Moving Hot Water Cylinder from kitchen to bedroom in adjacent room

[Harvey]

Hey Guys,

I am putting in an offer on a property with a really small kitchen. One of my Ideas is to move the Hot Water cylinder from the kitchen into the adjacent room. Do you guys have any ideas on the cost it would be to do this from a plumbing perspective?

[TheLiberalLeft]

If the cylinder is more than 8yo, I'd contemplate replacing it. Cost depends mainly on the distance, and access for both incoming and outgoing pipes, as well as accessibility for the plumber. Almost impossible to say without seeing it and knowing the specific requirements.

I doubt you'd get a lot of change from $1000, n/i a new cylinder.

[essence]

Okay, to me that is just odd. No doubt some day, way into the future, you want to sell this house.

The REA is showing prospective buyers through, ..... and there's a HWC in the bedroom!!! Who does that???

You don't say whether this is a rental or to be your own property. For the amount of time and effort moving the HWC to the bedroom (again why??!!) just bite the bullet and get bottled gas (an Infinity system) installed.

Yes, it is more expensive up front ($3K? installed and permitted) but honestly, well worth it. My power bills are generally around $80/month. We need a new tank every three months, so that $100/3 = $33/month. A total of $113/month of gas/power. My electricity bill in the middle of winter got to a high of $101.

Obviously if you've got more people, then more electricity and gas will be used. One thing I really like about gas, is there is always hot water. If you've a family who are into sports, that is so handy. No more running out of hot water after the third shower on Saturday!!!

I thought it would ages for the unit to pay for itself. Not so. It had easily paid for itself within one year and a bit.

Just do it.

BTW, go to www.powerswitch.org.nz (run by Consumer Magazine) and work out your energy consumption. Not only do I get reduced power bills every month (by going to gas) but by finding the company that suits my family/area I get a better monthly account. Also by changing companies I've just received an electricity rebate from my company. It's put me so far into credit, that I don't have to pay power for the next two months!! Wu-hu!!

[Maccachic]

Fully agree with Essence on the powerswitch website have been surprized how low our power bills are.

[skid]

And if your in an area with gas,even better.

[Wayne]

And if your in an area with gas,even better.

marginal over bottled gas given the 'line' charges. Certainly gas hot water more economical than just gas cooking but gas both is even better.

[AMR]

Had one done recently for $500 but it was a simple job. The risk with moving a HWC is that you then have to redo all the pipes in the house (depending on the extent of your other changes though).

Also you would need building consent to move the HWC but no building consent (considered exempt work) for installing a gas one.

[One]

You may not have to put it into the bedroom. Check out how well it'd fit in the roofspace or outside.

[Harvey]

How big are these Gas hot water heaters?
How much would it be to install?
The property is strange because it has two HWS one for the Kitchen and bathroom 135ltr, and one 135-180ltr HWS for the shower and laundry.
If the one in the laundry is 180ltr I may be able to switch the pipes over to that HWS and get rid of the one in the kitchen. Otherwise it might be worthwhile getting rid of both then replace with one gas hot water heater in the laundry.
The reason I want to get rid of the HWS in the kitchen it is where I want the pantry to go or be bench space.
The property is a rental.

[essence]

Wow, TWO HWC's!! I'd hate to have their power bill each month.

I can only tell you about the Rinnai Infinity systems.

The master gas unit goes on the outside of the house (approx 10cm deep, 25cm wide, 40cm long - all rough guesses) that is fixed to the outside of the house and two gas bottles (usually 45kgs) some distance from the main unit.

Get hold of a gas installer and ask about your particular situation.

Once HWC's are taken out, you'd be surprised at how much room they've been taking up.

[MarkButThis]

I would suggest moving the HWC outside. I did this. I rang the Auckland council and they said it was okay and didn't require any form of building consent. I did it as part of a complete refit and put in a monster HWC, so the costs aren't relevant to your situation.

If you can put it outside, that might be better than putting it in a bedroom.

[AMR]

I rang the same people and got a completely different answer. Unfortunately the exemption guide is a bit ambiguous.

UPDATE: Just rang council again to double check in case I get something wrong. Pipework is covered by the exemption. Instantaneous gas heaters are also covered by the exemption. However a hot water cylinder with storage is not exempt work and needs a building consent.

[hawkeye]

If it is a small house the downside with an infinity is there is 2 monthly connection charges- one for gas and one for power so it may be dearer for tenant. Also if outside unit is in a draught the pilot light can go out in a strong wind and you have to get out of the shower and go outside to relight it. Tenant will ring and moan they have no hot water as they won't remember how to fix it. If the power is out there is no tank full of warm water. I wouldn't get one unless it is a large household and probably not at all for tenants. (Ours was reticulated not bottled gas though so bottles may be different??)

I would look at putting cylinder in ceiling space if room, or look at solar (although it's quite expensive to install) as tank can go on roof. If you have cost of building cupboard in bedroom to house HW cylinder add that to the cost of moving cylinder then compare with price of solar. Tenant will love free HW in summer. Putting HW cylinder in ceiling requires a permit as it has to be strong enough to support the weight.

LAJ

[artemis]

I moved a HW cylinder into the ceiling space, very successful. Used the old space for a washing machine. It was a while ago and can't recall the cost, but wasn't noticeably large. I did this when replacing the cylinder, so that may have influenced the cost.