the huge surface area of a 45L tank and you may find that it takes a long time to heat up and struggles to keep up with demand. On the other hand, the ambient temperatures in the Med will be much higher.
 
Hi Simon...I don't want to go much higher than 1.5 KW as the shore supply in some places is a bit iffy,& reckon it would be safer to have a smaller heater. Thing is,it will be on for fairly long periods ..eg overnight so the time taken should not be a prob. particularly as the water will have been preheated a bit by the engine,and also we don't need it too hot ..warm showers are generally OK.
 
Hello, I did this a month ago and very pleased. I got a bulkhead immersion heater boss from my local ,very good plumbing merchant. This is not a B & Q bit. Cut hole with hole cutter then file slots in the hole so the fitting will slip in , turn around and then bolt up. You will see how it works when you see it saves cutting an access hatch ! Immersion then simply bolts into it as normal, No fancy trades just mechanical fixings. I got my immersion heater from Ely boat chandlers who are one of those magic, helpfull shops that are hard to find. They have short length i/heaters from 1kw upwards. I fitted a 1.25kw 9" ?? (length from memory) and this heats up my converted old s steel tank nicely, It is about 15 galls ! They have an internet site and do mail order !
Just one thing I struggled to get the boss to seal, got it down to a slight weep and retired to the club ! An old git in the club said let it heat up and leave it a day ! wow thanks I thought ordering another pint. Well next day the weep had gone !! The boss comes with a fibre sealing ring and it swells when wet so sealing it good and proper. I owe the old "gentleman" a drink !

Regards Colin.
 
They are selling immersion flanges here http://www.toolstation.com/shop/PlumbingHeating/CentralHeating/d20/sd2708
soldering a flange in would be a better option but we have not been allowed to use leaded solder on water (except central heating) for a few years now;) and I would not fancy your chances of wiping a joint with unleaded solder :D. Essex flanges are very good although I have never had to install a 2 1/4" one the only problem with them is that eventually the rubber washers harden and crack with the heat, not as bad when they are filled lower down the cylinder wall so as to be a bit cooler.
Pete
 
jamesmar said:
Yes that is one solution ,however as the boat lives in Turkey and I am in Scotland,I tend to try and work things so that I can carry out any work on the spot,so far this has been very satisfactory.Buying a new tank for the sake of avoiding fitting an immerser seems a bit wasteful.The existing tank (45 Litres) is easily accessed and it would be fairly simple to remove it and do the work.
Nedmin. thanks for your input.. The tank as you say is insulated,so I would of course have to cut away the insulation from the area around the proposed hole.
I had not thought about soldering a flange,My initial idea was to fit an Essex Flange to suit the size of the immersion heater,but If I can't get hold of the right size of Essex flange then this might be the way to go.

Anyway...if someone can answer my initial query.....Where can I buy an immersion heater about 1000 -1500 watts and flange to suit? Also has anybody done this job themselves and can offer any tips or advice,particularly how to avoid the calorifier coil when deciding where to fit the unit??
I have a fair bit of experience in this type of work,having installed several bathrooms,kitchens and central heating systems over the years,all of which are still operational!!,so I am really looking for specific info.
Click to expand...
Do a search on ebay, there are lots there, mains and battery voltage, flanged and threaded
Stu
 
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