Technical Advice FAQs

This is heavily dependent on the quality of installation, the way the appliance has been used over the years and the quality of maintenance and care it has received.

Noise will generally only occur when the unit heats during the night or when requested by you during the day. The unit contains a copper cylinder holding 100 – 200 litres of water, which will make some noise when heated, in the same manner a kettle makes considerable noise when heating a far lower quantity of water.

Some noise is therefore unavoidable, however, if the noise level increases noticeably or you are concerned it is excessive, please do not hesitate to contact us.

While this high temperature guarantees safe water quality, we do understand that this temperature is very hot. Older people who have more sensitive skin, may have restricted movement and be unable to react quickly. They are consequently more vulnerable to scalding, especially if ‘stuck’ in a bath or shower.

The temperature of the hot water cannot be ‘turned down’ via our appliance due to the risk of bacterial build up within your pipework, but it can be reduced at the outlet itself through the installation of a thermostatic control.

We are delighted to be able to offer a range of thermostatically controlled products which will control and significantly reduce the temperature of water you use for showering, bathing, and hand washing.

These products conform to the highest British safety standards and mix the hot and cold supplies to a pre- determined safe temperature, consequently allowing a far more comfortable water temperature and significantly reducing the risk of scalding in the home.

To find out more about these products, contact Gledhill Response on 0800 3800 129.

Your PulsaCoil appliance is designed to meet with Building and Water Authority Regulations, which stipulates that hot water is routinely delivered to tap outlets at no less than 50°C

– 55°C.

These temperatures prevent the growth of micro-organisms within your pipe work and eliminate the risk of legionella and harmful bacteria within your hot water. You can therefore have absolute confidence that the hot water that you use to bathe and wash with is completely safe.

The hot water delivered through your taps is your mains cold water which has been instantaneously heated by our appliance. This means that the hot water produced is the same quality as your incoming mains supply and should therefore be of drinking quality.

You have no exposure to stored water and there is nothing our unit can do to influence the quality of your water. The PulsaCoil eliminates the risk of legionella or dangerous bacterial growth affecting your hot water supply.

When you initially turn on the hot tap, you draw the water that has been stood in the pipework between the PulsaCoil and the tap itself. It is not until this water is drawn off that you then receive the hot water that is generated by the PulsaCoil. This is unavoidable and would be experienced with ANY boiler.

You may experience a fluctuation in temperature of the water for a further 20-30 seconds. This is just the unit adjusting the output temperature to the taps as it passes the sensor on the unit.

We advise that if you are away from the property for less than 2-3 weeks, then leave all power switches on. If, however, you are going away for longer than 3 weeks, you can make a small saving by turning your OFF PEAK SUPPLY OFF, but leaving the MAIN POWER SUPPLY ON. This will stop the unit heating up on the off-peak periods, but the pump is exercised on a regular basis – reducing any potential problems on your return.

Inside your appliance a store of water is held within a copper cylinder, which will cool if the appliance is switched off. If the water held in the copper cylinder is allowed to remain cool for a prolonged period of time, the natural rate of corrosion of the copper cylinder will accelerate and the lifetime of your appliance can be significantly reduced. If all the power is turned off, the pump is not exercised on a regular basis and has an increased likelihood of seizing up.

We would not therefore recommend leaving your unit switched off for several months without the appliance being drained. Gledhill Response would be pleased to drain your unit for you at a subsidised rate should this ever be necessary.

Turning the appliance off during the daytime will not save electricity. Since the unit only charges overnight, unless you are on an Economy 10 tariff or actually request a top up of hot water (by pressing your ‘boost’ button) you will not use a significant amount of electricity during the day.

Turning off your unit overnight will not save money since the temperature of the water held in the store will fall and a similar or greater amount of electricity will be used when the unit is turned back on to restore the water temperature.

While you can safely turn the appliance off at any time, the PulsaCoil unit charges overnight to take advantage of the ‘off peak’ cheap rate electricity. Turning the unit off overnight denies the appliance this opportunity to charge itself. This means that you will have limited hot water and will potentially have to charge the unit during the day using ‘on peak’ electricity at a much greater cost.

While we acknowledge that the manual fill of the header tank can be inconvenient for some homeowners, this feature has important safety implications since it significantly reduces the potential for damage to the property and potential injury to residents in apartments below.

You can install a ball cock with automatic topping up on the system. However, in the event of a leak or ball valve failure, systems which automatically fill themselves up will continue to do so indefinitely until the problem is resolved. Such issues have been responsible for causing massive damage to property and the implications of leaks within apartment developments can be extremely serious.

By contrast, the inability of the PulsaCoil unit to top itself up means that in the event of a significant leak, the only water that can be lost is the water held in the cylinder at that time.

If you are unable to easily see the water level in the header tank, then we can install a sight glass to many types of header tanks which makes checking water levels quicker and easier. The installation of the sight glass enables you to see the required level exactly, simply by opening your airing cupboard door.

We will automatically check water levels when attending to conduct an annual healthcheck with our Platinum package.

The header tank should be filled with clean cold water approximately halfway up the tank. It is important not to overfill the tank as this can create problems.

We advise that the header tank water level is checked every three months. You can help reduce the amount of water lost during operation by ensuring the lid of the header tank is securely replaced.

Can’t find the help or answer you are looking for?

You can write, email or telephone us on our Freephone number or mobile friendly line: 0800 3800 129. All our contact details are available on the contact tab at the top of this page.

Sorry, but we’re the wrong site for you! Our Gledhill Spare Parts team can provide help and advice on purchasing official Gledhill components. Click on Gledhill Spares link at the top of this page to go through to their website. Alternatively, call them direct on 01253 474 412 or email [email protected] for more details.

Some system types (-such as unvented cylinders) require a check every year to maintain warranty cover and to ensure your safety. However, the inherent safety of appliances like the open vented PulsaCoil mean that no such annual service is required for many other systems.

We have designed our boiler and home cover packages to reflect the needs of these different products, but our office team will be more than happy to guide you if you have any further questions.

Although an annual inspection is not a necessity for all Gledhill appliances, we do offer a yearly health check option for almost all products. As an appliance ages, more regular maintenance is required and the likelihood of a breakdown increases. An annual check allows our engineer to assess that a boiler or system is functioning correctly and hopefully address any developing problem before it results in an unscheduled breakdown, reducing the risk of a ‘no hot water’ or ‘no heating’ situation and the resulting upset and frustration caused to the homeowner.

We offer a full range of annual maintenance agreements which provide the most cost effective and easy way of looking after your Gledhill appliance. Our directly employed team of experts will ensure you get the help you need when the unexpected happens.

We would be pleased to help you in this important decision. A full all-inclusive quote can be provided for almost all installation requirements. Take a look at our Boiler & cylinder replacement tab at the top of this page for more on our peace of mind installation service or speak to our installation team on 0800 3800 129

All manuals and user guides relating to Gledhill appliances (old and new) can be found under the ‘downloads’ tab at the top of the page. Paper copies are available on almost all the documents at no charge. Just send us an email if you would like one posting to you.

Homeowners can also call us with any query about their appliance for free on 0800 3800 129