Replacing hot water cylinder usually means you’re in one of the following categories:
- you suspect your current hot water cylinder is broken, not working as efficiently as it should, or needs repairs
- your hot water cylinder is quite old, or it’s approaching or past the end of its lifecycle
- you’re not happy with the hot water availability in your household, so you want to upgrade your water heating system
- you’re renovating and want to know if it’s a good time to replace or upgrade your hot water cylinder
- you’re going to make a purchase offer on a home but want to know first how much it will cost to replace the hot water cylinder
There may be other reasons you’d be looking at replacing hot water cylinder, of course, but these are the common reasons we come across.
With Cylinder Direct, you’re in safe and trustworthy hands. We’ve been repairing, installing and doing maintenance on hot water systems for years, and have seen a diverse range of issues.
First of all, should you repair or replace your hot water cylinder?
This decision usually comes down to two key questions: what’s wrong with the existing hot water cylinder? And how old is it?
What’s wrong with the existing hot water cylinder?
If you hear unusual sounds, hissing or banging coming from your hot water cylinder, or there is water leaking, give us a call and we can have a quick chat to you over the phone about what may be happening. Alternatively, if you’re running out of hot water sooner than you think you should, let us know. There may be issues with parts or valves that we can identify right away, and we can immediately arrange a site visit.
If there is a significant amount of water leaking, or there is a crack in the cylinder, it may be time to replace the cylinder. We can repair or replace most internal parts, valves and the thermostat if they’re not working properly. But if there is something wrong with the cylinder and a new one is needed, it is more cost-effective to replace the entire hot water system with a new one.
How old is the existing hot water cylinder?
Less than 10 years old:
If your hot water cylinder is less than 10 years old, and you suspect there is damage or a faulty valve or part somewhere, we’ll always look to repair rather than replace the system entirely. The only time we’ll consider removing a hot water cylinder that is this “new” is if there is actually damage to the cylinder itself (extremely rare) or if you’re looking at swapping over to a continuous flow hot water system.
10-15 years old:
With a hot water cylinder that is between 10 and 15 years old, it’s usually cost-effective to repair the system. Any noises, leaks, temperature or flow issues can often be remedied by replacing hot water cylinder valves, the thermostat or other parts attached to the cylinder.
15-20 years old:
Whether you need to replace hot water cylinder that is around the 15-year mark, or get a few more years out of it, depends on a few factors. Give us a call and we can talk it through with you. We’ll consider any problems you’re having with your hot water cylinder, your supply of hot water, your household usage, and the financial pros and cons of repair vs replacement.
20+ years old:
It’s time to replace your hot water cylinder. By now, your system is out of warranty (most are valid for 10 years) and it’s getting too expensive to replace any of the valves. By the time you factor in the cost of new replacement valves, possibly the thermostat or other parts, plus labour, you’re getting close to the price of a brand-new cylinder.
What would a new hot water cylinder cost?
We can give you some indicative prices here, but it’s best to get in touch with us for a no-obligation chat about what’s best for your water heating.
We’ll factor into the decision-making things like the number of people in your household, the size of cylinder that’s best for your property, whether you’re using electricity or gas, and of course, your budget.
We can also let you know if there are any special prices on specific models from Rheem or Rinnai that we can pass on to you.
Some of the most popular hot water cylinder models include:
*Prices here are indicative and are subject to changes at the time of query.
The examples given here are intended to give you an idea of what you may need to budget for if you are renovating or purchasing a new home that requires a hot water cylinder replacement. Please get in touch with us to discuss other options available and what is best for your household and circumstances.
What other additional costs should you consider?
Cylinder Direct will always be transparent in our pricing, letting you know ahead of time the full cost of your project. Our prices always include disconnection and removal of existing components, installation and connection of new components.
The thing that makes Cylinder Direct unique in the market is that we do not use subcontractors. The team you talk to on the phone is the same team who will come out and do the work. This means there are no unexpected or surprise additional costs from subbies, and there is no mark-up on our pricing to account for a complicated supply chain.
We supply, install and look after your water heating solutions.
There are only two types of additional costs that you might encounter with Cylinder Direct – and we’ll discuss these with you ahead of time:
- Low to mains upgrade – when you upgrade from a low pressure system to a mains pressure system, there is a bit of additional work that we do. This type of hot water cylinder replacement, then, is a bit more expensive than a standard cylinder replacement.
To give you an idea of what this might cost, a reasonable estimate is $2550 including GST. This covers disconnection and removal of your old cylinder, and installation of a new Rheem 180L stainless steel hot water cylinder and an Apex mains pressure valve kit.
- Relocation to outside – if we’re relocating your hot water cylinder from inside to outside the house, there is an additional cost over.
To give you an idea of what this might cost, a good estimate is $3000 including GST. This covers disconnection and removal of your old cylinder, and installation of a new Rheem 180L stainless steel outdoor rated hot water cylinder.
Get in touch with the knowledgeable team at Cylinder Direct for a no-obligation initial chat and we’ll help you determine what’s best for your home and your budget.
