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| Thread ID: 89702 | 2008-05-09 03:28:00 | Dead Hot Water Cylinder - fix or replace | Morgenmuffel (187) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 667587 | 2008-05-09 03:28:00 | Hi all Woke up to cold water in the shower this morning, hot water cylinder feels stone cold, so I am guessing it is probably dead, the cylinder is a 30 Gallon one from 1981 I have the following questions Is it worth getting it fixed as from what i hear the life expectancy for these is around 25yrs How much does it cost to get a new cylinder installed and hooked up to a wetback, (our existing one isn't hooked to the wetback, infact the wetback fireplace insert thingie is sitting just behind the computer here) I would prefer a larger cylinder, the older one was fine for us (family of 5), however i would prefer a slightly bigger one as we may have another sprog due later in the year Also owing to previous bad experiences with plumbers is there such a thing as a "Registered master plumbers" type certification, sorry but after previous experiences with plumbers, I rate politicians, PC World advertising layout people and user car salesman slighty higher and yes I know there are good plumbers out there, but I have no idea how to tell the cowboys from the good ones. |
Morgenmuffel (187) | ||
| 667588 | 2008-05-09 04:29:00 | Presumably it's electric - you need an electrician to check the heating element - not a plumber. | rad_s4 (7401) | ||
| 667589 | 2008-05-09 04:41:00 | Plumbers can and do. | Peter H (220) | ||
| 667590 | 2008-05-09 04:45:00 | Presumably it's electric - you need an electrician to check the heating element - not a plumber. Nonsense. Plumbers change elements. |
pctek (84) | ||
| 667591 | 2008-05-09 05:02:00 | We replaced our old one after we got fed up with having to get various things done to it over a period of 5 years. With all the money we've spent over that time if we'd just have bought a new one in the first place it would have worked out heaps cheaper. I'm not 100% on the specs of the thing because I don't really care about things like that, I just knew I didn't have hot water, though I believe it is a Rheem 160 Litre (low pressure) and the bill was something like $600 all up, including fitting and removal of the old one. Not sure if it's expensive or cheap for that job, we didn't really shop around because we were unfortunate enough for this to happen while we had overseas guests, in winter time. We've had the new one running for maybe 4 years now, the guy told us the minimum life time is about 15 years, and I think it came with a 10 or 15 year manufacturers warranty too. Yes, most jobs relating to water cylinders a plumber will take care of. |
Deathwish (143) | ||
| 667592 | 2008-05-09 05:28:00 | With the amount of copper in an old cylinder the plumber will be "removing" it straight to the scrap dealer :) A Rheem low pressure cylinder has a 5 year warranty. Life depends on local water. |
PaulD (232) | ||
| 667593 | 2008-05-09 05:40:00 | Plumbers can and do. if they have electrical registration and do all the paper work for the job, then yes. if no reg then no they shouldn't. it may be a dead element or faulty thermostat. both are easy enough to change yourself, common sense applys to power of course and make sure all wires have a great conection and conections are tight. loose/poor contact with heavy currant through it, they get hot and can start fires. |
tweak'e (69) | ||
| 667594 | 2008-05-09 05:48:00 | Oh yeah, might also want to look for a switch, haha. Our cylinder is in a big pantry and in the past, the switch has been knocked to off position before (it's just a normal looking switch like on the walls, except it's nearly the floor). I don't know why the heck that switch is there, nor if that is normal...? | Deathwish (143) | ||
| 667595 | 2008-05-09 06:21:00 | And if you are on any sort of night-switched hot water system have electricain check that it hasn't failed. Electrical work done in our street recently and a neighbour lost hw for 2 days simply because the linesmen didn't check their work! Nothing wrong with element. | coldot (6847) | ||
| 667596 | 2008-05-09 06:24:00 | good point coldot, sometimes the old ripple switchs play up, especially if there has been a few spikes down the line. ring your power co. | tweak'e (69) | ||
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