Hot Water Repair Pelican Waters

Hot water system repairs, replacements and truthful sizing

Hot Water Repairs in Pelican Waters, most often same day

The reassuring news is the first one, as it is applicable more often than people assume: most “dead” hot water systems are not dead. In all of the years we have been called out in Pelican Waters for cold showers, the most common problems have been one part failed, a burnt out element, a drifted thermostat, a pilot-in-hiding thermocouple or a finally-failed valve. They are all parts that can be picked up from the stock and are first visit repairs that represent a small fraction of the cost of a new system.

There is a second type of “Pelican Waters” hot water failure, however, and it is even more widespread and it is worth stating straight away: a lot of failed Pelican Waters hot water systems aren't failures. They're capacity problems. The houses in this suburb are significantly bigger than the average house in the Sunshine Coast, with three or four bathrooms being standard, often with a spa, and guest wings sometimes at the opposite end of the house to the plant room. A tank specified for a conventional home can't recover fast enough for four people to shower in succession, and the last person in the line decides the system is broken.

One of the things we do here that is more useful is to differentiate between “faulty” and “under-specified” and then turn it into a sizing discussion instead of a repair quote.

From the canal frontages and Spitfire Banks to the golf precinct and Pelican Waters Boulevard, up to Marina Village and the latest offerings toward Bells Creek, Apex Essential Services repairs and replaces all the common systems in the suburb, all major brands.

Two Checks Worth Thirty Seconds Before You Call

• Electric storage, check the switchboard first. Hot water is usually on its own circuit and a blown breaker is the least expensive “repair” in the business. Also, worth noting: lots of homes heat on an off-peak, or economy, rate here, meaning that if that house has a tank that's been emptied by a full house of weekend guests, you might just be waiting for its economy window to kick in.
• Gas, see if the cooktop lights. If no gas appliance works, the problem is supply, not the heater; and on bottled-gas properties a bottle that's empty after a series of entertaining parties is an expected thing. A pilot light that has blown out is a common and easy problem on older gas storage tanks.

Both check out and you're still cold, or anything is leaking? That's the point to call.

What Fails, System by System

Electric storage

Common across most of the homes built in the 90s and early 2000s in the suburb. If the heat has stopped completely, the obvious possibilities are the heating element itself, which is likely to burn out over time and as a result of usage, and the thermostat that regulates the heating element, both common, readily available, same day repairs.

If the water is only lukewarm or hot water runs out much sooner, it's typically a sign of another problem. The most frequent is one element of a twin element tank breaking, cutting capacity in half at once, in a house already putting heavy strain on the tank. The other is sediment, mineral deposits that over the course of years accumulate in a layer on the bottom of the tank that both occupy space and block heat transfer from the element to the water it was designed to heat.

Gas storage

Cold water from a gas storage unit is usually the pilot light (which goes out after wind or a loss of gas), the thermocouple, the safety device that shuts off gas right away when the pilot burns out and the pilot won't relight, despite your best efforts, or a burner that is fouled and has poor recovery and produces a weak, lazy flame.

Even as the water is still hot, one thing that needs to be done: when the flame of the burner is yellow and sooty, you need to schedule a service. This is so called incomplete combustion which is not only a waste of energy but is also a safety issue and not cosmetic.

Continuous flow (instantaneous)

Very common in newer Pelican Waters builds and increasingly the answer when a large home outgrows its tank. There is no way to run them out because they heat on demand (one of the many reasons they are great in a 4-bathroom house). They are small, mounted on a wall and do not contain water to leak.

More efficient and durable than a tank, but more demanding on flow and ignition. Common complaints range from controller error codes, water cycling hot-cold-hot during a shower (usually the water flow sensor or the ignition is not functioning properly), and the flow slowly decreasing over time due to the deposits forming in the heat exchanger. There is one big home tip: if you have one continuous flow system, you will have a max flow rate, so if you have two showers running plus a kitchen tap, then the system may not be able to supply the temperature you are looking for. Two units (or a unit plus zoning) might be the proper specification in cases where the home is truly large, rather than a larger single box.

Heat pumps

A growing trend here and truly appropriate for this climate: a heat pump takes heat from the ambient air instead of using an element to create it and operating costs are also significantly lower than conventional electric hot water. The environmental logic also lands in this suburb, where a lot of people care about such things.

Faults are related to fans, sensors and refrigeration side components and the tank below requires the same anode and valve maintenance as any cylinder. Siting matters on a canal block: position the external unit outside the direct line of the salt-winds where possible, give it open air rather than a tight enclosure, and remember it does make some noise, worth comparing to a neighbour's bedroom window on a small waterfront property.

Solar

There are lots of north facing roofs in the suburb and solar panels have been a popular option at several build waves. The most subtle failure occurs when a circulation pump quits working, a roof sensor fails, or a leak in the collector connection; the booster silently covers for them and a cold shower is never experienced, only a higher energy bill! When your “free” hot water is now “expensive” hot water, without you even realising it happened, there's something upstream of the booster that's broken.

Sizing a System for a Large Home

This is where most of the value is lying on a Pelican Waters hot water job and so it should be taken through correctly.

Hot water sizing does not depend on the number of bedrooms, but rather the amount of simultaneous demand. The question is not “how much hot water does this house use in a day” but rather “what is it that occurs from 6:30 to 8:00am or 5:00 to 7:00pm when guests are present”. A home with average demand can cause the system to run out of steam within 90 minutes.

There are three factors that contribute to that peak in this suburb:

• Bathroom count. With four bathrooms, one could draw four times at the same time. Introduce a spa bath, that could require up to 200 litres of water alone, and a single fill can empty a standard tank.
• Guests. The homes of Pelican Waters welcome. Weekend visitors, family over Christmas, the golf group staying the night. A two-person system is not a seven-person system, and it fails when you're least expecting it.
• Distance. In a large single-storey house the journey from the plant room to the furthest bathroom may be long enough for a lot of water to flow down the drain before it reaches the hot temperature. It's not a fault either, but it is an annoying one that can be resolved, and should be during system replacement so it's useful to discuss it.

If capacity is the true problem, the honest answers are: a bigger storage unit (if there's space, and supply capacity); a continuous flow unit that never runs out; two units (sometimes placed at different ends of the house) which also shorten those very long runs; or sometimes a recovery or tariff adjustment that narrows the gap enough to try first. We will state what each costs, and what each truly provides, and let you decide, not tell you a repair is due on a system that is functioning exactly as it was designed.

The Suburb's Replacement Waves

Construction of Pelican Waters has been underway since 1990, and the systems for hot water have been installed in waves as the time has rolled around.

A storage tank will last about eight to twelve years. Do the same mathematical calculation through the years of the construction of houses in that suburb and the pattern is not hard to spot. The 1990s canal homes are on their second or third generation, and any tank in those houses that has not been replaced over the past 10 years is on borrowed time. Golf-boom houses built in the late nineties and early 2000s when land values here increased by about 85% between 1998 and 2003 are being replaced in bunches right now. The 2010s homes are now beginning to reach their “first time for replacement” stage. And the latest builds are in the warranty-defect testing phase and failures are more likely to be related to installation than age.

Two practical implications. If your tank was installed during the purchase of your house, and your home is 20 years old, then don't wait for your tank to tell you. A 10 minute condition check, including anode, valves, fittings, looking for any weeping at the base, will tell you whether it is your choice of date or the tank's, and the difference between those two options is significant. Second, if we are on site for something else, we would normally take that look and let you know. No fee, no pressure and no call to change a tank with life in it.

Canal-Front Conditions

There are two factors to mention in particular for hot water.

• Salt reaches here, but gently. Pelican Waters is located on estuarine canal water and not open surf, separated from the ocean by Golden Beach. It does not seem to take the strong blow of the spray that destroys beachfront tanks at eight or nine years; however, salt-laden air does reach it, and the systems exposed to it will corrode at a higher rate than those that are not. It is the first to be apparent on casings, fittings, relief valves and connections. The counters are simple: renew the sacrificial anode at the fifth year; exercise external valves so corrosion does not seize them; use good fittings when replacing; and place the unit outside the salt wind if the block will permit.
• Installations on low blocks at ground level. A hot water unit placed at ground level on canal property with a high, tidally influenced water table can operate in a constantly moist environment. Here: if it's a unit more than 15 years old, two things to check: that the base is sound and level, as a full tank is very heavy and pavers and slabs deteriorate in constant damp; and that the relief valve discharges somewhere visible, as a valve which has been running for months may never be noticed until the water bill arrives.

New Builds: new faults, same cold shower

As the land continues to sell, there are lots of Pelican Waters homes that are still relatively new, and the owner is still amazed at the need for a plumber. New systems do fail, but in different ways.

By a wide margin the most common is the tempering valve, which is one of the highest-turnover components in any modern installation, and a common early failure. Beyond that: faulty or improperly commissioned fittings, controllers that were not properly set up at the time of installation, continuous flow units that were not properly sized for the home's simultaneous demand, and sometimes, an improper location for a unit that made sense on a plan but didn't on site.

If the home is new, here are two things to do! Have your paperwork (parts model numbers, installation dates, warranty conditions, plumber certification etc.) handy, if it is inside warranty, it is someone else's problem and having the receipts makes it easy to talk about! When we are there, request that we make a proper written report with photos of the installation; in the event that the problem is not related to wear, the builder's warranty or defect claim will be backed by this written report. That is what we have in mind when we write them.

Repair or Replace: The Honest Table

Situation	Our normal advice
Unit under ~8 years, minor component failed	Repair. Additional years of service at a not-so-expensive price.
Unit 10+ years, repair quote nearing half a new unit's price	Replace. You would be putting real money in a cylinder at the end of its design life.
Any leak from the tank cylinder itself	Replace, no exception. If the cylinder becomes corroded through, it can't be fixed.
Original tank in a home built in the 1990s or early 2000s, never replaced	Evaluate it today. Well over its expected lifetime and you're better off selecting the date than the tank!
System healthy but the house outgrew it	Neither, resize. It isn't broken. More storage, a continuous flow or two units zoned throughout the home.
Fault in a home still under builder's warranty	Repair and document. If it is a workmanship cause, we'll document it for you to follow up on the claim.
Old but working, energy bills rising	Your call. Running costs are significantly reduced here with heat pumps and efficient continuous flow, we'll show you the numbers without selling you the hot air and you might be able to get a rebate.

Reference life spans: electric and gas storage: 8 to 12 years, continuous flow: 15 to 20 years (with servicing), heat pump: 10 to 15 years. Pelican Waters is at a comfortable middle ground when it comes to longevity because it is not too far from the beach and still not entirely inland.

Queensland's Hot Water Rules, In Plain English

Each hot water system in this state has two temperatures, and it's the difference between them that matters.

• Stored at temperatures of 60°C or higher. The water in the tank has to be hot enough to stop Legionella bacteria growing, not a choice, Queensland's warm mains water can be quite welcoming of them.
• Delivered at no more than 50°C. When delivered to the bathroom outlets in homes, it is no more than 50°C; and no more than 45°C in facilities for the very young, elderly and other vulnerable people. A person can get a serious burn to their skin in about a second at 60°C or in minutes at 50°C. The difference is reaction time.

This is more than average in Pelican Waters as the suburb has a large and increasing elderly population segment, one that the golf precinct has specifically targeted. Burning rate increases with age and reaction time decreases. If your home was constructed in the nineties, and you have not replaced the tempering valve, the valve is likely to be well over its normal lifespan of 5 to 8 years, and delivering inconsistent temperatures is what an old tempering valve does. Here it is standard practice to check delivery temp at the tap on any hot water job and if you have grandkids visiting or older folks in the house, you may want to ask for a specific check.

On licensing: hot water work requires the services of a licensed plumber; gas systems require the services of a licensed gas fitter; solar or heat pump installation requires the services of an installer with the relevant endorsement by the QBCC. Unlicensed work can be problematic for insurance policies, and may even invalidate manufacturers' warranties, the expensive way to save a call-out fee. All hot water system installations are made to code, certified and documented.

Maintenance That Actually Pays For Itself

1. Release the TPR valve every half year. To test the relief valve for obstruction, give the lever a quick but careful lift; the water is really hot. In all manuals, it is expected of the manufacturers, and almost no one does it. A relief valve that has been seized is no longer a relief valve.
2. Change the sacrificial anode approximately every five years. The rod in each storage tank corrodes so that the cylinder doesn't. Once it is consumed, the tank begins to corrode on its own. Best-value maintenance, hot water, full stop, and on a canal block with salt in the air, it earns its keep quicker.
3. Inspect the end of the relief line. Particularly on ground level installations on wet low blocks. A valve running quietly into the soft ground for six months will only be discovered by the water meter.
4. Ask to have the temperature at delivery checked. Especially in older homes and in any home that has grandparents visiting or has older residents. It's a minute and it verifies that the tempering valve is working.
5. Act on changes early. Whether it's faster run-outs, longer reheat times, rumbling from the tank, hot water with a rusty tint, or an ever-rising energy bill, each of these is inexpensive to investigate this week before the failure it's on the verge of causing.

What Happens When You Call Us

1. Phone triage. System type, brand, age, what it's doing, and number of bathrooms and people, because in this suburb that's answered a surprising number of calls before we get there.
2. On-site diagnosis using measurement. Element and thermostat readings, gas pressures, valve condition, controller fault codes, and where relevant, an honest assessment of whether the system is faulty or just underspecified. Measured, not guessed.
3. Fixed quote, options side by side. The repair price and, if it is appropriate based on the age and/or size of the home, the replacement and resize options next to it, including continuous flow and multi-unit layouts for larger homes. Before any work starts, you make a decision with real numbers.
4. Done properly, typically the same day. Repair on site where parts allow. Most standard storage replacements are supplied, installed and the old unit removed the same day, and include the tempering valve and all compliance items.
5. Tested, certified, documented. Delivery temperature checked at the tap, work certified as required, paperwork handed over for warranty (written detail required in a builder's defect claim).