Hot water coming out of overflow

gavdtra · Mar 24, 2022

Hot water coming out of overflow pipe. It's not dripping, it's pouring out. The tank hasn't been switched on for ages. It's an immersion heater. I'm thinking the water is boiling in it and overflowing but not sure.

ShaunCorbs · Mar 24, 2022

Is the water hot coming out of the pipe be careful as it might be

gavdtra · Mar 24, 2022

ShaunCorbs said:
Is the water hot coming out of the pipe be careful as it might be

Yep. Very hot, maybe it's boiling over. It doesn't need to be near that hot, right?

SJB060685 · Mar 25, 2022

You need to make sure the immersion heater is turned off and electrically isolated. What you have now is a recipe for disaster and needs to be stopped. Not long ago here in Taunton a toddler died because the immersion heater thermostat had failed, the immersion heater continued to supply energy to the water and after a while it began to boil and vent over. The plastic cold water storage tank became hot and failed, resulting in near boiling water pooring through the ceiling and on to a sleeping toddler below.

gavdtra · Mar 25, 2022

SJB060685 said:
You need to make sure the immersion heater is turned off and electrically isolated. What you have now is a recipe for disaster and needs to be stopped. Not long ago here in Taunton a toddler died because the immersion heater thermostat had failed, the immersion heater continued to supply energy to the water and after a while it began to boil and vent over. The plastic cold water storage tank became hot and failed, resulting in near boiling water pooring through the ceiling and on to a sleeping toddler below.