Who has a gas geyser in here?

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HateTelkom

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Would you mind letting me know if you have a gas geyser in your house please? Have one or 2 questions to ask.

Thanks
 
We have one at work and it sucks. The new ones have so many safety features in them that they give you more grief than hot water. I shower most mornings at work as I commute on my mountain bike.

Anything else you wanna know?

EDIT: BTW, its ironic that when we have no power our gas geyser does not work !!! Also we are in the process of replacing the geysers (there is a 2nd unit too) with Solar Geysers instead.
 
cbrunsdonza said:
We have one at work and it sucks. The new ones have so many safety features in them that they give you more grief than hot water. I shower most mornings at work as I commute on my mountain bike.

Anything else you wanna know?

EDIT: BTW, its ironic that when we have no power our gas geyser does not work !!! Also we are in the process of replacing the geysers (there is a 2nd unit too) with Solar Geysers instead.
Click to expand...

Every few seconds, a tiny pulsing electric spark keeps the gas ignited. Same type as what you get in a cigarette lighter. My geyser has a manual ignition switch on it, similiar to the way you fire up a gas stove.
 
I had one. It really sucked. If you ask my wife, she'll tell you it was the worst choice I ever made. We eventually replaced it after about a year of hell. If you ask me wife, investing in an electric geyser was the best choice I ever made (after marrying her, of course).

So the gas geyser had to be installed outside, for safety reasons, and for fresh air for combustion. But everytime the wind blew a bit too strong, it would blow out the flame used to ignite the gas. You'd then have to close the tap, and open it again, and this action (water flow, water pressure through the gas geyser) would re-ignite the flame. So a 10min shower would turn into 7 mintues of warm to hot water, and 3 minutes of fighting with the geyser. On a calm day though, the geyser worked really well. In fact it made the water way too hot. You could really give yourself some serious burns.

If you don't have municipal gas running into your property, don't even bother with a gas geyser. Buying gas by the cylinder is expensive, cumbersome and a big headache. Also, the gas always runs out while you in the middle of a shower, on the coldest mornings.

The geyser used 2 batteries (2 sizes bigger that AA batteries) which had to be replaced every 4 months or so. No electricity required.

Overall, running a gas geyser was 2-3 times more expensive than running an electrical geyser.

I highly recommend you do your homework if you are seriously considering getting a gas geyser. From my experience, it is definitely not worth it, even if you can afford the gas.
 
Thanks for your feedback ToxicWazte. As mentioned we are in the process of replacing ours with Solar. Reason for going gas was our new office is green and we also need to be cautious of how much power we consume - we only have access to so much.

Also agree on the geyser fight - I find that I struggle to shower in summer because as soon as the water pressure drops (from turning the hotwater down), the geyser stops working.
 
Ignoring the faulty ignition system problem (which really should be solved), the bottom line here seems to be the cost of LP gas, and the transportation and storage cost of LP gas.

Surely we should be asking our oh so helpful government to get their act together and give us a clear legislated path regarding the pricing of the Gas in the future.

Lets not forget that the price of electricity is in the process of rising by 400%, and, once the price has risen that far, suddenly the comment above:
2 - 3 times more expensive
becomes
1/4th cheaper

I have heard ramblings about the control over the price of LP Gas, but nothing concrete.
 
Yip the ignition systems really suck. They should implement something more reliable. Like a continuous spark every 5 seconds while the water is flowing. Also the ignition system should be powered by the mains, but with a nice big battery backup for when the lights go out, similar to what most new alarm systems come with. The ignition system should also be electronic, with intelligent sensors, rather then relying on simple water pressure activating a lever to generate a spark. There probably are such geysers available, but they are more costly.

I know of a few people who also use gas extensively in the house - for general heating, stoves and geysers, but they are all supplied by municipal gas. They are saving lots of money each month on the electrical bill. For some reason municipal gas is a lot cheaper than buying gas by the cylinder. Also, it's nice to have a constant supply, without having to worry about monitoring cylinder levels, and carting cylinders up and down. Even if you get a gas supplier who will deliver new cylinders, and collect empty ones, it's still a PITA.

My opinion - if you aren't being supplied with municipal gas, it isn't worth the headache (yet).
 
Last edited:
Eish, I dont know why all of you are having problems.
I installed a gas heater about 2 years ago and no problems to date.
Have replaced the 2 x size D battries once a year.
The unit is installed inside the bathroom, so it acts as a nice heater in winter too.
Had some problems with getting the funnel installed initially, but do it according to the instructions, then it works fine.
I have adjusted mine so that you only require hot water. One tap only :)
Together with the stove we use about 20kg of gas every 4 to 5 months, which cost about R300 to refill.

Remember to size the unit according to your usage! So running a 15l/min unit faster than 15l/m will result in cold water.
So have a good look at your shower head, less flow, more pressure, hotter water!
Massive shower head, more flow, lower pressure, cold water!

In winter when the water is freezing in the water pipes, of course you will need more heating energy for less water.
 
The unit we have at work works on the principle of faster water flow, hotter water (same as Speedheats). It suppose to be the latest, greatest that all our local Somerset West Germans insist on having installed. End of day its junk.

I've always remembered those gas geysers at farm & holiday cottages I've often been to since I can remember (and thats a very long time) and they always worked without fail. You might need to get the pilot light going with a quick click but thats it.

Now these new units have so many safety features in them that they actually become inoperable more often than not. I find that once it goes into messed up state I have to turn off the water, wait a few seconds and then turn the water up full bar - repeat the process while chanting incantations.
 
OK, did a quick google and came across the unit we have: Rinnai_Infinity_26

http://www.gasexperts.co.za/Rinnai_Infinity_26_Downlaod.htm

I now see why this thing gives us problems. Reading the manual now it says that it regulates its temp and if it increases by 3C it will cut out. Fan-fun-testicle !!!!! We use borehole water and sometimes the water pressure drops slightly and this now explains why the damn thing cuts out.
 
wetkit said:
Eish, I dont know why all of you are having problems.
I installed a gas heater about 2 years ago and no problems to date.
Have replaced the 2 x size D battries once a year.
The unit is installed inside the bathroom, so it acts as a nice heater in winter too.
Had some problems with getting the funnel installed initially, but do it according to the instructions, then it works fine.
I have adjusted mine so that you only require hot water. One tap only :)
Together with the stove we use about 20kg of gas every 4 to 5 months, which cost about R300 to refill.

Remember to size the unit according to your usage! So running a 15l/min unit faster than 15l/m will result in cold water.
So have a good look at your shower head, less flow, more pressure, hotter water!
Massive shower head, more flow, lower pressure, cold water!

In winter when the water is freezing in the water pipes, of course you will need more heating energy for less water.
Click to expand...

Geeze, i was so dissapointed when i started to read this thread. Gas geyser looked to me like the ultimate solution in saving on my electricity bill but it didn't look like it when i started to read the responses until i get to this one :)

With the technology available nowadays i cannot believe people are having so many issues with gas geysers like i read here in this topic except for this one reply. I would think that it is a matter of forking out the money for the unti and paying for the installation and boom...everything runs on gas; no hassles. I do understand that if you run the water faster than the 16L/m then you will get cold water but thats a given and you cannot complain about it. If you want more warm water then get a bigger unit....
 
I sell alot of gas water heaters and yes there are some places where they just wont work well. The units do require a certain water pressure to switch on and stay on. If the plumbing isnt done right you will experience problems.

There are some settings that can be done in order for them to run on lower water pressures.

Send me a message if you need help.

The unit must also be installed by a registered gas installer.
 
Thanks for the PM Terrance. I will look into our geyser - we have not yet switched to solar. This morning once again I had problems with the water pressure killing the hot water.

(Terrance also suggested a UPS, we do have battery backup in the office and I will see if we can get the unit connected to that).
 
spiderz said:
So a solar + electric solution seems better...
Click to expand...

Actually gas is the most cost effective for geysers. The return on investment with solar can at times not be viable. But it all depends on your usage and where your geyser will sit.

Even though a litre of water is more expensive to heat up with gas vs electricity, the advantage is its on demand usage. But electric geysers that are installed at point of usage (like in the bathroom), use less electricity as there is less water wasted in the pipes feeding the taps.
 
Anybody have one of those CADAC portable gas geysers? Saw them yesterday for R600 and thinking of getting a unit for backup as we have a 4mth old baby.
 
Morning everyone

What's the latest with gas geysers? I am thinking external with one unit serving kitchen and 2 bathrooms?
 
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