Apologies if this is posted in the wrong place.

I run a forum, and I'm using my host's SMTP settings for the mail. However, 90% of the emails sent via the forum (be they new users signing up, or topic reply notifications) take literally hours to arrive at their destination.

I know the details must be correct, because if they weren't I wouldn't receive any mail at all. I've scoured the net looking for a solution, but nothing has come up. I tried changing the SMTP port from 25 to 587, and that worked for a while, but now the problem has returned.

There is never an error or a message or any sign that there was a problem (other than the delay itself).

I've also tried sending emails with my website's email account using my host's SMTP details in Outlook Express, and the same problem applies - the email is sent without error, but it takes hours to get back to me.

I know that asking my host about this would be the better option, but their website's support section appears to be down at the moment.

My host is LunarPages, if that matters.

Sorry I can't be more specific about the issue, but without any error messages or the like it's difficult to provide you with adequate information.

Cheers!

might be it is the problem with ur ISP and there routers/strict firewalls. passing thru their security policies makes your email delivery damn slow. See how are the MTAs configured in ur system.