Hi everyone,
I recently moved into a new place and the hot water is started having problems for a week now.
The problem is, in the morning the water is still hot and then after we used, it won't get hot until like 1pm or 2pm then it will stay hot for the whole night.
Any ideas, why this might be happening?
Very much appreciated for your feedback :)
I bought the place, it's 310L tank and yes 1pm
you must be draining all (or pretty much all) the 310L during the morning…
and the fact it reheats after lunch means you are drawing massive elec during peak time - had a bill yet? or how many kwH used since you moved in?
are you on a separate / night circuit for the HW?
need a bit more info about how you use the HW and what uses it during the 24hr day? how many people? how old the tank is?
No we are actually using more at night than morning. There are 3 of us and all we using in the morning is a quick bathroom use.
At night all of showered, cook and wash dishes etc. So we are definitely using more at night.
No bill yet and sorry what is HW?
hot water maybe?
this is not twitter - you can use lots of words
and if you want, you can also answer all the questions that are asked of you (if you want help that is)
FOR EXAMPLE……..
..the tank is xx years old (you can find that on the tank)
..there are 3 of us in the house - we generally use the dishwasher once a day at about 7pm, the washing machine only at weekends, 2 of us have showers in the morning (hot showers, 15 mins each, using an old shower head not a new water saving one) and 1 has a bath at night at about 8pm
..we do/do not have a dedicated night circuit for the HWS (hot water system) - speak to your supplier, or learn how to read your meter
..when we moved in 27 days ago, our meter read 12345, it now reads 23456
and the negs are because????
the OP might as well have posted "My car uses a lot of fuel, please help" and then when asked to elucidate, he says it uses a lot of fuel. REALLY?
Do you have solar panels?
It sounds like someone has set the heat pump on a timer but it would be weird to set it for the middle of the day unless you have solar power.
No I don't have solar panels.
How do you set timer?
The timer would have to be installed somewhere near the hot water heater, I'm not sure if any models have built in timers.
1pm would actually make sense if you were on a fixed rate electricity tariff as it would be the hottest park of the day and the heat pump would work most efficiently.
I have to look for that when I get home.
Thanks man!
What number is your heating on?
Sorry, not sure I understand your question
Are you talking about your gas heater that's heats up your home water supply for showers/taps??
Check what number the dial is on. It could be on low and that might be the reason why it's heating slowly.
It is electric heater and it supply hot water for the whole house.
I don't think it is on low tho because it heats up so quickly from around 1pm to the whole night.
Such a puzzle, I really don't know what's going on.
First time owning a place, I'm very new to this area and learning so much.
Most probably on a tariff meter set to come on at only certain times of the day/night. It will be on your bill when you get it at a lower rate per kw. It is located in your electricity meter box. If you have a friend that is an electrician get him to have a look for you and he will explain it to you. Plumber here.
I finally understood why this is happening, my heat pump water tank use hot air to generate hot water and it's been quite cold for a few days. That's may be why it won't heat up in the morning.
Last night temperature was higher than last few days and this morning, we have hot water :)
Thanks so much for your help guys :)
Two follow-up things to check.
Go to tank and locate pressure relief valve. Sloooowly and gently lift for approx 30 seconds. Some water and air will be expelled from the outlet pipe (normal). Do this every six months.
Look for a sticker (or document) indicating when the anode was last checked or replaced. When that sacrificial anode is gone, system goes kaput and you need a whole new tank.
This is just periodic stuff.
"Look for a sticker (or document) indicating when the anode was last checked"
Are you kidding?
Firstly only 1 in 1000 plumbers even know about anodes and
Secondly absolutely nobody keeps a record if and when it was changed.
But yes, if anode is changed very 5 to 6 years then most tanks would last 20 to 30 years!
Anyway, totally irrelevent to OPs situation.
OP is not complaining about rust and brown water.
Thanks so much for your suggestions but to be honest I am not very comfortable doing that :(
Dear OP. Sorry but most of the comments here are totally irrelevent to your situation….
You have to apprecaite that heat pumups are just an application of an air conditioning system operating in reverse (winter) cycle. They use the heat taken from the air to warm up the tank.
So basically very low heat applied across a long period of time. Thats exactly why your tank takes so long to heat up.
Basically your tank is actually working exactly as it should! Nothing to do with timers or age of tank.
They are definitely not quick recovery so you need a big tank and almost treat them like an OFF PEAK system.
The only advanatage here is that your water will have warmed up again by the afternoon after heavy use in the morning.
Also depends where you are. In cold areas and high altitudes heat pumps are much less effective.
It may pay though to get it serviced just like your average air conditioner requires a periodic service to maintain peak performnce.
Haha that's ok :)
I am just really appreciated for everyone taking the time to give me suggestions.
That's totally make sense now!
My suburb gets very cold at night :(
We are thinking of replacing the tank but it'll cost a over a thousand :(
had a heat pump marketed as solar. the maintenance costs are quite high especially replacing an anode if there are a few in the house and your use is average. not sure if you can have a booster as part of the system which can help smooth temperature?
you need to reassess the cost benefits of periodic maintenance especially if there are other newer investments which might pay off better.
Do you think it will be better just replace the tank?
you need to get quotes for each option. a time consuming frustrating process. and in the process you will find out which is the best option at this time with the quotes you get. all the best. keep your wits with you and don't trust anyone.
Thank you Peccadilloes
do you rent?
how big is that tank?
how much water do you use?
do you really mean 1pm?