Gas Hot Water Systems
Continuous flow and gas storage units for homes on ATCO mains gas or bottled LPG.
Learn more →Four things to check before you call
A useful proportion of "no hot water" calls have a two-minute cause. Working through these first costs nothing.
- The isolation switch. Electric systems have a switch mounted on the wall near the unit. It gets bumped, or switched off during other work and never switched back.
- The switchboard. Look for a tripped breaker or blown fuse labelled HWS or water heater. If it trips again immediately, leave it off and call — that is an element failing to earth.
- The gas supply. For LPG properties around Dawesville and Bouvard, check the bottle is not empty and the changeover valve has actually changed over. For mains gas, check other gas appliances still work.
- The pilot or ignition. Older gas storage units have a pilot light that can blow out. Relighting instructions are on the unit itself. If it will not stay alight, the thermocouple is the usual suspect.
The faults we see most often around Peel
Failed elements and thermostats. The single most common electric fault. Scale from local scheme water accelerates it. Both are routine, affordable repairs on a sound tank — see the electric hot water page for detail.
Leaking cylinders. Rust works from the inside out. Once the steel is perforated, no repair exists. Sacrificial anodes are what delay this, and on coastal Mandurah streets they get consumed faster than inland.
Relief valve failures. A pressure and temperature relief valve should release a small amount of water periodically. A continuous stream means the valve has failed or the system pressure is too high. Left alone, it quietly runs up your water bill and corrodes everything below it.
Tempering valve seizure. The valve that limits bathroom outlets to 50°C seizes with age and scale, and the symptom — lukewarm water at the shower while the kitchen tap runs hot — is easy to mistake for a dead heater.
Gas ignition and thermocouple faults. Continuous flow units that fire and immediately drop out, or that will not light at all. Usually an electronics or ignition fault rather than the burner.
Salt corrosion. Casings, brackets, flue terminals and heat pump coil fins on properties within a kilometre or two of the ocean or the estuary. This is the Mandurah-specific one, and it is why we check the base and fixings on every visit near the coast.
When repair stops being the answer
We will tell you when a repair is throwing money at a unit that is finished. The honest markers are a leaking cylinder, a tank past twelve years needing a significant part, repeated failures within a year, or a system so old that parts have to be chased across the country.
At that point, the installation page covers what a changeover involves and the cost guide gives the ranges. If you want to change fuel type while you are at it, the selection guide is the place to start.
We attend across the full service area, including Halls Head, Erskine and Greenfields.
Call (08) 9516 1934 — 24 hours for emergencies.
More services
Explore our other services
Electric Hot Water Systems
Storage tanks and instantaneous electric units, plus element and thermostat repairs.
Learn more →Solar Hot Water Systems
Roof-mounted, split and evacuated tube solar with gas or electric boosting.
Learn more →Heat Pump Hot Water Systems
Air-source heat pumps suited to Mandurah's mild winters, standalone or retrofitted.
Learn more →Hot Water System Installation
Like-for-like swaps, relocations and fuel changeovers by licensed WA tradespeople.
Learn more →
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
My hot water system is leaking — what do I do right now?
Find the cold water inlet pipe at the top of the unit and close the isolation valve on it, which stops the tank refilling. Then turn off power at the isolation switch, or close the gas cock. That contains the damage. A steady drip from the relief valve drain line is different and often normal; water running down the side of the cylinder is not, and means the tank has failed.
Why is my water lukewarm instead of hot?
On an electric storage tank, a lukewarm result usually means one of two elements has failed, or the thermostat has drifted. On a gas continuous flow unit it often points to a failing water flow sensor or a partially blocked heat exchanger. A tempering valve that has seized is another common cause and one that gets misdiagnosed as a dead tank.
Is it worth repairing a twelve-year-old hot water system?
It depends on what failed. An element, thermostat, relief valve, thermocouple or ignition module on an otherwise sound unit is worth repairing at almost any age. A leaking cylinder is not repairable at all. As a rule, once a storage tank is past about twelve years and needs more than a minor part, replacement is the better spend.
Do you attend after hours in Mandurah?
Yes, 24/7 for genuine hot water emergencies across Mandurah and the Peel district. After-hours attendance is charged at a higher rate, so if a household can manage overnight it is almost always cheaper to book the first slot in the morning. A burst cylinder flooding a laundry is not something to leave until morning.
Free, no-obligation