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Hi all.
I'm going to need to get my hot water heater replaced soon and looking at all options, hopefully I'll find all the bits I need before it dies. Currently It's a Rinnai brand and looking at all other brands, I'm wondering if the temperature controller is universal between brands. If I ask the sales staff they will always say I need to buy their one (at silly prices).
AL.
Another query is the LPG/Natural Gas difference.
Is it just a different size holes in the jets or is there more to it than that.
There's a Rennai heater for Natural gas on TM cheap, it may be worth it if I can get the jets swapped from my old Rennai unit or buy a conversion kit.
I am not a gasfitter but i saw one swapping the a few items to change from N gas to LPG. He mention it quite expensive but can be done. Not just the jets but also the controling unit. Best to chat to a certifying gasfitter first
If you want a left field answer, I would get a sparky in to assess the cost of replacing the fueled water heater with something that won't break your heart and your wallet in a couple of years when we run out of gas.
If it goes the way it's looking, we might end up having to import bulk shipments of gas from Aussie or further away, and injecting them into the natural gas network from a receiving point most likely somewhere off the cost of New Plymouth (where the existing infrastructure is and the weather is generally garbage). There is currently no active drilling or exploration program in play and it takes years to establish one - apparently we have a similar number of years left in the current fields. Not ideal...
You might not have sufficient supply to your house to run on demand electric hot water, but it would pay to ask the question before you commit to purchasing a replacement gas fueled appliance to find it becomes eye watering to feed in a few years...
Ok a "cheap" NG unit probably won't be cheap after modifying it and the powers that be don't want us to use an efficient energy source (although that may change- I had to search that bit).
Thanks very much, that gives me a bit more info on my quest to be as tight as a fish's butt.
Find an old marshall water heater feed it wood, twigs, dried cow pats, newspapers etc. We had one when we were up north. 400 litres it took 20 minutes from cold to hot enough to make the calf's milk. It would boil if you got over enthusiastic. Now you are supposed to have tempering valves, maximum 55⁰c etc and other drama. Bring back coppers for doing the washing I say.
Problem is MH, only a few of us have ever used a "copper" or know what one is.
:O_O::O_O:
You need a certified gas fitter to carry out any work on a gas appliance.
I know thanks @Haggis Just after options to see if I can save a few $ sourcing the bits.
Look for one already LPG if that’s what you’re after. Not worth converting imo unless you’re a gasfitter and can do it yourself.
I gave up on finding a second hand one and brought new. The first quote I had was over $2200 installed but another crowd did the same heater installed for $1750. That was only $500 to install with a gas cert, much better than mucking around with it myself.
Thanks to you all for all the advice.
Al.
as with all things electronic its normally the sensing devices not the controller. the amount of times people have told me "its the engine management computer" and it turns out to be crank angle sensor, O2 sensor etc is huge
Not many tradies want to do a labour only job. Your buying the parts cuts out your installers margin so theres no incentive to give you a sharp price, or even any price.Quote:
Originally Posted by No good names left
I considered converting also but depends on the age of the unit as to whether you can get a conversion kit. I was told by a gas fitter you also have to consider where you place your LPG cylinders. Need minimum of 500 mm distance from windows, door frames etc.
We have a Rinnai and the plumber gassfitter we used couldn't get it to run silent. To this day, it groans at full noise, and Rinnai weren't interested in sorting us out.
That's a shame Bol, my unit does make a bit of noise but not much.
I got a plumber to instal a new unit as he was here doing another job. At first he couldn't get it to work with the old temp controller connected, his offsider got it done but now there's a 7 second delay between turning on the hot tap & ignition.
They wanted me to buy a new controller but I think that's just a "Buy this & that'll fix it" mentality, I found that If I disconnect the controller there's no delay, so I put a switch in the controller cables so I can run it disconnected when I don't need the temp adjustment.