Shower not heating

[Rc2702]

Currently renting and whilst my landlord is very good, they ignore request about the shower not heating water. They have looked at it but I can see the charge charged with fixing it is uneasy about fixing it. Obviously I am not going to buy a new shower, so my question:

 

Is it a common enough task in thailand to get fixed? - any ideas of cost? Process is a call out by engineer of some calibre? One guy suggested we bring the shower to his shop which I found very odd. Another guy was adamant cannot be fixed but he had showers to sell. Understandable but perhaps I knocked wrong door!

 

Shower seems pretty common

Sharp wh hot hot is model.

 

All help appreciated.

 

Thanks fellas

 

 

 

 

 

[lopburi3]

You did not provide a model or type or much information at all.  Is water flowing OK - very low flow might prevent start of heater?  Normally there is a filter on input that can be cleaned and adjusted to show or increase water flow.  Is there any light/indication that electric is working?  If a normal wall unit there is always a switch to test ELCB and if that is not reset there will not be any electric getting to heater (normally a level to push back to reset).  

 

Edit:  take that back model is WH Hot Hot (amazing Thailand).

On lower left is the ELCB control button - if not reset or being blocked from returning through hole it could cut off electric.  If still no electric make sure the breaker feeding the shower is on as it is likely a separate breaker and may not be in normal box.

Edited September 23, 2016 by lopburi3

[Bob9]

How long you going to be here and staying at the place?  If not long then let it go. If long time(lease etc.) then suggest you go halves in replacement costs of water heater - you pay less rent next month. You can get new ones (home pro/global house) for around 6000baht upwards, (not sure Sharp pricing) and install is about 500baht.

 

But before that - check electricity is working (reset/test buttons) and clean the inlet filter/washer (low pressure will stop the heater automatically). Turn off the power and open the cover (screw underneath) and look see if anything has disconnected itself or is loose.  Watch this for ideas:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pQodGwfNow

 

 

 

[rapom]

Never have had a problem with my  water heater. As long as there is sunshine,we have warm water. If not, I just man-up.

[allane]

Ensure that the breaker is switched on. These things are usually installed as an afterthought, and are usually on their own circuit. I guess they use a lot of power compared with everything else.

[Ronuk]

Low water pressure and 100% they don't work.

[Dexlowe]

Check to see if there is a fuse inside. The cover is easily removed - there's just one screw underneath to undo. If that's all ok, use an electrician's screwdriver to check that power is reaching all parts of the unit. There is a possibility that the thermostat is kaput, in which case you can try to get the model number and have it repaired quite cheaply (ask around for a reliable repairman, don't just go into any old repair shop). 

 

KEEP POWER OFF at all stages. Only turn it on (at the mains) when you need to check power flow, then immediately turn off again. Take the usual precautions.

[Lamkyong]

2 hours ago, allane said:

Ensure that the breaker is switched on. These things are usually installed as an afterthought, and are usually on their own circuit. I guess they use a lot of power compared with everything else.

  

 

with power off  water flow valve not activated on most models so likely not the cause

[lopburi3]

Not on any model I have ever used - none of them require power for water flow - indeed most people have them turned off until the heat is needed.  

[Rc2702]

4 hours ago, Dexlowe said:

Check to see if there is a fuse inside. The cover is easily removed - there's just one screw underneath to undo. If that's all ok, use an electrician's screwdriver to check that power is reaching all parts of the unit. There is a possibility that the thermostat is kaput, in which case you can try to get the model number and have it repaired quite cheaply (ask around for a reliable repairman, don't just go into any old repair shop). 

 

KEEP POWER OFF at all stages. Only turn it on (at the mains) when you need to check power flow, then immediately turn off again. Take the usual precautions.

X 10 likes more for safety advice. Thanks for informing me in an idiots guide manner I truly appreciate that type of thought process. Lifesaver thanks dex. Dex lol how ironic.thank you. 

[Rc2702]

To all contributors I am very thankful.

 

Only in isaan?

[Lamkyong]

1 hour ago, lopburi3 said:

Not on any model I have ever used - none of them require power for water flow - indeed most people have them turned off until the heat is needed.  

my apologies ob obviously my models  are the quality ones with all the safety features 

[ubonjoe]

20 hours ago, Bob9 said:

You can get new ones (home pro/global house) for around 6000baht upwards, (not sure Sharp pricing) and install is about 500baht.

They can be found for about half that price. Tesco, Big C and even Mackro have them also.

[ubonjoe]

15 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Not on any model I have ever used - none of them require power for water flow - indeed most people have them turned off until the heat is needed.  

 

13 hours ago, Lamkyong said:

my apologies ob obviously my models  are the quality ones with all the safety features 

I have never seen one that has a water shutoff valve. No power and water still flows through every one I have ever seen.

[Phuket Man]

Personally I would buy a new one for 2 or 3 thousand baht and get it fitted myself.

The chances are that your one is not even earthed.

Mine wasn't. It just had the earth wire going into the ceiling connected to nothing.

Get a decent electrician and insist it is earthed.

Edited September 24, 2016 by Phuket Man

[Bragolatch]

It's been a while, how did you manage ? 

 

For those interested, just sharing my experience :)

 

I have the same exact model WH-HOT HOT,  with the exact same problem which stated exactly one year minus one day after I bought it.

The large advertising for 5 Year warranty on the box does not specify (clearly) that this is only on the heating element. Everything else is only covered for one year.

Still I taught myself lucky because I was close but covered, so I took it to Lotus Chien Yuen where I bought it.

They do not handle these locally so they redirected me to a repair center in KhonKaen.

 

I was impressed, very friendly staff and they fixed it right then and there in about 30 minutes while I was looking at computer peripherals and other parts they sell.

They said it was a faulty thermostat. Plugged everything in back home and was very happy that it worked just fine !

 

For two days lol

Now of course the warranty is expired and I would have to pay for repairs.

Seeing how long it previous one lasted, I'll probably just get a new one.

Depending how much they want, I might still have it repaired and keep it for spare to use between replacements.

 

[Bragolatch]

Actually after a bit more fiddling I managed to fix / reset it myself :)

 

I had probed at it before bringing it in for repair but had no luck and I wasn't sure,  but there is a reset switch on top of the copper heater unit.

It's very small and requires much more pressure then I would have expected so I did not insist the first time.

 

But since the warranty is out and I did not really feel like taking it down again I poked at it some more with good results.

 

As stated in previous post be careful ! 220V around water with at best very basic protection (if any) can be quite deadly !

 

The way I understand it now, after a bit more research, is that with age the thermostat become more sensitive.

Normally the heater turns itself off when the water flow is to low to prevent damage to the element or the water from becoming too hot.

 

I use to only turn off the water flow and the heater would turn itself off automatically, now, to avoid tripping this switch after every use I have to make sure to turn on the water before the heater and turn off the heater before turning of the water flow.

 

It's not perfect but it works and it's better then a cold shower especially during the cold season !

[ubonjoe]

That is a switch to prevent overheating of the unit.

I had it open on one we had. Not sure why but suspect that the heater was left on and the water supply was not closed completely. Some are resettable by by pushing down the button in the center of it.

Rule of the house is to always to turn to the heater off when finished now.

I turn off the heater off before turning off the water to cool down the heating unit for a bit. Suspect that might help to prevent mineral build up on the heating element.

 

[Tagaa]

I had a 6000 watt Panasonic & the element died. It was out of warranty, but the repair was about 1000 Bt, IIRC.

 

A rental house I had, with a Brit landlord, had 3 heaters. Two didn't work but I only used one bathroom, so no matter. Well that one died & I asked him to repair. He sent guys out 3 times & never did get it working, then had the unmitigated gall to to tell me maintenance is my problem, not his, eventhough the lease clearly specified HE was responsible for maintenance of all electrical fixtures.

 

I bought a new heater, installed it & took it with me when I moved. I left his dead one of the floor.

[jenny2017]

On 2/22/2018 at 7:43 PM, Bragolatch said:

Actually after a bit more fiddling I managed to fix / reset it myself :)

 

I had probed at it before bringing it in for repair but had no luck and I wasn't sure,  but there is a reset switch on top of the copper heater unit.

It's very small and requires much more pressure then I would have expected so I did not insist the first time.

 

But since the warranty is out and I did not really feel like taking it down again I poked at it some more with good results.

 

As stated in previous post be careful ! 220V around water with at best very basic protection (if any) can be quite deadly !

 

The way I understand it now, after a bit more research, is that with age the thermostat become more sensitive.

Normally the heater turns itself off when the water flow is to low to prevent damage to the element or the water from becoming too hot.

 

I use to only turn off the water flow and the heater would turn itself off automatically, now, to avoid tripping this switch after every use I have to make sure to turn on the water before the heater and turn off the heater before turning of the water flow.

 

It's not perfect but it works and it's better then a cold shower especially during the cold season !

Looking at your grey wire, it seems that somebody has caused a short before. Please see the black spots. You've got an earthed ( the blue one) wire, but have you checked where it goes to?

 

   

 

      

[Alanthebuilder]

There's some good Panasonic showers on offer at the moment 2000B ish .


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[Gumballl]

In the USA, the water heaters last anywhere (with luck) from 15 to 20 years. Yet it seems that the Thai-style heaters (which implies either a Japanese, Korean or European design) is, well, inferior. Why is this the case?

In the USA we HAVE A HIGHER STANDARD OF LIVING. Yet it seems that in Thailand, people are relegated to these puny little heaters depicted in the pics from previous posts. So sad.

When I lived in Florida, my house had a "heat exchange system" that took the heat discharged by the A/C system and fed it to the central water heater. For most of the year (consider it the hot part of the year), I did not have to power on my water heater. The same technology could be applied to Thailand.

Home owners should not have to place water heaters at every room (i.e. kitchen and bathrooms) in the house. That is plain stupid. Use a central water heating system. Oh, I forget... it is Thailand that I am talking about... influenced by the blind.

P.S. I've taken cold baths. Nothing compares to pouring cold water over the shoulder using a bowl.

Edited February 28, 2018 by Gumballl

[sanemax]

7 minutes ago, Gumballl said:

In the USA, the water heaters last anywhere (with luck) from 15 to 20 years. Yet it seems that the Thai-style heaters (which implies either a Japanese, Korean or European design) is, well, inferior. Why is this the case?

In the USA we HAVE A HIGHER STANDARD OF LIVING. Yet we are relegated to these puny little heaters that are common place in Thailand (and Europe?).

When I lived in Florida, my house had a "heat exchange system" that took the heat discharged by the A/C system and fed it to the central water heater. For most of the year (consider it the hot part of the year), I did not have to power on my water heater. The same technology could be applied to Thailand.

Home owners should not have to place water heaters at every room (i.e. kitchen and bathrooms) in the house. That is plain stupid. Use a central water heating system. Oh, I forget... it is Thailand that I am talking about... influenced by the blind.

P.S. I've taken cold baths. Nothing compares to pouring cold water over the shoulder using a bowl.

Thanks , I woke up this morning thinking to myself "I wonder what water heaters are like in the USA" , and now I know .

   I was also wondering what apples are like in the USA , I now know that as well

So pleased to read Thai viusa

[kevc]

Top of the water tank inside there should be a small black button use something like a pencil or chopstick to press on it if it makes a clicking sound you should be in business when you turn the shower on.

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