[Harry Roberts]

Hi guys. 
I'm thinking of getting a heating engineer to come and fit a titanium emersion heater much like the one you would find on your hot water tank in the airing cubboard.
Plug in over night and there my hot water. I only really want say 45 degrees or so.

Has anyone done this and if do any good? 

Cheers
H

[ChumBucket]

Yes & it's a fantastic solution to a frost free van & comfortable working during winter.
 
                                             **********HOWEVER ********
YOU MUST HAVE IT WIRED WITH THE CORRECT 16AMP GEAR DIRECT FROM MAIN CONSUMER UNIT.

DO NOT USE 13AMP PLUGS & SOCKETS- LEARN FROM ME WHO NEARLY BURNED HIS HOUSE DOWN!!!!!!

[Harry Roberts]

Yes & it's a fantastic solution to a frost free van & comfortable working during winter.
 
                                             **********HOWEVER ********
YOU MUST HAVE IT WIRED WITH THE CORRECT 16AMP GEAR DIRECT FROM MAIN CONSUMER UNIT.

DO NOT USE 13AMP PLUGS & SOCKETS- LEARN FROM ME WHO NEARLY BURNED HIS HOUSE DOWN!!!!!!

Thanks for your response. Does it cost a lot to heat up on a nightly basis?

[ChumBucket]

I have an outdoor 16amp socket on the house wall outside & use a 16amp extension cable to run between this & van- obviously the immersion heater cable has a 16amp plug on it also. The outside 16amp socket is wired to the main consumer unit which happens to be at the other side of the wall inside next to the front door (which helps). This is also wired via a 24hr timer so I can set the immersion to come on during the early hours of the morning for a set duration & knock itself off again. The extension cable (16amp) fits between the door rubbers on the van so the van can still be locked at night. It's not an expensive thing to do but MUST be done correctly preferably by a qualified electrician!! Fitting the immersion via mechanical flange is quite simple though & something most people could do themselves.  

Cost-

Immersion elements are 3KW. Find out what you are charged off peak per KWH (kilo watt hour) times that by three & you have your "per hour" running costs. We get half price leccy off peak. A 400ltr tank takes four hours to heat, this isn't boiling but hot. The tank acts as a giant radiator then & nothing in your van will freeze. In fact your van will be very toasty on any morning!!

[Harry Roberts]

Brilliant.
I think that beats an lpg tank and potable boiler set up!

H

[firefly123]

i have an immersion heater fantastic put it on a timer for three to four hours heats water stops every thing from freezing in van keeps hose soft far better  IMHO than all the hassle of LPG and heaters  now watch me get slated for this

[ChumBucket]

The biggest benefit is having a whole system ready for work in the morning regardless of the outside temps. If the temps are too low you wont be working anyway but nothing in your van will freeze, water in tank stays very warm all day & hoses are lovely & supple all day too. You are killing two birds with one stone- van heater & warm water.

I can't emphasise enough though- do the electrics properly. My best mate is a sparky & he gave me a proper reality check when I melted 13amp plugs! It's not a big job for a sparky to do, two/three hours work maybe.

I would also use a mechanical flange, this is the proper & correct way to install the element into a tank. It also gives you the ability to blank the hole off in the future should you need to & the tank isn't left with a gaping hole rendering it useless!

Here's the flange-

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p38614

The element just simply screws into this like it would on a domestic hot water tank.

[Harry Roberts]

The biggest benefit is having a whole system ready for work in the morning regardless of the outside temps. If the temps are too low you wont be working anyway but nothing in your van will freeze, water in tank stays very warm all day & hoses are lovely & supple all day too. You are killing two birds with one stone- van heater & warm water.

I can't emphasise enough though- do the electrics properly. My best mate is a sparky & he gave me a proper reality check when I melted 13amp plugs! It's not a big job for a sparky to do, two/three hours work maybe.

I would also use a mechanical flange, this is the proper & correct way to install the element into a tank. It also gives you the ability to blank the hole off in the future should you need to & the tank isn't left with a gaping hole rendering it useless!

Here's the flange-

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p38614

The element just simply screws into this like it would on a domestic hot water tank.

Any chance you could post some pictures of the set up etc?

Cheers

H

[SeanK]

Some excellent advice here, do you have your tank insulated, Cheers

[Scrimble]

is this the heater you used? http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Heating/d230/Central+Heating/sd2708/Immersion+Heater+Resettable+Thermostat/p12829

Brilliant.
I think that beats an lpg tank and potable boiler set up!

H

why not have both?

[ChumBucket]

is this the heater you used? http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Heating/d230/Central+Heating/sd2708/Immersion+Heater+Resettable+Thermostat/p12829

Brilliant.
I think that beats an lpg tank and potable boiler set up!

H

why not have both?

It is but I used the 27" one. In fact, I think I got everything bar the immersion cable from Toolstation. I got a meter of immersion cable from City Electrical Factors.

[ChumBucket]

Some excellent advice here, do you have your tank insulated, Cheers

NO! If you insulate the tank none of the heat will get into the van. You'd be very surprised at how long the water stays warm for in a normal Wydale WFP tank- all day.

[ChumBucket]

I'll post some links to the equipment required later.

[mark m]

hope this helps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxrgYEurE3A

[ChumBucket]

Some pics, this is the mechanical flange with & without the element fitted.

[ChumBucket]

hope this helps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxrgYEurE3A

Good video but please note, Mark doesn't use a mechanical flange, just a normal threaded flange. The extra tenner for the proper flange is the best option & no sealer is required with it either- although I would PTFE any threads.

[ChumBucket]

Inside tank- Note mini Torbeck float valve, again from Toolstation, no need for a full size ball valve, this one is over ten years old & never failed!!

[Dave Willis]

Show me the charred house!

[ChumBucket]

16 amp plug- for end of immersion cable.
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p36175

16 amp external socket-
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p20698

16 amp extension cable to connect the two-
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p12236

16 amp Internal mains timer-
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p78960

Pull up, plug in, bob's your uncle!!

[ChumBucket]

Show me the charred house!

Wish I had taken photos of the 13 amp plug & 13 amp plug-in timer!!! Can't believe how daft I was, caught them just in time melting & about to light up big time!!