Replacing our hot water cylinder... options

[kiwilassee]

Our current low pressure hot water cylinder was installed in 1981 (when house was built) and we are renovating our bathroom shortly (October), so it seemed a good time to replace our 32yo system (with the 25yr lifespan we're probably pushing it).

Some background info...
- two adults (however, we are hoping to start a family soon)
- 2 x 5000 gallon concrete tanks with pump (didn't run out last Summer, which was a drought!)
- currently no bath but getting one with bathroom reno in October
- one bathroom, two toilets
- septic tank
- in next year will add Thin Tank under house for greywater
- we will be buying Methven All Pressure tapware for our new bathroom

Currently, we don't have issues with ...
- water running out
- pressure of water (shower is fine and rinsing thick hair is no problem)
- getting cold in shower (do make an effort to put dishwasher and washing machines on timers but never had problems with someone turning on taps in kitchen or bathroom whilst someone's in the shower, which in one year of living there, must have happened a few times inevitably!)

To be honest, there's not really a problem with our current system but as it is 32yrs old, it does seem like a ticking time-bomb. So we figure these are our options and the pros/cons as we see them...

	Pros	Cons
1. Mains electric	- more hot water through the taps - no change in temp when someone else turns on the water elsewhere in the house (not currently a problem) - better with a bath	- 10 year lifespan - will use water faster and could therefore run out of tank water and have to buy water
2. Low Pressure electric	- 25 year lifespan - less water than mains therefore cheaper (is this right?)	- may get worse pressure with new bathroom (a big unknown?)
3. Mains Heat Pump	- cheaper water heating - hot water faster (claims their website anyway!) - more hot water through the taps (ie. mains pressure) - no change in temp when someone else turns on the water elsewhere in the house (not currently a problem) - better with a bath than low pressure - supposedly adds capital value?	- 15 year lifespan - will use water faster and could therefore run out of tank water and have to buy water - more expensive to install
4. Low Pressure Heat Pump	- cheaper water heating - hot water faster (claims their website anyway!) - supposedly adds capital value?	- 15 year lifespan - more expensive to install
5. Gas	- cheaper water heating - cheaper to install than replacing your HWC - frees up space where your HWC - control of temperature and quantity via a control panel (good for filling the bath) - shower will never run cold (unless you run out of gas which shouldn't happen) - option to add gas cooking	- unsightly appendage to your house - not instantly hot when you turn the tap on (may take longer for the water to run hot when tap is turned on) - have to remember to fill up gas bottles (and they're big so quite a bulky job)

(from what we've read on solar, it's still far too expensive and still needs a lot of topping up with electric, so for us, it's not really an option yet).

And now for some questions...
- any comments/feedback/additions to the pros/cons above?
- will we need to change our kitchen and laundry tapware? (no idea what they are currently)
- will we need to change/upgrade our pipes?

Thanks, in advance :-) and sorry for the long post!

[Kaye]

Location would be good????

[essence]

We removed the HWC from our house. BEST.DECISION.EVER.!!

We only had gas for water heating, not cooking. Two adults, four bedroom, two bathroom, insulated house. We had a Kent wood-fire for heating.

I calculated the cost of installation would take 3 years to pay off. Well, the first month our power bill dropped by 40%. The second month our bill dropped by 20%. This was in the middle of winter too. The installation was paid off in 15 months.

The following winter my power bill was on average $85 over the months July/August/September..... yes, that is correct $85!! Mind you, that did include a Direct Debit rebate (20%?).

Would I get gas again - absolutely. Would I recommend someone else getting gas installed - absolutely. I use the analogy of keeping a kettle boiling or near boiling all the time, to a HWC. It's the same thing. It's on whether you're at home, on holiday or not. What's the point??

A gas heater is only on when you require hot water. As for the 1-2 second delay..... really? Is that so much of a problem?? 1-2 seconds?

[wilditr]

Agree with the Gas for all the above reasons.
A bottle seems to last about 3 months and costs around $100 delivered.

[Gladdynook]

a couple of comments.

1. you are upgrading tapware to methven - if you go for the futura models then you will likely have better pressure than currently
2. does your HWC have an open pipe up through the roof or a relief valve on it? if its a pipe through the roof, it is likely your cylinder has many years of life left in it. My latest rental has the original cylinder aka 1950s!!
3. going mains pressure adds quite a lot of cost - it is not just the cylinder cost, but all the extra valves and copper required. Swapping out your old one for a new Low pressure can be done for a lot less if you want peace of mind with having a new cylinder.
4. if you stay with low pressure, then individual taps will fill the bath much quicker than a mixer. You can have two taps in the wall and a large bath spout enabling you to adjust the water temp entering the bath if you prefer this however. Just using a shower mixer though will make filling the bath painful.
5. a new HWC will save you power due to the much better insulation, but you effectively lose the benefit of having a nice warm hot water cupboard for towels/linen. can't have it both ways!

We have gas at home and love it, as does our 2 yr old who tends to spend more and more time in the shower, so knowing we wont run out is great!

[ithink]

Gas - for all the above reasons...!! It adds the next level of comfort to your life I think... Don't think the cost savings are much in my case (2 adults), but just for the comfort, it is worth the money!!!

[Perry]

What about the fixed/supply/pipe
charge for the gas? That would be
two non-consumption related bill
components each month which
would need reckoning, right?

[essence]

Perry, you pay for the cylinders as you use them. Generally about $106/cylinder (depends on supplier), which last between 9-12 weeks.

One-off "cylinder rental charge" approx $120/p.a.

Even with those costs, STILL much cheaper than HWC.

[Perry]

Aaahh, I was thinking
reticulated gas lines.

[AlfredSims]

Our current low pressure hot water cylinder was installed in 1981 (when house was built) and we are renovating our bathroom shortly (October), so it seemed a good time to replace our 32yo system (with the 25yr lifespan we're probably pushing it).

Some background info...
- two adults (however, we are hoping to start a family soon)
- 2 x 5000 gallon concrete tanks with pump (didn't run out last Summer, which was a drought!)
- currently no bath but getting one with bathroom reno in October
- one bathroom, two toilets
- septic tank
- in next year will add Thin Tank under house for greywater
- we will be buying Methven All Pressure tapware for our new bathroom

Currently, we don't have issues with ...
- water running out
- pressure of water (shower is fine and rinsing thick hair is no problem)
- getting cold in shower (do make an effort to put dishwasher and washing machines on timers but never had problems with someone turning on taps in kitchen or bathroom whilst someone's in the shower, which in one year of living there, must have happened a few times inevitably!)

To be honest, there's not really a problem with our current system but as it is 32yrs old, it does seem like a ticking time-bomb. So we figure these are our options and the pros/cons as we see them...

	Pros	Cons
1. Mains electric	- more hot water through the taps - no change in temp when someone else turns on the water elsewhere in the house (not currently a problem) - better with a bath	- 10 year lifespan - will use water faster and could therefore run out of tank water and have to buy water
2. Low Pressure electric	- 25 year lifespan - less water than mains therefore cheaper (is this right?)	- may get worse pressure with new bathroom (a big unknown?)
3. Mains Heat Pump	- cheaper water heating - hot water faster (claims their website anyway!) - more hot water through the taps (ie. mains pressure) - no change in temp when someone else turns on the water elsewhere in the house (not currently a problem) - better with a bath than low pressure - supposedly adds capital value?	- 15 year lifespan - will use water faster and could therefore run out of tank water and have to buy water - more expensive to install
4. Low Pressure Heat Pump	- cheaper water heating - hot water faster (claims their website anyway!) - supposedly adds capital value?	- 15 year lifespan - more expensive to install
5. Gas	- cheaper water heating - cheaper to install than replacing your HWC - frees up space where your HWC - control of temperature and quantity via a control panel (good for filling the bath) - shower will never run cold (unless you run out of gas which shouldn't happen) - option to add gas cooking	- unsightly appendage to your house - not instantly hot when you turn the tap on (may take longer for the water to run hot when tap is turned on) - have to remember to fill up gas bottles (and they're big so quite a bulky job)

(from what we've read on solar, it's still far too expensive and still needs a lot of topping up with electric, so for us, it's not really an option yet).

And now for some questions...
- any comments/feedback/additions to the pros/cons above?
- will we need to change our kitchen and laundry tapware? (no idea what they are currently)
- will we need to change/upgrade our pipes?

Thanks, in advance :-) and sorry for the long post!

You have shared vital option but its implementation is dependent on location.. I will try to use some of these tips and hope it works out well...

[jimO]

you dont fill your own bottles, a man from the village does it