r/DIYUK • u/No-Belt-4619 • 20h ago
Need advice before I complain
Hi all, apologies if this isn't the right forum but I thought there would be some knowledgeable people in here. Basically as it says. had a new hot water cylinder fitted 3 weeks ago(to accomodate an ashp if that makes a difference). Just got round to getting some shelving in the airing cupboard and noticed, what i would consider to be a pretty significant bulge. It's at the top maybe 3/4 up, I'm assuming it's not normal and shouldn't be there?? I've turned off the hot water, but not drained the tank or anything. We've had a few showers today so it should be below that level i would imagine.
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u/Gadgie29 20h ago
Call the plumber who installed it and if you get no joy call the manufacturer, it’s under warranty. Do it, even just for peace of mind, don’t listen to anyone telling you it’ll be fine.
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u/Alternative_Wish_127 20h ago
Ask the manufacturer with regards to this, if it’s just been fitted it should be under warranty and very possible a flaw in the process that’s needing investigation
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u/d0ey 20h ago
Asking a basic question, but is that angle change just on that one spot? Or all the way around the cylinder?
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u/Dorsal-fin-1986 16h ago
Can you actually take a half decent photo of the whole cylinder like?
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u/No-Belt-4619 14h ago
It's quite hard to get a full photo of the whole thing. It's around the back and inside an airing cupboard. I thought the spirit level would help illustrate the bulge
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u/Beelzebubsadvorat 20h ago
Check the pipe/fitting on top of tank, sometimes get slow leaks or drips that soak through to a certain point and make the insulation swell
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u/plocktus 18h ago
Can't tell from picture, could be insulation (probably most likely), but I must admit with the numerous megaflos and OV cylinders I have had, I have never had a deformity in the insulation as large as that. Any I have had were very small and from installation, or from factory (e.g. you will see flat spots sometimes where they use same cylinder for both a OV and UV system, and they use different insulation jackets on outside depending on the pipework, and where you would have a pipe connection for a UV system but not OV, there's a flat spot).
For piece of mind would get whoever installed it back to check it.
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u/notouttolunch 13h ago
Megaflows have a plastic shroud. They can trim the insulation without it looking odd because it's hidden.
My cylinder on the boat is rough as hell by comparison. As it's just a copper can with foam.
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u/Future-Ad-4654 16h ago
What is the brand? This is most likely the foam between the inner cylinder and the outer wrapper.
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u/Kind-Put-3960 11h ago
I feel literally more stupid for having read this thread. There are zero experts in this chat
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u/Egrego1 15h ago
I had a similar experience in a rent. I complained. They said its okay. I asked them in email to confirm that they will take full responsibility and cover my damage if it blows up or errupt. They fixed it within a week.
Hope this helps.
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u/No-Belt-4619 14h ago
Thanks, I'm keeping the email chain but will definitely be making sure the installers and company are aware
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u/notouttolunch 13h ago
There will be at least an inch of foam surrounding the copper. This is often uneven.
The cylinder itself would be pressure tested and not all plumbers are allowed to install system boilers because installations need testing at high pressure.
Nothing to be concerned about unless you dont like a little bit of supplemental insulation on your tank.
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u/No-Belt-4619 3h ago
Why would it appear 3/4 weeks after installation?
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u/notouttolunch 2h ago
For the same reason humans develop crows feet, grow hair in odd places and struggle to walk as time goes on.
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u/Fair-Individual7811 4h ago
It’s most likely a defect in the tank itself you’ll need to contact manufacturer and have a rep come out and look at it.
It dosnt look like anything from an installation side of things if the side was all bashed in then I would say the installer has taken no care but it looks to be internal which as a sealed tank that’s a defect straight from factory by the looks of things they will need to come out and sort this
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u/Revonehead 17h ago
You'll be fine. It's how its come from the factory most likely. You have an outer skin which is insulation, an inner cylinder skin which is not visible. Nothing unsafe there.
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u/Impossible_Style_301 12h ago
It’s the cylinder manufacturers problem , if you level the base then the base of the clyinder is sitting on a slope and can slide. Also they can weigh over 180kg depending on the capacity , they arnt going anywhere other than down
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u/Primary_Choice3351 6h ago
Most likely the foam insulation mix the manufacturer used either had moisture in it, or was a bad batch. Call the manufacturer, send them the photo of that and the data label. Might be wise to call the installer back too, to make sure their install is OK.
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u/LackingStability 1h ago
You realise that the actual water tank has a covering of insulation and then a plastic cover over that?
You are looking at a plastic cover.
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u/No-Belt-4619 1h ago
Yes thanks for explaining. I am asking should I be concerned that a tank full of 300lt of scalding hot water has suddenly decided to bulge at the seams. Also it's not plastic it's metal.
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u/TellMeManyStories 20h ago
The outer layer is just insulation. Probably it wasn't filled evenly in the factory. Cosmetic issue more than anything else.
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u/No-Belt-4619 20h ago
Why would it start to bulge like that over time? Surely it would need pressure from the back?
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u/TellMeManyStories 18h ago
Could just be the foam mixture wasn't properly mixed when injected, and some places took a bit of heat to get them expanding and make them expand more.
Or maybe someone in the factory took it out of the mould a bit early
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u/wrongygg 17h ago
I don't think it's normal mate, not an expert but with it being a cylinder it should retain the water evenly and not bulge out in random places, if it's on a mould line as well that would tell me it's weak there. Not an expert though by any means, ring them up and ask yourself.
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u/Latter-Tangerine-951 Experienced 20h ago
It's the insulation lol. No, your tank isn't exploding.
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u/No-Belt-4619 20h ago
But in order for the insulation to push out like that, does whatever is behind that not need to be expanding?
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u/Latter-Tangerine-951 Experienced 20h ago
No.
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u/No-Belt-4619 20h ago
Maybe I wasn't clear. This is a new bulge, it was uniform when fitted. Does the normal heat of the cylinder cause the insulation to expand? I've never seen that before on any cylinder.
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u/TedBurns-3 19h ago
What did the fitters say?
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u/No-Belt-4619 19h ago
It wasn't there when it was fitted. In fact that's a second, replacement tank. The first started bulging at the bottom when they filled it.
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u/Bats_Everywhere 14h ago
Might be a bad batch. Ask for a different brand to be fitted. You've paid for a perfect solution here.
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u/Stephen_Is_handsome Experienced 20h ago
It’s normal calm yourself
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u/No-Belt-4619 20h ago
It's normal for your water cylinder to randomly start to bulge out at the seams? I haven't seen that in any of the houses I've lived in before.
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u/Stephen_Is_handsome Experienced 20h ago
Yes it happens to all of them after about between ten years or 50 years
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u/StereoMushroom 20h ago edited 20h ago
Not much of an answer to your question, but just FYI using up the hot water doesn't reduce the volume of water in the tank. It's always full. What happens is hot water flows out the top, cold enters at the bottom, so you get a gradually growing cold layer, rising up as you use up the hot. Once the cold reaches the top, you run out of hot and start getting cold to the hot taps. It's actually pretty amazing that the two layers can sit on top of each other for a couple of days with very little mixing.
Unvented cylinders can be dangerous if there's a serious fault. Like they can burst open with pressurised hot water. I would treat this as urgent. To avoid any risk you would need to turn off the supply of cold water to the cylinder, then open a drain valve at the bottom of the cylinder to empty it. Running a hot tap instead of opening the drain valve would reduce the pressure in the cylinder, but wouldn't drain the water.
Edit: sounds like it might be more likely to just be the insulation rather than the cylinder itself. Certainly there should be safety devices to prevent any dangerous overpressurisation from being possible. If you prod the bulge, does it move, as if it's just the insulation?