Immersion heater isn't working

[jensta79]

My immersion heater stopped working in the middle of the night - how do I tell whether it is the thermostat or the actual immersion heater that needs replacing? Also, the immersion heater is situated at the bottom of the combination water cylinder, has anyone else got a tank like this? I can't find any reference to this type of tank on the web!

[bitslimited]

How competent are you with electricity? Do you have any test equipment? If you are competent, you could try shorting the thermostat and seeing if the heating element works. If it doesn't, you can be pretty sure the element's gone.

If you're unsure of your competence, leave it alone and call in a qualified electrician. It's not worth risking your life for a few quid.

[raysparx]

Hi jensta, without a tester you can't tell what the problem is, you could just check it isn't something as simple as a burnt wire inside the immersion cap, turn off the electric,undo the little nut or screw and look inside you can soon tell if a wire has burnt, if the mcb or fuse hasn't tripped or blown it is more than likely to be the stat,that is a simple job, it will probably be a 7 inch thermostat, the down side if the element has blown is that you will have to have the whole cylinder drained, has the tank got a little cold tank on top? if it has it is a fortic cylinder,that won't take long to drain.if it is a standard cylinder it can be a slow job you would require a plumber or an electrician to change the element, good luck, Ray