Vlog

• Like servicing hot water heaters, it is equally important to service your gas heater
• See what you can do to maintain your portable heater
• Always use a qualified and licensed gas fitter to do gas work.
• Don’t forget to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel!

Heaters and hot water systems are things that we regularly use in our homes and often take for granted. Some of us are great an regular maintenance but there are others who often only think about maintenance or repairs when something isn’t right.

DID YOU KNOW THAT REGULAR MAINTENANCE IS RECOMMENDED?

It is recommended that your gas heaters are serviced regularly, usually every 2 years. Failure to do so could result in a shorter life of you heating unit or even problems occurring which could have easily been avoided with a regular service or basic level of maintenance.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO MAINTAIN YOUR PORTABLE GAS HEATER?

There is a very basic but important job you can regularly do to keep on top of your portable gas heater and that is to keep the filters clean. Like in the rest of your home, dust quickly builds up even if you’re not using the heating unit often, you may find your unit is quite dusty.

SOME POINTERS FOR CLEANING OUT YOUR FILTERS

Clean Outside – Cleaning these up can be a messy job so take the filters outside to clean and avoid creating a huge mess in your home.

Electric Blower / Vacuum Cleaner – Most of us will at least have a vacuum cleaner at home. These are great for cleaning out filters.

Dry Paintbrush – For more than just painting, a dry paintbrush works wonders at cleaning out filters or all sorts of dusty cracks and corners.

Rinse With Cold Water – For most modern heaters, it is safe to rinse the filter in cold water to get them nice and clean. If in doubt, refer to the manual for your heating system.

IMPORTANT NOTE: It is ok to clean the filters yourself but leave the gas to a licensed gas fitter. It is not safe to remove and install your own gas fittings and a licensed gas fitter is required for this. There are circumstances where you can disconnect the heater yourself e.g. if it’s a bayonet (quick connect) then you do not need to be a licensed gas fitter but if you are not sure it may best to ask or commission a licensed professional for both compliance as well as for the safety of your home.
https://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/node/996 – “Do not be tempted to do gas work yourself, or to use an unlicensed gas fitter.”

TEST AND REINSTALL

When the service is complete, as gasfitter, we reinstall and it is important to test to ensure safety for our customers. We perform some checks including checking that the bayonet is gas tight and the overall safe operation of the unit.

Next time you’re thinking about your heater, don’t forget to set aside some time to give the filters a clean if you haven’t done this for a while.

GIVE US A WHISTLE!

If you you need any gas plumbing attended to, our obedient Plumbdogs are licensed gas fitters so give us a whistle and we will come!

Don’t forget to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up to date with our latest videos! Thanks for watching.

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• Preventative Maintenance for your Hot Water System is important
• Replacing sacrificial anodes is an important part of the maintenance
• It is just as important to use a licensed plumber for the job
• Like & Subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay up to date!

Changing anodes looks like an easy job but it isn’t always as easy as it looks. It’s the same in any industry where professionals exist because of training and experience. What might seem like a simple task may require a better understanding of the equipment, even having the right equipment, the parts and the right way to do the job.

SACRIFICIAL ANODES ARE NOT ONE SIZE FITS ALL

You already know that there are many makers of hot water systems. We work with just about any hot water heater but we also supply and install new systems from Rheem, Rinnai, Dux, Vulcan and Bosch just to name a few and there’s more. Just like if you wanted to buy spare parts for your car, a case for your mobile phone, a memory stick for your camera or even fittings for your garden hose, the first thing you usually do is check whether you are buying the correct part for your make and model. This is the same for sacrificial anodes.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN USING ANODES THAT JUST AREN’T RIGHT?

We’re not sure where the client purchased or the specifications provided but what we know is they bought the anode online. It could have been advertised as a generic anode and after installing the anode, the hot water kept spitting and spluttering.

In the video, you can see that our clients had installed an anode which is smaller than the original and the customer has said that the hot water has not been the same since installation. The water has been spluttering and spitting and what we can see is the new anode is already in worse condition to the old anode which it replaced.

REPLACING SACRIFICIAL ANODES

You may have seen videos, maybe even ours, where replacing sacrificial anodes is an important part of servicing and maintaining hot water systems. Watching our videos, you would already know that sacrificial anodes are made to corrode over time as their name suggests, they sacrifice themselves to attract particles in water to help extend the life of the hot water system and hence why they need to be replaced over time.

BENEFITS OF USING A PROPER LICENSED PLUMBER

Unless you have the skills and knowledge, time and equipment, we highly recommend giving a proper experienced and licensed plumber a whistle. The person who bought the anodes at this property already wasted money buying anodes that simply didn’t do the job, suffered having hot water that did not work properly and wasted time and money in the process. Furthermore, you could injure yourself or cause damage to the property or the hot water unit if you really do not know what you are doing.

GIVE US A WHISTLE!

Next time you need a plumber that genuinely services hot water systems and not one that simply pushes you to buy a new hot water system, think of plumbers like Plumbdog. If you’re in the Greater Perth area and are in need of a reliable Perth Plumber, give us a whistle!

Don’t forget to check out our YouTube channel, like and subscribe to stay up to date with our latest videos.

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• Drain cleaning products are not always efficient at unblocking drains
• Understanding where the water is really blocked helps to fix the problem
• Contacting a licensed plumber often saves time and money
• Don’t forget to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel!

Our customers are always looking for ways to unblock basins. For those that consider themselves home handy people, they often look for best drain unblocking products or how to unblock drain instructions. Quite often this simply ends up with buying a drain unblocking product of some sort from the supermarket or hardware store. What usually happens is the customer goes and buy these home remedy products or some vinegar and baking soda, then give us a whistle when the problem continues.

At today’s job, top dog Richard has been called out to a property to look at a blocked waste pipe in the bathroom. First thing he points out is that our clients have already tried to unblock the drain themselves, suspecting hair blockage, by using drain crystals.

Plumbdog Note: There are different types of crystals and products for different purposes. The customers have used a kitchen unblocking product which is more relevant for grease type blockages rather than blockages in the bathroom. However, we usually don’t recommend these types of products. You really need to get your paws dirty if you want to get to the root of the problem.

BLOCKED BASIN – IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM AREA

First things first, Richard identifies where the blockage is in basin. The usual first place to check is the waste trap area as that is a common place where blockages occur. At todays property, the water in the pipe was clear which indicates that the blockage is not in the pipe but moreso in the basin or trap.

Video: Check out how much gunk builds up in the trap even though the water isn’t completely blocked at this location. It’s normal for this type of build up to occur over time.

LOCALISED BLOCKAGE

The blockage has been identified and it’s a localised blockage. While there was some buildup of grime and soap scum in the waste trap area, the blockage was found around the plug and waste fitting area.

Check out the video at [1:04] where you can see the basin holding water when the trap was already removed.

A GOOD CLEAN

After a good clean removing the buildup of grime and soap, we always replace washers when we replace a trap as they are perishable and there’s nothing worse than water seeping out just because the washer has worn out.

Remember if you have plumbing problems it’s best to call a licensed plumber to investigate and get the job done properly. Not only do you save time, you can save money from buying products that don’t work or products that aren’t right for the job.

GIVE US A WHISTLE!

Next time you need a plumber that know to get their paws dirty and are experts when it comes to blocked drains, think of plumbers like Plumbdog. If you’re in the Greater Perth area and are in need of a reliable Perth Plumber, give us a whistle!

Don’t forget to check out our YouTube channel, like and subscribe to stay up to date with our latest videos.

Subscribe To Our YouTube Channel

Hot water systems are made to last anywhere from 6-15 years. Over this time, safety regulations have changed in both the plumbing and gas worlds.

There are a lot more items we need to check to make sure installations are compliant.

To most, in this picture, everything looks fine… but there are multiple non-compliance issues.

Before (Non Compliant Existing Hot Water System Installation)

We were recently requested to replace this unit and in doing so we needed to bring this install up to standard.

For the new unit we needed to install a heat trap, a tempering valve, an expansion control valve, 2 drains and a soak pit under each drain. We also needed to add a gas shut off valve.

For some units, there will be even more that needs to be done, like the addition of a concrete slab under the unit…

After (Compliant Installation)

This is what the pipework looks like after all the new standards have been applied to the new install.

 

Continue reading to find out what each one of these items does to protect your system and house…

Heat Traps

Heat traps are valves and or loops of pipe installed on the cold water inlet and hot water outlet pipes on hot water systems. They allow cold water to flow into the system, but prevent hot water from flowing out of the system back up the cold water pipes.

Read the technical note from the Plumbers Licensing Board (Heat Traps – p6)

Tempering Valves

A tempering valve ensures your hot water is at a safe temperature for personal hygiene use. A tempering valve has a temperature sensitive element which adjusts the level of cold water depending on the temperature of the water from the hot water system.

Regulations on safe water services are Australia-wide and fall under the Plumbing Code of Australia (PCA). The water in a hot water storage system must be kept at a minimum of 60°C (AS3500.4.2 Clause 1.6) to prevent bacteria. The maximum temperature water can leave the tap is 50°C (AS3498) and a maximum of 45°C in institutions such as early childhood centres, schools, and nursing homes or other facilities where the young, sick, aged or disabled could be using hot water.

A tempering valve or other tempering device reduces your hot water temperature at the tap, to allow you to meet both Australian standards.

Tempering Valves should be replaced every 4 years. 

Expansion Control Valves

Expansion Control Valves limit the maximum pressure in a pressurised, unvented water heater system by relieving excess pressure to the drain line.

Expansion Control Valves should only be installed on the cold or inlet installation on a water heater as the valve is primarily intended to cope with the excess pressure generated during a normal heating cycle.

Expansion Control Valves are safety valves and should be replaced every 4 years.

Temperature/Pressure Relief Valves

Temperature & Pressure Relief Valves are safety controls which ensure that the temperature of the water in a pressurised unvented water heater cannot exceed 99° C in the event that the normal thermostatic controls fail.

These valves may be used to guard against overtemperature and over-pressure hazards wherever water is stored in unvented containers. This is a requirement of Australian Standard AS 3500-4.

Temperature & Pressure relief valves are safety valves and should be replaced every 4 years.

Gas Shut Off Valves (not shown above)

Allows the manual isolation of the gas flow in natural gas and LPG systems. In the open position (gas is flowing) the handle (lever) will be parallel with the pipe, when it is closed (gas not flowing) the handle (lever) will be perpendicular to the pipe.

Soak Pits

Required so that the release of steam or hot water is controlled and does not cause a nuisance, is readily noticeable and will not cause damage to buildings or injury to persons.

Some units will require two pits to be installed and they should have gravel placed in the bottom. One pit for the Expansion Valve and one for the Temperature & Pressure Relief Valve.

Gas Pressure Tests

As replacing a hot water system involves touching the gas lines, a gas pressure test will need to be carried out to ensure that the system and pipework is gas-tight.

After your system has been replaced

Your hot water system should be serviced every two years to make sure it continues working efficiently.
Read our post about anodes to learn more about how a storage hot water system works.

If you have any questions, please feel free to give Plumbdog Perth a call – 1300 884 146