Water heater replacement

A water heater usually gets replaced when the tank starts leaking, the element burns out every few months, or the water takes ages to heat and smells of rust. Replacing a water heater is more work than fitting a new one on a bare wall: the old one, often furred up with scale, has to be drained and taken down safely first, and only then is the new one matched to the existing connections.

How the replacement goes

• switching off the power and turning off the cold supply;
• draining the tank through the safety valve or a drain point, which can take a while with scale and sediment;
• disconnecting the old heater from the pipework and lifting it off the wall;
• adapting the fixings, as a new heater often has a different hook spacing;
• fitting the new heater with a new safety valve, filling, bleeding the air and a first heat-up.

What to watch for

The safety valve is replaced along with the heater, because the old one may be scaled up and fail to open. It is also worth checking the isolation valves and hoses: during a replacement they cost little, while getting to them later means draining the system again. If the new heater is larger, the handyman checks that the wall can carry it and that the circuit is suitably protected.

Safety: the electrical connection is made by a qualified handyman with the circuit switched off, and the heater must be earthed.

What happens to the old heater

An old water heater counts as waste electrical equipment. It does not go in the bin: it goes to an e-waste collection point, or the shop collects it when delivering the new one. If you want the handyman to carry it out and take it away, add that to the job.

Common questions