Those stupid immersion jokes

Lewis_Benson

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

I still don't really know what an immersion is, never lived in a house that lived one, as far as I know. But yes Irish comedy seems to be based around it, whatever it is.

Its a heating element which is inserted into the hot water cylinder, it is immersed in the water, hence the name immersion.

up for anything

Grab All Association wrote: »

So why do people in Ireland keep repeating it?

You had to be there!

Del2005

Lewis_Benson wrote: »

Its switches off when it reaches the set temperatures.

And when it goes below the set temperature it switches back on until you turn it off with the switch.

Lewis_Benson

Del2005 wrote: »

And when it goes below the set temperature it switches back on until you turn it off with the switch.

Indeed it does.
But if you have an insulated tank, the temp drop is very slow, if you don't have an insulated tank, you should

cbreeze

Grab All Association wrote: »

They are exclusive to Ireland and make no f***ing sense given that there’s a thermal cutoff switch on the immersion that’ll trip if left on. It’s not going to cost you anymore, just the inconvenience of finding a pencil to reset it.

So why do people in Ireland keep repeating it?

Hot water tanks used not to have thermostats fitted. The water just came up to the boil and would vent through an escape pipe. Early electric kettles were the same. They did not automatically switch off and if left unattended would boil dry and there was a spring which pushed the plug out of the kettle to save the element.

Poor Uncle Tom

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

I still don't really know what an immersion is, never lived in a house that lived one, as far as I know. But yes Irish comedy seems to be based around it, whatever it is.

Liar! liar!

hatrickpatrick

The joke comes about because for kids of a certain generation (I'm assuming early 80s to late 90s) the immersion being accidentally left on when heading out for the day or going to bed at night was a source of panic, anger or dismay from their parents, presumably due to the fact (or at least the perception) that you were essentially boiling money for no reason by doing so. Perhaps as others have said modern boilers have mechanisms to prevent this, a bit like modern chargers, but certainly the idea when I was growing up was that for every minute it was left on after the tank was fully heated and no one was going to be using it for a while, it was literally like flushing £20 notes down the jacks.

This would appear to have been a rather universal experience hence the memes.

hatrickpatrick

Lewis_Benson wrote: »

Indeed it does.
But if you have an insulated tank, the temp drop is very slow, if you don't have an insulated tank, you should

I'd say everyone does these days, but I certainly remember older houses in the 90s having exposed metal tanks which would scorch your finger if you touched them, and these sort of external insulation "jackets" you would manually wrap around them like big sleeping bags Anyone else?

Lewis_Benson

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

I'd say everyone does these days, but I certainly remember older houses in the 90s having exposed metal tanks which would scorch your finger if you touched them, and these sort of external insulation "jackets" you would manually wrap around them like big sleeping bags Anyone else?

Lagging jacket.

jack of all

Anyone who has grown up in a time of hot water on demand/ never having to wait for hot water for a shower etc won't get the "immersion joke", aren't ye lucky?! The "immersion joke" of the future will probably start out with some reference to "dial up internet" and progress to references to "rural broadband" etc; plus ca change etc...

Ninthlife

Immersion making a thread like this...

JupiterKid

Shiny wrote: »

I used to live in an apartment where the heating element had some sort of design flaw where the thermal cut off would fail after 3 or 4 months of use. Nothing worse than waking up to a full tank of boiling hot AND cold water.

When the hot tank hits boiling point it has an emergency overflow into the cold tank which eventually because boiling too. Boiling water in the hot, cold taps in the bathroom, cistern full of boiling water, the shower a torture device too.

Disaster (best pronounced in a Dundalk accent).

So you can imagine the anxiety levels if you happen to accidentally switch that on during the day and leave it unattended.

Yep, my OH’s old apartment had a faulty immersion - I found that out to my cost by taking a scalding shower with no cold water on tap.

IAMAMORON

The guy that started the song of Ice and Fire can't be arsed finishing it.

He is a sick puppy, I mean he reminds me of someone that starts a really really cool song, sings the chorus and then irritably fails the final most important verse?

Basically a fake.

I never understood why Ygritte and the blonde Dragon babe never got the opportunity to get it together? I genuinely lost interest after that. It was kind of a waste of everyone's time, nearly as bad as that pile of shight about the plane crash victims on the island... another 7 years of unfulfilled expectation that I am never getting back?

Take your time, no one else will.

the beer revolu

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

I'd say everyone does these days, but I certainly remember older houses in the 90s having exposed metal tanks which would scorch your finger if you touched them, and these sort of external insulation "jackets" you would manually wrap around them like big sleeping bags Anyone else?

Still like that in my house.

The problem with the spray on insulation is that you can't feel with your hand, how much hot water is in the tank.

Andrea B.

the beer revolu wrote: »

Still like that in my house.

The problem with the spray on insulation is that you can't feel with your hand, how much hot water is in the tank.

You burrow s little hole in insulation about 30% down from top of tank and plant one of these in permanently.

Link

A bit of trial/error offsets and learning, but you will get there.
After a few weeks, for me, above 50C and there is enough for bath.
Above 36C is enough for 2 showers.