Hot water heater not working

I am not sure if anyone else has ever run into this problem since most people have boilers. Our heat is economy 7/storage heaters and for our hot water we have a tank in the loft. The problem is we don't have any hot water yet the auto timer is on right now (red light showing as on) like it should be heating up the water. Has anyone ever had this problem or know what the problem may be? Thanks!

Is there a timer attached to it anywhere? Could it be that it's set to only come on at specific times?

The timer comes on from 3 to 5 in the afternoon (its on now) and again around 5-7am. I noticed yesterday that the water wasn't as hot as it normally is....today we are down to just luke warm. I don't know if its fuse or something in the hot water heater itself in the loft. I am thinking it can't be a fuse because the little red light is on now like is should be heating it but its not?

How weird.... We have a boiler, so I know it's not the same, but it has a digital thingy on it that you can set so it comes on when you want it to come on. There's also a dial to manage how hot the water gets.... But I don't know if hot water heaters work on the same principles? 

Several possibilities:

1.  The element in the hot-water cylinder has burned out.  You'll need a meter to test.

2.  The thermostat has gone faulty.  In my experience, they tend to fail in the "on" position more often than not, resulting in water getting too hot, but sometimes they fail "off."   Again, a meter is needed to test properly, but if you turn the temperature adjustment from end to end and can't hear the contacts clicking open and closed at some point, then that's a sure sign the 'stat has failed.

3.  A bad connection anywhere between the timer output and the element.

4.  It's unusual, but sometimes a connection unit with a fuse is used where the wiring links to the cylinder.   If there's a white box next to cylinder where the cord connects which has a fuse pull-out, check/replace the fuse.

Edited to add:

I don't know if its fuse or something in the hot water heater itself in the loft.

Are you sure that the heater is in the loft?  That would be fairly unusual.  It's usually just the cold storage cistern up there which then feeds the hot-water cylinder on the floor below.

I am thinking it can't be a fuse because the little red light is on now like is should be heating it but its not?

Unless there's a fuse between the timer and the element (see #4 above).   It's unusual, but possible.

But I don't know if hot water heaters work on the same principles?

The thermostat on a simple immersion heater system is located right at the cylinder/element itself where it can monitor the water temperature and shut off power when it's hot enough. 

You generally have to remove the cover where the cord connects to the cylinder to adjust or replace the 'stat.  (Be careful -- Removing that cover exposes energized 240V connections if the switch is on elsewhere.)

Many thanks Paul for your suggestions!

The only thing we have in our downstairs closet is a digital timer (the red light was just on but it didn't heat up) and a fuse box.

Not sure where the thermostat is? Probably up in the loft, which isn't very accessible unfortunately...you have to go through the bedroom closet ceiling.....

It sounds like your suggestions require a professional to come and take a look. The only saving grace is that we have an electric shower so at least we still have hot water for that!!  I will have to call out for an electrician/repairman on Monday.

Paul,

My husband just read your response and you are right about the cold storage cistern in the loft.  We just can't figure out where everything else is which is ironic in this small house of ours! 

Not sure where the thermostat is? Probably up in the loft, which isn't very accessible unfortunately...you have to go through the bedroom closet ceiling.....

The thermostat has to be located at the cylinder itself for a simple immersion heater.  Are you absolutely certain that the hot-water cylinder isn't hidden away in the back of a closet, cupboard, bedroom wardrobe, etc.?    It's just that with a conventional vented hot-water system the cold storage cistern must be higher than the cylinder itself, which obviously makes it quite awkward to fit in an attic, unless the latter is very high to allow the cold cistern to be built up above the attic's floor level.

It sounds like your suggestions require a professional to come and take a look.

If you're not up to testing circuits with a meter, I'm afraid so.

By the way, the other thing which really causes problems with immersion heaters is the build-up of scale in hard-water areas (which for England means a fair part of the Midlands, and almost all of the east & southeast).    Obviously that tends to result in a gradual reduction of efficiency rather than a sudden failure, but I thought I'd just mention it for completeness.

My husband just read your response and you are right about the cold storage cistern in the loft.  We just can't figure out where everything else is which is ironic in this small house of ours! 

Ah O.K.  (Sorry, I clicked straight through my last post before reading this!)

The cylinder is usually located as directly below the cold cistern as possible to minimize the pipe runs, though not always.  It's got to be there somewhere!

Yeah we kept crossing in our posts. We have looked everywhere...one real closet in the master bedroom and fitted wardrobes in the 2nd, nothing in either. The only remaining closet is under the stairs and there are meters and fuse boxes galore! It will be interesting to find out where everything is when we get repair person on Monday. Thanks again!

i have a boiler in the kitchen and even when i have trouble with the radiators coming on i have always had hot water till today!!!!!

i'm going to hope it starts working before monday when i will have to break down and call someone to look at it....no husband and some might say it's my own fault because i bought the house 2 years ago and never had the obviously old boiler serviced!!

i had to boil about 10 kettles of water to get 6 inches of warm water for a quick bath...i'm going to work tonight and luckily we have showers there.

If your boiler goes usually there's an electric immersion heater switch which will heat up the tank kind of like a kettle.  Obviously it doesn't help with your radiators but it should keep you going with the hot water.  The switch for ours is right near the boiler timer switch for hot water and heating.  Once you turn it on you'll hear a noise similar to a kettle just heating up, give it a half hour and you should have plenty of hot water.  Hopefully you have such a switch to tide you over until you can work out what's wrong with the boiler.

Yep, some cylinders which are heated indirectly by the boiler also have an immersion heater, though not all.   

Be aware though that quite a number of modern boiler systems don't actually use a separate hot-water cylinder, they just heat the water within the boiler itself, in which case a boiler failure means you're pretty much up the creek until it's repaired.

As of course, is Jules, with the immersion heater as the only method of heating the cylinder.  I have the same arrangement here:  All electric, immersion for hot water and E7 storage heating.

thanks guys, had the repairman out yesterday. he explained the whole system to me. he showed me where there was an immersion heater but it was never connected. the boiler is apparently 15-20 years old. he's coming back today with a control panel which he was surprised he could still get and thinks that will fix the problem.
i do have a 20 year old electric shower thing that we never use. my son used it last night, told me he is never going to take a "ghetto" shower like that again!!!!

i did a lot of thinking about whether to spend £250-300 to fix this old thing or £1600 to replace it with a sleek new combi-boiler....went with the repair for now, still working on the bathroom and hoping to save up and redo the kitchen next year!!

I have the same arrangement here:  All electric, immersion for hot water and E7 storage heating.

me too, and i hate it.
i miss my gas cooker and combi-boiler from my old house.