[lozsing]

i have a 350 and have it on for 5 hours,i am on economy 7 so it costs me 15p an hour to run

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

yes done 3 tanks altogether mine and 2 mates

Great, that's the one I've ordered. I also ordered one of the other type though just incase.

Did you still have to use sealer on the mechanical one or just the washers? Domestic cold water tanks use these type fittings (albeit smaller) for inlet/outlets & require NO silicone etc.

[BORBRYCE]

Fitting these is not as easy as you first think. First of all, the tank thickness means that only a few millimetres of thread comes through to the inside of the tank. Then, the mechanical flange will not fit as the thread stops way too short on the flange which is designed for a thin copper water tank, you need the round flange. The round flange will not tighten properly by hand so you will need a 2 1/4 inch open end spanner for the outside and something like an oil filter wrench to grip and hold the rounded flange on the inside. There will be no space for any of the supplied washers, the tank is too thick. You will need heat resistant silicon sealer because the normal water proof stuff peels off with the heat that the hot water creates. Movement will occur when the van is in transit, water will be sloshed around moving the element so make sure the element and flange are as tight as possible with the correct sealer.
I made an ass of my first attempt and these points are what I have learned. So far on the second go, all is good.
Good luck.

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

Fitting these is not as easy as you first think. First of all, the tank thickness means that only a few millimetres of thread comes through to the inside of the tank. Then, the mechanical flange will not fit as the thread stops way too short on the flange which is designed for a thin copper water tank, you need the round flange. The round flange will not tighten properly by hand so you will need a 2 1/4 inch open end spanner for the outside and something like an oil filter wrench to grip and hold the rounded flange on the inside. There will be no space for any of the supplied washers, the tank is too thick. You will need heat resistant silicon sealer because the normal water proof stuff peels off with the heat that the hot water creates. Movement will occur when the van is in transit, water will be sloshed around moving the element so make sure the element and flange are as tight as possible with the correct sealer.
I made an ass of my first attempt and these points are what I have learned. So far on the second go, all is good.
Good luck.

That was a concern of mine to be honest. So, are you saying then that the mechanical flange can not be fitted to a standard wydale tank?

[BORBRYCE]

I don't know what that tank is, in fact I don't even know what my tank is. All I do know is that my tank thickness is 5/8 of an inch. The thread on the element is 7/8 of an inch long. You don't have too much to play with. The top of my tank is thinner but it is impractical to fit up there.

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

I don't know what that tank is, in fact I don't even know what my tank is. All I do know is that my tank thickness is 5/8 of an inch. The thread on the element is 7/8 of an inch long. You don't have too much to play with. The top of my tank is thinner but it is impractical to fit up there.

Ok Ronnie, thanks

That seems thick for a tank wall, that's over 1/2"!

A waydale tank is just the standard size tanks that all the wfp suppliers sell. They're usually white or clear(ish)

Do you think this is your tank?

[Dennis Taylor]

Thats what my tank is ( Clearish ) there is only just enough thread to get the backing flange on.
 Tip.... there seems to be slightly more thread on the longer element for some reason, i couldn't get the flange to screw to a 14" element but when i changed it for a 27" one it was OK.

The feeling of having drilled a 2" hole in the bottom of a perfectly good tank and the element not being long enough is one i have no wish to repeat 

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

I reckon my tank wall's are no thicker than about 1/8" & certainly no more than 1/4"

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

Thats what my tank is ( Clearish ) there is only just enough thread to get the backing flange on.
 Tip.... there seems to be slightly more thread on the longer element for some reason, i couldn't get the flange to screw to a 14" element but when i changed it for a 27" one it was OK.

The feeling of having drilled a 2" hole in the bottom of a perfectly good tank and the element not being long enough is one i have no wish to repeat 

That must be the normal flange then Dennis? I'm referring to the mechanical one, which the element then fits into separately.

[BORBRYCE]

Yes I have 2 tanks, one is a spare. It's just a normal looking tank as you describe and to be honest I was surprised how thick it was when I drilled through. The mechanical nut flange will still fit and tighten if you fit it back to front, the trouble with that is it does not provide a good tight seal indside the tank because the flange part is then not in contact with the tank wall. The round flange is ideal if you have a wrench that will grip it tight enough while you tighten up the large nut attached to the element on the outside. Also do use the heat resistant sealer. The normal stuff will just peel off in hours with the heat that is involved. As I found out to my cost.

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

Yes I have 2 tanks, one is a spare. It's just a normal looking tank as you describe and to be honest I was surprised how thick it was when I drilled through. The mechanical nut flange will still fit and tighten if you fit it back to front, the trouble with that is it does not provide a good tight seal indside the tank because the flange part is then not in contact with the tank wall. The round flange is ideal if you have a wrench that will grip it tight enough while you tighten up the large nut attached to the element on the outside. Also do use the heat resistant sealer. The normal stuff will just peel off in hours with the heat that is involved. As I found out to my cost.

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Heating/Central+Heating/Mechanical+Flange+2+14/d230/sd2708/p38614

Is this what you are talking about Ronnie?

I can't see how it could be fitted back to front as this would mean you'd have to fit the element on the outside then?

[BORBRYCE]

That is the flange I bought, I am no expert by any means but I could not get the flange to screw in because there is no thread close to the actual flange part, which should be against the tank wall. Perhaps you can fit this flange in another way that I have not thought of. If you think I have got it wrong I would honestly appreciate it if you let me know. I still do not feel 100% confident that this will hold for ever the way I have it.

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

That is the flange I bought, I am no expert by any means but I could not get the flange to screw in because there is no thread close to the actual flange part, which should be against the tank wall. Perhaps you can fit this flange in another way that I have not thought of. If you think I have got it wrong I would honestly appreciate it if you let me know. I still do not feel 100% confident that this will hold for ever the way I have it.

Thanks Ronnie

Mine should be coming tomorrow (although with the weather it might not)

I do have some plumbing experience, albeit, I've never actually had to fit one of these for this application. I will let you know what happens & how I get on. I did actually order the normal, round flange too as a back up.

[jr windows]

[BORBRYCE]

What tightens that to the inside of the tank though? You could just do that with the element itself. I tightened an element flange inside the tank but the movement soon made for leaks.

[jr windows]

It is in 2 half's and inside the tank is a ring bigger than the thread. So when you screw outside up it becomes solid.

[BORBRYCE]

Thanks JR. Did you notice how thick the wall of your tank was by any chance?

[jr windows]

On my wydale tank it's about 5/8 thick so I bought a round rasp and attached to a small cordless and cut the inside of the tank so there was enough thread to screw together.
The one in the pic is 1000ltr ibc and was only 3mm thick so it was easier.

[♠Winp®oClean♠]

I have to say, I shocked that wydale tanks are 5/8" thick!!

Mine's nearly 7 years old, I'm hoping they made them thinner back then, it certainly doesn't feel that thick

[jr windows]

That was just a guess, but the sides are thicker than the plastic on the screw cap. Doesn't matter how thick it is once you chamfer the inside it's thin enough to screw the flange together.