[andyl]

We no longer do economy 7 but our hot water is being controlled by Eon overnight. I’ve spoken to a customer service assistant who couldn’t help me with this problem but has escalated it further. We have installed a timer on our boiler but the only difference it makes is that loads of hot water is going straight down our overflow pipe and thus being wasted. Has anyone else experienced this issue and how did they resolve it? Thanks in advance Andy

[rwh202]

Hi,

Might need a bit more information to be of help, but sounds like you'll need a plumber as well as E.on here...

What sort of hot water system is this? Vented or un-vented? Heated by 1 or 2 electric immersion elements. A gas fired boiler circuit?

Sounds like at least one immersion is controlled using economy 7 switching from the meter. E.on can set this if on a smart meter - this is the Electrically Controlled Auxiliary Load - ECAUL. Ask for this to be configured - normally set permanently on if you aren't on an economy7 tariff, and use your own timer to control the element.

However, this shouldn't cause overflow - that would suggest an over pressure or over temperature valve is activating - either because it's faulty or a real issue exists. Would need to know the system, and a plumber would be best to diagnose, but a loss of air in an expansion vessel, failed pressure regulator, incorrectly set or failed thermostat on the element are all possible causes.

[geoffers]

Originally Posted by andyl

We no longer do economy 7 but our hot water is being controlled by Eon overnight. I’ve spoken to a customer service assistant who couldn’t help me with this problem but has escalated it further. We have installed a timer on our boiler but the only difference it makes is that loads of hot water is going straight down our overflow pipe and thus being wasted. Has anyone else experienced this issue and how did they resolve it? Thanks in advance Andy

This is one possible scenario which I have experienced, but could be many other things too.

With a gravity fed vented h/w system the hot water cylinder has an open expansion pipe, so as the water heats up and expands it can overflow back into the header tank. If the header tank is too full the excess water will escape via the overflow pipe. So maybe your tank is getting too hot and causing the water to expand and overflow.



I had a situation where the ballcock washer was leaking (dripping) slightly - it took me quite a while to understand why I was getting such an intermittent overflow : sometimes it was happening / sometimes not / sometime fast, slow, or not at all

• Often (but not always) in the morning with the c/h boiler running I was getting some moderate overflow
  
  • there was no overflow in the daytime when h/w tap usage kept the tank level below the overflow pipe
  • the overflow was just a slow drip when the c/h was not on and the tank level had reached the overflow pipe, due to the washer leaking at slow drip
  • however when the washer leak had caused the level to reach the overflow and the c/h was on, the expansion water was causing it to overflow at a much faster rate

I solved the problem by replacing the washer, and adjusting the level of the ballcock so the normal tank level was well below the overflow outlet to prevent any tank expansion showing as overflow.

[geoffers]

@andyl - further to the above (and hopefully not being too alarmist 😮) - in a vented system if the thermostat in the electric immersion heater element has failed and is an older type without an emergency overheat cutout (or a separate tank thermostat), the heater could end up being on all the time causing serious hot water overflow as described here https://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/f...70/post-792373
and here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/7179092.stm

[Indyk_EONNext]

Good Morning @andyl

I hope you're well? 😊

I can see you have been given some really great support here and I hope it has helped with your hot water issue, how are you getting on with it?

[andyl]

Still not resolved. The first plumber couldn’t fix it. The second plumber put a timer on the water . Still didn’t fix it. He wouldn’t come back to look at it as he said he didn’t know what was wrong with it. The third plumber didn’t show up. I’ve contacted Eon several times about whether they control our hot water overnight- she didn’t know and passed it to someone else who hasn’t got back to me. I’ve tried emailing but the first advisor said they were the wrong department. They gave me a different email address- they said they weren’t the right department- they gave me an email address- thus one bounced back to me. What I can’t understand is why Eon can’t forward my problem to the correct email address? Why does it come back to me to sort out?

[geoffers]

@andyl - EOn's knowledge of/responsibility for your household wiring stops at the meter's outgoing (homeowner side) tails

Maybe post some photos of your meter/consumer unit/timer wiring arrangements to see if anyone here can help 👍

[meldrewreborn]

@andyl
and some answers to the questions posed above might also help. We only know what you tell us, and we’re smart but not psychic!

But we’re infinitely cheaper than plumbers.

[Indyk_EONNext]

Good Morning @andyl

I hope you're well?

I hope the above messages found you well? How are you getting on with your hot water issue, any success in getting this resolved?