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Problem Guides

No Hot Water

Boiler, immersion heater, or hot water cylinder issues

4 free DIY guides · 18 total

Waking up to no hot water is one of the most common plumbing callouts in the UK. Whether your boiler is firing but not producing hot water, your immersion heater has tripped, or your hot water cylinder has lost pressure — most causes are diagnosable without calling an engineer straight away. Modern combi boilers, unvented cylinders, and gravity-fed systems all have different failure modes, and the fix for one won't apply to another. These guides walk you through the most likely faults for your system type, what to check yourself, and when you genuinely need a Gas Safe registered engineer out.

Step 1 — What type of system do you have?

The diagnosis is different depending on your system — this helps us point you to the right guide.

Annual boiler service — what happens and what it costs
What a Gas Safe engineer does during a boiler service and typical UK costs· 45–90 min (engineer)
Boiler not firing due to condensate pipe blockageFree
Boiler shows fault code in cold weather — condensate pipe frozen· 15–30 min
Combi boiler producing no hot water
Combi boiler — hot water at taps has stopped· 5–10 min
Combi boiler — hot water takes a long time to arrive at the tap
Long wait for hot water from combi boiler — why it happens and how to reduce it· 30 min–1 day
Diverter valve fault — no hot water (combi boiler)
Heating works but hot water is cold or heating water comes from hot taps· 1–3 hrs (engineer)
Electric shower running cold water only
Electric shower producing no heat· 20–60 min
Expansion vessel failure — boiler pressure keeps rising
System pressure rising above 3 bar when heating is on — expansion vessel fault· 1–3 hrs (engineer)
Hot water is lukewarm — not hot enoughFree
Water heats but never reaches a proper hot temperature· 15–30 min
Hot water runs cold after a few minutes
Starts hot then goes cold mid-shower· 5 min
How much does it cost to replace a diverter valve in the UK?
UK costs for replacing a stuck or faulty diverter valve on a combi boiler — the most common cause of hot water failure.· 1–2 hours
Immersion heater not heating waterFree
Electric hot water cylinder not working· 15–45 min
No hot water after a power cutFree
Boiler needs resetting after power restored· 5–10 min
No hot water but heating is working fine
Radiators heat up but taps run cold· 5–10 min
Solar Thermal Hot Water System Not Working
Solar thermal panels not heating water, pump not running, or controller showing fault· 1–3 hrs
Unvented cylinder not producing hot water
Pressurised hot water cylinder has stopped heating· 1–4 hrs (engineer)
Unvented cylinder pressure relief valve dripping
What a dripping PRV on a megaflo or unvented cylinder means and what to do· Engineer visit
Vented system — boiler on but no hot water
System or conventional boiler with hot water cylinder not heating· 20 min–2 hrs
Water temperature fluctuating in shower — combi boiler
Shower goes hot and cold when someone uses another tap or flushes toilet· 1–3 hrs

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