Calorifier / hot water Bavaria 30

[livefats]

Having been rainbound for the last couple of days with no engine running, I've noticed we have no hot water. Help! Previously not noticed as we'd had the engine running most days, so I guess the heat exchanger (?) was heating the water for us.

We are attached to shore power, the isolator switches are on, and the fuse switch on Panel 302 is in the "On" position. (Red light is on to indicate that the power is connected to the heater, I think.) I've checked that the QL water heater is plugged in. We have cold water, and the cold water tank is full.

Is there anything else that I should have done as a new Bav owner? Any suggestions gratefully received - and please don't hesitate to suggest the obvious!


 

[landes_h]

Just recently my heater stayed cold as the boat was plugged in to land power. It turned out to be the switch on the electric panel just quit. The light in the switch stayed on but the switch itself had no effect. I just bridged it for now and will look for a new switch when time permits.

[livefats]

Thanks, Landes. The switch is quite good at turning the red light on and off! I'm rather nervous about opening up the 230 volt panel 302 to investigate further..!

[livefats]

Just an update: the socket that the heater plugs into works - so power is getting to the heater. Ho hum...

[MIA]

Is the thermostat operating, you should hear it click when you turn it

[livefats]

Hi Mia - do I have a thermostat? I've had a dig around, but all I can find is a Webastgo dial that seems to do the interior heating. Thus far I have a hot water fuse switch that lights a red light on the panel and powers a European type socket into which the QL water heater is plugged. I've checked that there's 240 volts going to the socket. Anywhere else I should be looking - or have I singularly failed to find said thermostat? (Quite possible - it took me HOURS to work out that the black rubber thing in the heads wasn't a doorstop but was in fact the shower extraction switch!!!)

[nornie lees]

try the elec plug thats attached to the heater cable, it has a fuse in it.

rgds Ray

[livefats]

Hi Ray: thanks for the idea, but the plug is a 2 pin European type that is moulded and (I think) fuseless. the cable goes directly into the water heater. (Mind you, on the plus side, I'm getting quite good at boat aerobics!)

[nornie lees]

Mine had a 3 pin uk plug, the thermostat is inside the heater unit, just join wires across thus by-passing the stat and it should boil if left too long, if you hear it heating, then bingo just the stat gone, make sure you unplug it though, dont want the unit overheating! this advice is only to assist in diagnosis.

good luck

Ray

[MIA]

It should have a thermostat as it would just boil the water, check a post named Electric Water Heater theres photographs on that thread

[landes_h]

Check the "Quick" web site for your boiler's manual
< http://www.quicknauticalequipment.com/?lng=en&cs1=02&ms1=3&ms2=1&ms3=5 >
The boiler also has some "reset" button which may need to be push in again. I guess it activates when the boiler overheats, or so.

[livefats]

Thanks, Mia. Your answer to my question reveals the depths of my ignorance!

Found the thermostat hidden under a black box on the side of the heater. Checked that there is mains power reaching the thermostat. No clicking, however, when I turn it from 1 to 5 (it was on 4.)

So looks like the thermostat is shot?

Ray, tried to bridge the connections, but my sausage fingers found the space too limited to allow me to work. My appreciation of the DDZ engineers has increased still further!

Lander: thank you. My boiler is a QL, and I found the manual here: http://great-water.com/store/PDF/files/manuals/Install_WaterHeat_Eng.pdf However, the instructions are less than clear about the cut-off: "Our thermostats are equipped with a high temperature cut out safety switch, which is an electro-mechanical device that opens the current circuit and disconnects the electric heating element if the thermostat fails. When activated, the pin located
near the temperature regulator dial is released. To check that the pin has not been released and is set correctly, check that the pin is lying a few millimeters below the structures edge."

HOWEVER, having plugged, unplugged, prodded and circuit tested, we now have hot water! I have no idea how this happened - but wouldn't have had the courage to try without all your suggestions.

Question - attached to the cold water inlet to the heater is a red tap with a turn arrow. However, rather than lefty-loosey / righty-tighty turning, it seems to turn in 1/4 turn increments, and one setting engages the water pump continuously, the other doesn't. I wonder if this is how it's supposed to work?

Thanks again for the assist. Looks like the rain has stopped too - good news!

[Nigel]

I believe the tap is a pressure release, discharging back to the tank, or in some boats, the bilge!

[livefats]

Brilliant, Nigel: thank you. (That would explain why after I left it on the "on" part of the turn for a while to see what would happen, I found that my water tank was almost empty! Thank Heavens for Bavaria Yacht panel alarms!)

[Algey]

Hi Chris, we had to change the heating coil last winter as it had started to show an earth neutral fault. Kept tripping the RCD. I got a new coil from these guys http://www.penguineng.com/index.html. They also sell the thermostat assembly. Once you have disconnected the wires, the element can be prised out.
Cheers
Al.

[Nigel]

Just for completeness, this is the "Electric Water Heater" thread referred to by MIA above.

[livefats]

Thanks, Algey: something to bookmark in case of future needs! Thus far the "magical" fix of take it apart, give it a poke and see what happens appears to be working, although I suspect not for long! And thanks, Nigel, for a repost of the link. Although it's not my unit, it did help my understanding of how hidden a thermostat can be!