Wake up to cold water?
95% of Hotwater temperature issues are electrically related.
We fix Electrical Hotwater systems, Solar split system, and on roof Solars
95% of all HotWater issues are one or more of the electrical issues below.
To understand this you need to understand how the electric hot water and solar hot water system work.
Below is how your hot water electrical circuit flows and the components that the electricity flows through that causes 95% of hot water systems to fail leaving you with no hot water
If your on off peak power someone like Energex sends a signal to your Hot Water Relay (Located in your electrical meter box) which the current flows through to either the Circuit breaker, Fuse or, Safety Switch (Also located in your switch board) then it goes to Possibly a Hot Water Isolator (Near the hot water tank) or if you have Solar Hot water there is a good chance you have a Booster Switch (Usually inside the house) once power has flowed through either one one or both of these switches it reaches the hot water tank and into a Electrical Thermostat that tells the Hot Water Element at what temperature to heat too (located inside the hot water system) once the thermostat says yes we need to heat the water, it allows current to flow to the Electrical hot water element this is the device that physically creates heat to Heat the water system up (located in the hot water system)
All of the above things need to work for your hot water system to heat.
1. Hot Water Relay
If its a energex relay you need a electrical contractor to establish this and we can by pass the relay so you get instant hot water that day. We will organise energex to come and the best thing is Energex will reimburse you our invoice.
2. Fuse, Circuit Breaker or safety switch
If it is one of these protection devices some times the fuse might be blown or Breaker flicked down (usually meaning a circuit issue or short in your hot water element, or the circuit breaker/safety switch may not be allowing power to run through it, stopping it getting to your hot water system. Being a electrical contractor we will diagnose this and replace the protection device if needed.
3. Hot-water Isolator
The main objective of a Hot-water system Isolator mounted adjacent to the the hot-water system (Not all have this), this is purely for isolation to the system for qualified technicians to work on it. Firstly if you have one please make sure this is turned on. Some times but rarely these fail not allowing the power to run through.
4. Booster Switch
Booster switches are usually only for solar hot-water systems to be able to energise the electric side of the hot-water system when you don’t have any sun. They are usually located inside, power needs to run through this also to get to your hot water system. These also some times fail.
5. Electrical Thermostat
Once the power reaches the hot water system, its first major component is the thermostat which is the device that monitors the temperature. Once the water drops below a certain temperature it allows the power to go through to the element. The thermostat and element (Below) are the most common reasons electric and solar hot water system fail to heat up.
6. Electrical hot water element
Once power flows through the thermostat it runs to the hot water element which is just a large coil where the current runs through , heating the coil that then heats the water just like a super large Kettle. Elements on average last between 2-5 years and along with the thermostat are the most common components in your hot water system to fail again, allowing you not to have hot water.
As you can see all of the above issues are electrical and we have specialised in this for over 8 years. On the rare occasion you actually need a plumber we can usually know if its a plumbing issue before even coming out simply by asking you a few questions over the phone.
We will assure to have your Hot water fixed on the day of your call.
If we get there and find it is a plumbing issue there will be no charge for us and we will also arrange a plumber
Frequently Asked Hot Water System Questions
The most easiest way to do this is to go out to the hot water system and there is a relief valve up the top of the unit that has a pipe attached to it that pipe will flow to a drain or to the ground, if you leaver the valve up water should come out (Be careful this may be extremely hot if your not confident don’t do this) if this water is cold you 100 percent have a electrical problem, if it is hot its 90% chance its a plumbing issue.
Solar: If you have a on roof Solar hot water system your tank may be on the roof the same relief valve will be attached to the tank on the roof.
Call us we will guide you through the options but most probably this will be your element in the electric hotwater system or solar hot water system being shorted out or your hot water cable might have a short on it possibly due to a leaking element.
Go to your electrical Switch board and see if any circuits have flicked down, If they haven’t go out to the hot water system and there is a relief valve up the top of the unit that has a pipe attached to it, that pipe will flow to a drain or to the ground, if you leaver the valve up water should come out (Be careful this may be extremely hot if your not confident don’t do this) if this water if it is cold you 100% have an electrical problem, if it is hot its 90% chance its a plumbing issue.
Solar: If you have a on roof Solar hot water system your tank may be on the roof the same relief valve will attached to tank on the roof.
This will mean your electrical side of the system is not working and you have only been running of the sun for your hot water.
If you have hot water in some places of the house its most likely you don’t have an electrical problem this may be a temperature valve problem you would be best to call a plumber or call us and we will help you sort it out.
Again this can mean that the power is not going through the thermostat or element or one of the other electrical components.
The power will be stopped at one of the electrical components, most probably the thermostat and or element
This problem will be more then likely be the element as it is deteriorating it doesn’t let as much current through therefore having an effect on heating up the hot water system.
This could be due to lack of sun, and the electric side not working when it should be. This would need electrical diagnosis