A tenant in a city centre flat had no hot water and asked us to replace both immersion elements in their Megaflo. We drained it down, swapped both elements, tested them, and the hot water was back.
A tenant in a Birmingham city centre flat had no hot water from their Heatrae Sadia Megaflo, an unvented hot water cylinder heated electrically by two immersion elements, one low down and one higher up. They rang us and asked us to replace both. We isolated the electrics and the water, drained the cylinder down and took the old elements out: both were coated in scale and corrosion. Two new elements went in, the cylinder was refilled, and with the power back on we tested both. The hot water was back and the tenant was extremely happy.
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Annual service £120 (£90 with a boiler service). Repairs £99 for the first hour in office hours, parts quoted first.
No travel charge within 10 miles of B20 2JS. Further out, £2 per mile may apply — always agreed before anything is booked. Full price list
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The tenant rang us with no hot water. Their flat has a Heatrae Sadia Megaflo, an unvented cylinder that in this flat is heated electrically by two immersion elements, one low down and one near the top. Many electrically heated cylinders run the lower element on a cheaper overnight tariff and use the upper one as a daytime boost. With neither working properly there was no hot water, and the tenant asked us to replace both.
A Megaflo is an unvented cylinder: it runs at mains pressure, with safety valves to match. Work on one, even an element swap, should be done by an engineer qualified on unvented hot water systems. Ours are G3 qualified.
We isolated the electrics and the water supply, then drained the cylinder down with a battery pump, in the second photo. The immersion bosses sit below the water line, so it has to be emptied before the elements can come out. Both old elements came out coated in scale and corrosion, as the third and fourth photos show.
The two new elements went in and were tightened with an immersion spanner, then wired back up and capped. We refilled the cylinder and, with the power back on, tested both elements. The hot water was back and the tenant was extremely happy.
An unvented cylinder needs an annual service, just like a boiler. It checks the safety valves, the expansion vessel and the controls, and catches problems before they become a cold shower or a leak. Our unvented cylinder page explains what is involved. Elsewhere in the city we remounted a Megaflo expansion vessel that had fallen off the wall in Hockley.
Unvented cylinder repairs are £99 for the first hour in office hours, with parts quoted before we fit them. An annual unvented cylinder service is £120, or £90 when it is done on the same visit as a boiler service. Details are on our price list.
On an electrically heated Megaflo it is usually a failed immersion element or its thermostat, a tripped overheat cut-out, or a supply problem such as the isolator switch, a fuse or the timer. If your cylinder is heated by a boiler, look at the boiler, the zone valve and the cylinder thermostat too. Check the switch and the timer first, never touch the safety valves, and call an engineer qualified on unvented cylinders.
Often it makes sense. They are usually the same age and have built up the same scale, and the cylinder has to be drained down to change the lower one, so doing both on one visit saves paying for a second drain-down later. It is what the tenant asked for here.
It should be done by an engineer qualified on unvented hot water systems (G3), who is also competent with the electrics. The cylinder runs at mains pressure with safety controls to match, it has to be isolated and drained, and it must go back together leak-free with those controls working.
Scale is what wears them out. Keep the thermostat at around 60°C rather than turned right up, because hotter water lays down scale faster, and have the cylinder serviced every year so problems are caught early.
Job attended and photographed by our engineers, October 2026. Written up by Saeed Iqbal, the engineer who leads Synergy Gas & Plumbing (Gas Safe registered 594385). More of our work across the city is on our Birmingham page, and every job we write up is on the case studies index.
Service £120
Annual service £120 (£90 with a boiler service). Repairs £99 for the first hour in office hours, parts quoted first.
No travel charge within 10 miles of B20 2JS. Further out, £2 per mile may apply — always agreed before anything is booked.
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Read the case studySurvey and fixed quote for replacement, £120 for the annual service. Call or WhatsApp a photo.
