Gas water heating Archives - Page 3 of 7

Posted on November 14, 2017August 3, 2022 by SiteAtion

Gas Water Heater Reviews

If you are considering upgrading to gas, you no doubt want to know which gas heaters you should be looking at. If you are new to gas systems, it can all be a little overwhelming. So we have decided to review five popular gas water heaters so that we can help you decide what’s right for your home.

Rheem 27 Continuous Flow Gas Heater

The Rheem 27 is an extremely popular unit in New Zealand for gas. Available in both NG and LPG, these are a low cost solution to gas water heating for people looking to switch over from electric, or to upgrade their old gas water heater.

The Rheem 27 offers an economical 2 litre per minute start up rate. What this means is that it reduces water wastage by heating water much sooner than other gas water heaters, which require up to a 3 litre minimum. Because of this. it also lends itself to use with efficient tap-ware.

Other features include:

6 Star efficiency
Improved minimum flow start-up
10 year pro-rata warranty on the heat exchanger
3 year warranty on parts and labour
Digital display for easy fault diagnosis and servicing
Full technical support through the Rheem National Service Network
Unique Flame Safe overheat protection system

Bosch Hydro Power 16H

The Bosch Hydro Power 16H delivers a 16 L/min flow rate and is available in natural gas or LPG. What is special about this unit is that it ignited without a power point or standing pilot light. This unique technology works by utilising the energy of the water flow to ignite the burner and begin the heating process. It only ignites when the hot tap is opened, and shuts off when it’s closed. This makes for a very efficient unit which is easy to install.

This unit is suitable for 1-2 bathroom homes.

Other features:

Continuous flow technology
Delivers 16 L/min at a 25°C temperature rise
External installation
No electricity or standing pilot light required
Energy efficient
Simple installation
Comprehensive warranties

Rinnai INFINITY VT26

The Rinnai INFINITY VT26 is a continuous flow gas water heater suitable for external residential installations. The VT26 features an improved start-up flow rate, which saves you water and ensures your water heater is future proof for water efficient tapware upgrades. Available in both NG and LPG, it is perfect for homes with 1-2 bathrooms and high simultaneous hot water demand. It can be used on both mains and medium pressure systems.

The VT26 also works with a range of controllers for kitchens and bathrooms which have features including options to run water for you to fill a bath at a certain temperature and tell you when it’s ready. It also has a range of accessories such a recessed installation box, pipe covers, flue diverters and more.

Other specs and features include:

Efficiency of 80%
Energy star: 6.1 star energy equivalent
Hot water capacity: 1.8-26 L/min
Nominal water capacity: 26 L/min, 1560 L/h
Input on max: 199 MJ/h
Output on max: 44.2 kW
Water supply: 130-1000 kPa

Why should you convert to gas water heating?

Gas water heating systems provide a range of benefits over traditional electric water heaters. Gas continuous water heaters are more efficient than electric water cylinders, and provide contiunous hot water, meaning you will never run out as long as you have gas. You’ll also free up space in your home with the removal of the cylinder. Gas water heaters can also work with digital controllers to allow specific water temperature for certain instances, such as filling a bath.

If you want to upgrade to gas water heating for your home, talk to us today on 0800 429 546.

Posted on September 13, 2017August 3, 2022 by SiteAtion

Freeloader Dead? Stellar Ahead

The Vulcan Freeloader is a very common cylinder found around New Zealand for gas water heating. Available in Natural Gas and LPG, they were a popular choice in the 80s and 90s. However, these heaters are known to fail and have been the subject of many replacement jobs we have done.

These cylinders were originally made in Australia by the company Vulcan. In 2002 , Rheem aquired the Vulcan Company, and the Freeloader was no longer produced.

99% of these Vulcan Freeloader water heaters fail because of the thermocouple, which causes the pilot light to go out, meaning no hot water. Every one of these cylinders we have replaced had this issue. And the problem is that the parts are no longer manufactured, which makes repairing them impossible.

Here is a very old Vulcan Freeloader that we had to deal with recently. It failed on the customer and we tried to repair it, but were not able to due to lack of parts. So the customer was advised that they would need to replace the Vulcan with a new water heating system. As you can see in the pictures, this Vulcan was so old that the green color on the casing has actually faded to brown. Even we rarely see them in this state!

Is your Vulcan Freeloader dead? Check out our Vulcan Freeloader replacement deal here.

Posted on August 7, 2017August 3, 2022 by SiteAtion

What’s A Rheem Stellar Gas Hot Water System?

If you have had the blessing of gas hot water for many years and are looking to upgrade or replace your water heater, then the Rheem Stellar is the most efficient domestic gas storage water heater available in New Zealand. It is the gas storage water heater of choice by many installers and is ideal for replacing the Rheem Vulcan Freeloader.

What makes the Rheem Stellar so popular? Well it has high flow rate capabilities – which makes it ideal for homes that have multiple bathrooms and / or moderate to high hot water use. On top of this, it is suitable for all water pressure types – you can operate it using mains, and low pressures with no issues. The Rheem Stellar requires no electrical connections to run – in fact, it will continue to work even if the power goes off.

Rheem is known to be at the forefront of both technology and design and the Stellar does not disappoint. The Stellar is a bold cylinder with a matte enamel finish and small footprint. It’s stylish design and construction carries a solid 10-year warranty that covers both the cylinder and super flue. The warranty also gives you a 5 year labour warranty on the cylinder and super flue and a 1 year parts and labour on all other components (there are warranty conditions).

Example:

A customer requested a technician call out to investigate their Vulcan Freeloader which appeared to not be lighting.

On attendance it was found that the gas valve was not letting the pilot gas through. This was rendering the Vulcan Freeloader unusable.

We advised our customer that their Vulcan Freeloader was not able to be repaired and it was uneconomic to do so. The Rheem Stellar NG was recommended and the benefits were explained. The customer agreed to replace their Vulcan Freeloader with a Rheem Stellar NG.

As you can see from the photo the Rheem Stellar has a much more contemporary design. There are a lot less exposed pipes on the outside of the unit which removes a lot of the maintenance issues that can show with the Vulcan Freeloaders. The installation required just a new paver for the Stellar to sit on and the customer was back up and running with hot water.

Before: