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Gas Hot Water - help please

Old Scaley

By Old Scaley
in Non-Fishing Chat

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Old Scaley Mentor

Old Scaley

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Things are pretty quiet on the fishing front, and I know there are a few plumbers on the site, so looking for some advice.

I live at Fairfield. No flood at our place, but the day before the big peak our electric hotwater system died. We have natural gas, so have to replace it with gas or solar. Gas was off until Thursday night so started hunting around for someone to replace the system. I think solar is too dear for me at the moment, so looking at gas. Trouble is that all the big companies are so busy with flood stuff that I can't get anyone on the phone and no-one calls back. So I am looking for advice on:

1. Advantages of instantaneous or storage gas systems

2. Approx cost? I know I can get systems from ebay, but is there any value in doing that?

The house is a highset queenslander and the gas line to the cooktop is about 11 metres away from where the electric hotwater is now.

Any advice welcome, even if it is just a recommendation of someone to call. Getting a bit tired of cold showers after 10 days, but understand many are doing it a lot tougher than us.

Thanks

Steve

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goldnugget Newbie

goldnugget

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We have an LP gas wall unit instant hot water service in our home (rental). They are very economical to run..it is a Bosch basic unit (not adjustable via remote). Ours is supplied by the big gas cylinders that the gas guys drop around but we have found we get better economy by using 8.5 kg gas cylinders that are refilled at the local BCF for $25....ours lasts a couple of months on one cylinder where as a big one lasted us 3 months for something like $75....and our power bill is only a couple of hundred a quarter. Keep in mind they still need power to ignite the burner, and make sure you get a natural gas unit if that is what you will use as there are slight diferences between lpg and natural gas eg lpg gas is heavier than air and natural gas is lighter so their burners are adjusted accordingly. Bunnings stock the bosch units...one flaw with them though (if you can call it that) is that they are designed to turn on where the water temp of the inlet needs to be a certain minimum temperature for eg in summer, the cold water line is a little warmer than ussual and the hot water system tends to go cold then back hot again while you shower..thankfully most of the time though it maintains steady heat.

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adambris Newbie

adambris

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I'm not a qualified gas fitter and don't know a great deal about it but I will send you a PM of a good mate of mine who does alot of gas work that will be able to point you in the right direction.

Edit: Stay away from the ebay units, buy local then if a warranty claim is needed at least it will be local.

+1 for avoiding ebay units, just asking for trouble.

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adambris Newbie

adambris

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We have an LP gas wall unit instant hot water service in our home (rental). They are very economical to run..it is a Bosch basic unit (not adjustable via remote). Ours is supplied by the big gas cylinders that the gas guys drop around but we have found we get better economy by using 8.5 kg gas cylinders that are refilled at the local BCF for $25....ours lasts a couple of months on one cylinder where as a big one lasted us 3 months for something like $75....and our power bill is only a couple of hundred a quarter. Keep in mind they still need power to ignite the burner, and make sure you get a natural gas unit if that is what you will use as there are slight diferences between lpg and natural gas eg lpg gas is heavier than air and natural gas is lighter so their burners are adjusted accordingly. Bunnings stock the bosch units...one flaw with them though (if you can call it that) is that they are designed to turn on where the water temp of the inlet needs to be a certain minimum temperature for eg in summer, the cold water line is a little warmer than ussual and the hot water system tends to go cold then back hot again while you shower..thankfully most of the time though it maintains steady heat.

mate that last problem u have with temp fluctuations is probably ur water saving shower heads, pull the disc out of the head and it should stop.

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goldnugget Newbie

goldnugget

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Yeah we thought it was a restricted flow issue too but we took it out (restricter)and it still does it at times when we have had higher temps for several days in a row....its a regular shower head.

On the topic of restricters..the house we are in also had restricters/aerators on outeside tap fittings, I removed these and set them aside as I noticed a significant improvement in pressure at the end of a hose. As a former firie, I would like to think if my or neighbours house was on fire that I'd like to have as much water pressure available to me as possible (just quietly the water pressure up here compared to Vic is ordinary at best)...BTW if you intend to spray a hose in your or your neighbours house, make sure you shut off all the fuses in the power box first for your protection.

Sorry to stray, thought I'd mention it based on experience while we were on the topic of restricters.

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faulked Newbie

faulked

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i re plumbed the water from the meter to the house when i moved in i also ran an unrestricted 3/4inch line to the rear of the property and if i need to fight a fire at the rear where the scrub is it gives me at least twice the flow and distance that is available from the exsiting hose outlet for the hundered odd dollars it cost very worth it

good point about the fuses i did not even think doooh

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werewolf Newbie

werewolf

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mate that last problem u have with temp fluctuations is probably ur water saving shower heads, pull the disc out of the head and it should stop.

I hate the fluctuations! Hot and warm water is easy to get, but a cool (not cold) shower, impossible...

Might have to try pull the water saver head apart then :whistle:

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Angus Rookie

Angus

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There are obviously better units than others.

Mate I cant give you any advice on installation and brands but I always choose gas over electric wherever possible.

We have had gas in our last two locations and its been fantastic. I truly beleive cheaper than Electricity by a lot. The only slightly annoying one we had was a property we had for a while in Wilston. The pilot light often dropped out and it was difficult to light again. However we had this looked at and fixed as it was a legit fault as opposed to an annoying tihng to deal with.

And look on the bright side, if the pwoer goes out, you can still have hot showers! I am really close by to you (In Yeronga) and we were letting a few people have hot showers at our place during the floods as a cold one just doesnt cut it when you have been cleaning up that foul mud all day.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Old Scaley Mentor

Old Scaley

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instants can be a bit tricky depending on how old the plumbing is, you have to get one to suit your plumbing, some light without power nugget they have an impeller
Just a quick update - I do now have hot water. Wanted to get the instant, but the pressure in the mains was marginal so ended up with a storage system (natural gas). The problem was not with the plumbing at the house end - just old infrastructure not up to scratch. In light of news stories fro the USA about a spate of gas fires caused by old pipes I hope our infrastructure gets updated soon :(
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Travis Newbie

Travis

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instants can be a bit tricky depending on how old the plumbing is, you have to get one to suit your plumbing, some light without power nugget they have an impeller
Just a quick update - I do now have hot water. Wanted to get the instant, but the pressure in the mains was marginal so ended up with a storage system (natural gas). The problem was not with the plumbing at the house end - just old infrastructure not up to scratch. In light of news stories fro the USA about a spate of gas fires caused by old pipes I hope our infrastructure gets updated soon :(

the gas mains would be newer than the water mains id say/hope :lol:

Brad was just sayin dont skimp on a warranty getting a seconds unit

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