Water Heaters in Walsall
No hot water, a cylinder that’s leaking, or showers that have lost their pressure? Prime Boiler Co installs, repairs, and replaces water heaters and hot water cylinders across Walsall — vented and unvented systems, including Megaflo-type cylinders — with clear fixed prices agreed before any work starts.
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Vented or Unvented — What's the Difference?
A vented cylinder is the traditional setup: a copper cylinder fed by a cold-water tank, usually in the loft. It relies on gravity for pressure, which is why showers in older Walsall homes can feel weak — and why a shower pump is often added.
An unvented cylinder (Megaflo is the best-known brand) is a sealed unit fed straight from the mains. No loft tank, and hot water at mains pressure — strong showers, faster-filling baths, and a cylinder that can sit almost anywhere in the house. Because unvented cylinders work under pressure, the law requires them to be fitted and serviced by an engineer with the specific unvented (G3) qualification, and they need an annual safety check to keep the safety devices working and the warranty valid.
Not sure which you have? If there’s a big white or stainless cylinder with an expansion vessel nearby and no tank in the loft, it’s unvented. Either way, we can service, repair, or replace what you’ve got.
- Vented — a copper cylinder fed by a cold-water tank, usually in the loft; it relies on gravity for pressure.
- Unvented — a sealed unit fed straight from the mains; hot water at mains pressure — strong showers, faster-filling baths.
Signs Your Water Heater Needs Attention
- No hot water, or it runs out far too quickly
- Banging, popping, or rumbling noises from the cylinder
- Water pooling around the base, or a dripping discharge pipe outside
- Rusty or discoloured hot water
- Showers that have gradually lost pressure
- A cylinder that’s 15+ years old and getting unreliable
Caught early, many of these are a repair — a valve, a thermostat, an immersion heater. Left alone, a leaking cylinder can damage ceilings and floors, which turns a small job into a big one.
Repair or Replace?
As a rule of thumb: if the cylinder itself is sound and the fault is in a valve, thermostat, or immersion heater, repair is usually the sensible spend. If the cylinder body is leaking, heavily scaled, or well past 15 years old, replacement normally works out cheaper over the next few years than repeated callouts — and a modern insulated cylinder loses far less heat, which trims the energy bill too. A straightforward like-for-like cylinder swap typically starts around £700–£1,100 fitted, while a new unvented cylinder installation generally runs £1,200–£2,200 depending on size, brand, and pipework changes. You’ll always get the exact fixed price before we start.
- Repair — if the cylinder itself is sound and the fault is in a valve, thermostat, or immersion heater, repair is usually the sensible spend.
- Replacement — if the cylinder body is leaking, heavily scaled, or well past 15 years old, replacement normally works out cheaper over the next few years than repeated callouts.
Keep It Serviced
Unvented cylinders must be checked annually — the expansion vessel, pressure relief valves, and thermostats are safety devices, not optional extras. Most homeowners book the cylinder check at the same time as their boiler servicing, so both are done in one visit. General plumbing problem instead? See our plumber in Walsall page.
- Annual check — the expansion vessel, pressure relief valves, and thermostats are safety devices, not optional extras.
- One visit — most homeowners book the cylinder check at the same time as their boiler servicing, so both are done in one visit.
Unvented cylinders are especially common in larger homes like those in Aldridge, and if a cylinder is beyond repair, a new boiler installation is sometimes the better route.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most commonly asked questions about water heaters
A well-kept copper vented cylinder often lasts 20–25 years; stainless unvented cylinders commonly 15–25 years too. Annual checks on unvented models, and fixing small faults early, are what get a cylinder to the top of that range.
Rough guide: a 1–2 bed home with one bathroom usually suits 120–150 litres; a 3–4 bed family home, 180–210 litres; larger homes or several bathrooms, 250 litres plus. We size it properly at the survey based on bathrooms and how your household actually uses hot water.
Usually, yes — as long as your mains pressure and flow are good enough, which we test first. The switch removes the loft tank, improves shower pressure, and frees up space. It's one of the most common upgrades we fit in Walsall homes.
A like-for-like swap is normally half a day. A vented-to-unvented conversion, or moving the cylinder to a new spot, usually takes a full day.
Not usually. A failed immersion element or thermostat is one of the cheapest cylinder repairs, and it's often the reason a cylinder 'suddenly' stops heating when the boiler is fine. It's always worth a repair visit before assuming the cylinder itself has gone.