Plumbing question: Frozen hot water pipes.

[ebxr8240]

You maybe on offpeak 2 which is the cheapest tarriff...
Talk to your electicity supplier..O/P 1 maybe more suitable ???
If you have twin element water heater ?? You can have continous off peak....
The top element come on in peak loads and justt heats heats up top 1/4 of tank...Also this time of the year people get cought with cold water due to having too small storage capacity, more than 3 people in house requires a heater around 400 ltrs..Depending what off peak tarriff ...
Those temp sensers are apita....

[MrFlibbles]

good luck sorting it out jac! my misses parents live in mt barker to there house is only a couple of years old and there hot water service has frozen up a couple of times. and the pipes at one of the factorys up there burst from being frozen... still if you moved to Queensland you wouldnt have this problem!!

[nugget378]

Originally Posted by galaxy xr8

Just a quick question about pipe's/plumbing while we are here, I have a gas continous hot water system Bosch 4000, and I had it serviced the other day because the pilot light kept blowing out, but it is still doing it after the service, the person that serviced it said to take note on what tap's we use before it happen's, and when ever we put the dishwasher on which is connected to the hot water, after it's finshed the pilot light goes out, anybody have a idea why it does this.

This is a hard one, but if it is only the dishwasher doing this,the only thing I can think of is water hammer. You can try a water hammer arrestor and install it at the dishwasher valve.

[galaxy xr8]

Originally Posted by nugget378

This is a hard one, but if it is only the dishwasher doing this,the only thing I can think of is water hammer. You can try a water hammer arrestor and install it at the dishwasher valve.

Thank's mate, I thought it was only the dishwasher but we used the dishwasher today and it was fine but then after we used the washing machine and a ensuite tap and then it blew out again, it is really driving me nut's, also when I go out to ignite the pilot light, I have to depress the starter and ignitor and hold the starter for atleast 10 sec but every time I release it the pilot light goes out again, I have to stand there for atleast a full minute or two and then it work's,all this after it has been serviced by a qualified gas fitter, just out off interest how much do plumber's/gas fitter's charge for a hourly rate or to service a system that took 30min's?????.

[nugget378]

Originally Posted by galaxy xr8

Thank's mate, I thought it was only the dishwasher but we used the dishwasher today and it was fine but then after we used the washing machine and a ensuite tap and then it blew out again, it is really driving me nut's, also when I go out to ignite the pilot light, I have to depress the starter and ignitor and hold the starter for atleast 10 sec but every time I release it the pilot light goes out again, I have to stand there for atleast a full minute or two and then it work's,all this after it has been serviced by a qualified gas fitter, just out off interest how much do plumber's/gas fitter's charge for a hourly rate or to service a system that took 30min's?????.

Depends who you get/where you are really, we charge $85ph plus a callout, but we dont work on domestic stuff,just hospitals/high rise buildings etc:
The pilots and gas burners can be tricky.
They can get dust in them, and there a heap of sensitive little parts that cause problems.
I had trouble with mine about a year ago,I never did find the problem though,I just replaced the whole heater with a commercial quick recovery gas one.
But that is easy for me,have a look if your heater still has a waranty, some times you have to replace them as it can be cheaper than spending all that time and labour trying to isolate the problem.
You could be better off getting the manufacturers service guys to look at it,as they specialise in that area,most plumbers I know would say "It's stuffed,ya need a new one" lol

[galaxy xr8]

I don't think the warrenty still exists, the house is 11 yr's old so the system is probably the same, the guy I got to look at it was here for 20-30 min's and charged $75 for labour, I thought that was a bit step, the pilot light's is sparatic it only goes out every now and then.

[nugget378]

Yep,That happens alot, your best bet is to get someone who spesialises in this type of stuff only,there are some companys out there,the manufacturer may be able to help.
Most plumbers dont do that type of thing on a regular basis so wont have the experience or training to repair the insides of these heaters.
I know my knowledge of the ignitor systems is limited,and I have more experience than most.

[galaxy xr8]

Thank's for your help mate.