Your hot water system is essential for ensuring that your morning showers are nice and hot and for several other practical applications like dishwashing. It works hard, behind the scenes – perhaps in a loft or cupboard – to keep that hot water pumping day in and day out, and it does need to be serviced from time to time.
How often? Well, it depends. Below is a rough breakdown of how water servicing, how often you should get it serviced, and when it needs to be repaired or replaced:
How Long Does a Hot Water System Typically Last?
The lifespan of a hot water system can vary quite a bit depending on what type of technology it uses and which brand and product you purchased for your home.
As a rough estimate, most modern hot water systems can last from around 10-15 years (some up to 20), assuming frequent servicing intervals and good water quality. Indeed, water quality is perhaps the most important factor and one you may have little control over. Hard water will surely degrade your system faster, so the lifespan could be one or more years shorter than anticipated.
Electric and gas storage units will usually last up to around 10 years, instant gas (continuous flow) systems 15-20, and heat pump systems for around 10-15 years.
How Often Should You Service Your Hot Water System?
Your hot water system should be serviced roughly every 3-5 years. Usually, the best course of action is to consult the manufacturer’s instructions on how frequently the unit should be serviced.
Again, the type of system you have will usually determine how frequent those intervals should be.
In general:
- Gas/Electric systems: 5 years, with annual testing of the pressure relief valve.
- Solar electric systems: 3-5 years, with more frequent testing of the booster and sacrificial anode.
- Heat pump systems: 3-5 years, but annual cleaning of the filters recommended.
- Instant gas (continuous flow) systems: 5 years, but occasional cleaning of filters.
Given the approximate lifespans and servicing intervals of most common hot water system types used in Australian homes, you should expect to have your system serviced 3-4 times or more over the lifespan of the product before having to replace it with a newer model.
Signs You Need to Have Your Hot Water System Serviced Now
While frequent servicing can greatly reduce the chances of any unanticipated failures of your hot water system, urgent servicing may sometimes be required. If you’ve found discoloured water or are hearing strange noises (knocking, rattling) from the storage unit, you’re getting flashes in temperature (hot to cold, vice versa), or you noticed leaks, you should call a plumber at the earliest convenience to have the unit inspected and repaired.
Qualified plumbers in Melbourne such as FastnLocal Plumbing can diagnose the source of the issue and perform any necessary repairs, replacing faulty or worn out components as necessary, check pressure gauges and relief valves, and flush out any accumulated sediment. All of these are common reasons for homeowners to call out a plumber.
When your hot water system is in good working order, however, don’t get complacent and make sure you’re getting it serviced. Installing a new unit can be quite expensive, especially if it’s broken down several years before it should have.
FastnLocal Plumbing
Get your hot water system serviced today with FastnLocal Plumbing.