No hot water in MCR Homes flat

After having MCR Homes fix the holes in the walls, I was informed that the flat was now ready for move-in.

A video about the issue

This page describes the issue with text and images, but the following YouTube video provides additional visual details:

Finding electrical issues

After purchasing an inflatable bed and a chair to make the flat livable, I began testing various amenities. When I attempted to use the hot water, I discovered it wasn't working. Only cold water was dispensed, regardless of the tap position or how long I let it run.

I was in the "robots" major in engineering school and I have some electrical knowledge. Thus, I decided to investigate the issue myself (also knowing how unhelpful MCR Homes has been so far).

I tested several points, including the water heater and the wall socket, but found no power anywhere. I considered probing up to the electrical panel but realized that might not be advisable.

Unable to pinpoint the issue myself, I attempted to contact MCR Homes, but unsurprisingly, they didn't answer.

My last resort was to hire an electrician.

A professional electrician to the rescue

The electrician identified two issues preventing the water heater from functioning: the condition of the wiring and an unconfigured timer box.

Issue 1: Botched electrical wiring

On opening the water heater timer box, it was clear the wiring was in poor condition.

One wire was loose and had broken off where it connected inside the timer. The wires appeared to have been forcibly installed in the wall, explaining their flattened and scraped state and the breakage.

Issue 2: Unconfigured Timer

The electricity supply to the heater is controlled by a timer. If the timer isn't configured, no power is supplied to the heater. Once set, the timer maintains the schedule for heating water.

From the product's page, we see the the memory is "Permanent reserve setting". Asking ChatGPT what this means, it "means that the device has a non-volatile memory component.", which "retains information even when power is not supplied" and that I "can expect the memory to reliably retain settings for the expected lifespan of the device".

This timer had never been configured, indicated by the blinking "88:88 on/off" display. Hot water was never worked in the flat and I am the first to try it.

Conclusion

MCR Homes either: 1. failed to test the hot water system (a basic responsibility) 2. knew about the issue and chose to remain silent, hoping I wouldn’t notice 3. they just don't care about residents having hot water

I sent them the electrician bill, but to this day, they didn't reemburse me.

There were not one, but two separate issues that rendered the water heater non-functional. While the saying says "don't attribute to malice what can be attributed to incompetence", it's hard not to feel like someone ensured I wouldn’t have hot water.

You start to see how MCR Homes is by now; do you believe this was just an isolated mistake? The same way letting me move in a flat with holes was an isolated incident? No, this was not the only issue, the hot and cold water pipes were switched in the bathroom making it impossible to take a comfortably warm shower.

Other issues: