Search the forum,

Discuss Hot water only works when more than one hot tap turned on in the Plumbing Jobs | The Job-board area at PlumbersForums.net

Messages
11
Completely baffled by this problem and hoping someone out there can shed some light. Moved into a new home 8 weeks ago, had boiler checked and everything seemed fine. As of yesterday we suddenly found we had no hot water. We have now discovered that we can still get instant hot water but only if a second source is activated. To give an example, switch the shower on and the water will run cold for days but also switch the hot tap on the sink on and both sources have instant hit water. This isn't an issue upstairs as there are a number of hot water taps in close proximity but having to run upstairs to turn a tap on so that we can get hot water from the kitchen taps is driving us crazy. The hot water light on the boiler will only switch on when a second source is activated no matter what we try. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
When did you have the boiler checked? When you moved in or after you've discovered the problem?
 
So have I got this right?
Moved in 8 weeks back and all ok
Had boiler "checked" and all working ok
Then, yesterday you have this problem
So
What made you have boiler checked, was there any reason and when?

The more you say the easier it is for the guys & gals to help.
 
So have I got this right?
Moved in 8 weeks back and all ok
Had boiler "checked" and all working ok
Then, yesterday you have this problem
So
What made you have boiler checked, was there any reason and when?

The more you say the easier it is for the guys & gals to help.

Friend is gas safe registered and looked over boiler and everything else in the house just as a favour as we wanted to know if we should replace it for efficiency . There were no issues before or after this. He is currently away for almost 3 weeks and don't want to bother him on holiday if I can help it. It's a baxi combi boiler. He worked out it was about 17 years old but he also spoke to baxi and they still supply part etc. and all was working fine so he advised not to prioritise switch out (We have a lot of work to do in the house). On that note, an electrician was working in the house the day the problem startered if that may be of relevance. Check took place when we moved in around 8 weeks ago. System has been perfect until now with hot water being almost instant. Let me know if There is Any other info I could provide.
 
Friend is gas safe registered and looked over boiler and everything else in the house just as a favour as we wanted to know if we should replace it for efficiency . There were no issues before or after this. He is currently away for almost 3 weeks and don't want to bother him on holiday if I can help it. It's a baxi combi boiler. He worked out it was about 17 years old but he also spoke to baxi and they still supply part etc. and all was working fine so he advised not to prioritise switch out (We have a lot of work to do in the house). On that note, an electrician was working in the house the day the problem startered if that may be of relevance. Check took place when we moved in around 8 weeks ago. System has been perfect until now with hot water being almost instant. Let me know if There is Any other info I could provide.
Sounds like a fault with an internal component which will need a gas safe engineer to diagnose and repair.
 
Sounds like a fault with an internal component which will need a gas safe engineer to diagnose and repair.
Thanks. Just thought I'd best check to see if it was something obvious first. Will get someone to take a look then. Had a new boiler on a maybe list so might just bite be bullet now. Appreciate all of the replies guys. Especially on a Friday night. Thank you.
 
Would still go back to the sparkie as he may realise what he has done/ changed
 
Sounds like a fault with an internal component which will need a gas safe engineer to diagnose and repair.
Not going to dislike or disagree Craig but if sparkie is made aware he may realise he has altered something.
 
Thanks. Just thought I'd best check to see if it was something obvious first. Will get someone to take a look then. Had a new boiler on a maybe list so might just bite be bullet now. Appreciate all of the replies guys. Especially on a Friday night. Thank you.
If it's what I'm thinking of then it should be a relatively simple fix. It's not a fault I'd recommend changing the boiler over but that of course is up to you.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Not going to dislike or disagree Craig but if sparkie is made aware he may realise he has altered something.
By what op has said, it's probably more a coincidence that the spark has worked there. I could be wrong though.
 
By what op has said, it's probably more a coincidence that the spark has worked there. I could be wrong though.
With very limited knowledge I agree. He was only doing some second fixing in a completely different room. Only affect on the boiler should have been power switching on and off a few times
 
Unfortunately due to forum rules, I'm not allowed to say. 1. to prevent you from attempting a repair yourself and 2. To prevent others reading this with a similar issue from also attempting a repair themselves.
Apologies if this is anally question but doesn't that rule kind of render this forum useless? If nobody is allowed to suggest what the answer to a problem might be for fear that they might try to fix it themselves then surely anybody that is not qualified should not be allowed on the forum as the answer to any question would always be the same. Ie get a qualified gas fitter to look at it.
 
Apologies if this is anally question but doesn't that rule kind of render this forum useless? If nobody is allowed to suggest what the answer to a problem might be for fear that they might try to fix it themselves then surely anybody that is not qualified should not be allowed on the forum as the answer to any question would always be the same. Ie get a qualified gas fitter to look at it.
That should say a silly question
 
Not at all. Anybody is welcome to join and ask their question however when it comes to questions involving gas then there are rules. These rules are in place to stop and protect people from attemping their own repair which is actually illegal in law. Sorry but that is the way it is.
 
Apologies if this is anally question but doesn't that rule kind of render this forum useless? If nobody is allowed to suggest what the answer to a problem might be for fear that they might try to fix it themselves then surely anybody that is not qualified should not be allowed on the forum as the answer to any question would always be the same. Ie get a qualified gas fitter to look at it.
The rule only applies to offering advice to gas related questions. This forum covers all aspects of plumbing.
 
17 Year old boiler, I would get rid. Small problems become big problems.

Cheers
 
Apologies if this is anally question but doesn't that rule kind of render this forum useless? If nobody is allowed to suggest what the answer to a problem might be for fear that they might try to fix it themselves then surely anybody that is not qualified should not be allowed on the forum as the answer to any question would always be the same. Ie get a qualified gas fitter to look at it.
Some people don’t know about gas safe or getting a qualified engineer. Hence the advice we offer. We can discuss other topics, we could also steer you if we thought the problem was nothing to do with you boiler. Ps it’s not fear it’s illegal
 
Apologies if this is anally question but doesn't that rule kind of render this forum useless? If nobody is allowed to suggest what the answer to a problem might be for fear that they might try to fix it themselves then surely anybody that is not qualified should not be allowed on the forum as the answer to any question would always be the same. Ie get a qualified gas fitter to look at it.

Luigi, we get lots of non registered people on this forum, quite a lot who thank us for the advice and time taken (our own time for no remuneration) to answer such queries. We do offer gas related advice if it’s not how to fix something, but maybe a flue that’s questionable, clearances on pipes, flues etc. If it’s a fault on a boiler then unless it’s a simple fix like a filling loop left open, then we are always going to suggest a gas safe registered engineer.
 
Theres nothing the sparks couldve done to cause the problem, unless he took the cover off and messed around the internals. Its a coincidence.
Have you got the possibility to measure how many liters per minute of hot water are you getting at each tap, including shower head? Unlikely you have a measuring cup, perhaps get a 10L bucket and see if it fills up within 1 minute, you should be getting at least 7-8 liters at every tap. Unlikely you have a restriction, but worth checking. If you have less, see if the cold and hot valves under the boiler are fully open. Also check ch pressure, if too low it could be on the brink of shutting down, but opening 2 taps makes it come on (i know it doesnt make much sense but old boilers are very responsive to stupid ideas that wont work on new ones). If these check out, the problem is on the inside. Careful, not every gas safe eng knows how to troubleshoot when dealing with breakdowns, I swear 99% will just throw new parts at it until the problem goes away, and even then some couldnt say what was it that they just fixed. The component you need (if you need it), will cost pennies compared to usual boiler component prices. Do not get fooled into changing the pcb or diverter valve, problem is not those.
 

Reply to Hot water only works when more than one hot tap turned on in the Plumbing Jobs | The Job-board area at PlumbersForums.net

Creating content since 2001. Untold Media.

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

Back
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website. For the best site experience please disable your AdBlocker.

I've Disabled AdBlock