Gas hot water heaters are some of the more common styles of hot water services used in Adelaide.
Majority of the established homes have natural gas infrastructure installed in the street and those in
the Adelaide Hills will have bottled gas frequently delivered to enable the use of Propane in order to
save on electricity bills for heating of water.
During the colder months of the year we are particularly busy in the locations such as Aldgate and
Bridgewater in the Adelaide Hills where our client’s gas hot water system is under extreme pressure
to keep up with the demands. The ice-cold nights and not so warm days put strain on a gas hot
water service. When the systems get towards the end of there lives around the 8 to 10-year-old,
they will struggle and can start to make a hissing noise.
Where is the hissing coming from?
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Due to the nature of how gas hot water heaters operate in South Australia they are constantly kept
under mains water which is typically between 500kpa and 800kpa as a rule across most suburbs.
Because the water heaters components heat up during operation and then contract when not in
operation and then at night when not in operation get to freezing cold temperatures it’s not unusual
to find that when a hot water service in the Adelaide Hills comes to the end of its life it will develop
a leak.
In South Australia we have particularly hard water which lessens the life of plumbing fixtures around
the home and hot water services are no exemption to this. It is well known among plumbers that
locations such as Beaumont, St Georges, Glen Osmond and Burnside all at the base of the freeway
can higher than normal water pressure at 900kpa to 1100kpa where pressure limiting devices should
be used but are not always and this will cause more strain on a storage water heater or instant water
heater.
When the gas hot water heater develops a leak, you will hear a hissing noise. The hissing will be
firstly due to the water escaping via a small hole at high pressure and secondly this water can be
contacting the flames during ignition causing the noise of sizzling hot water to sound like a hissing
noise.
What is the solution?
When your gas hot water heater develops a leak in the cylinder or the heat exchanger it will mean
the end of the unit’s life. Once a hissing noise is noticed the likelihood of the system producing hot
water much longer will be very limited. When you notice a hissing noise or water leaking out of your
hot water service you should always contact a licensed technician who is trained in all aspects of the
water heater industry. We are the hot water specialists of Adelaide and can help you get your
plumbing problems fixed fast.
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