HOT WATER · NORTH SHORE
Hot Water Cylinders North Shore
Repaired, replaced or sized properly.
Cylinder replacement and repair across the North Shore. Mains pressure and low pressure, electric and indirect, plus the valves and tempering that fail far more often than the cylinder itself.
Hot water cylinders
Hot water cylinder replacement and repair
When the hot water goes, most people assume the cylinder has died. Often it has not. An element, a thermostat or a failed valve will produce exactly the same symptom as a cylinder that has rusted through, and one of those is a fraction of the cost of the other.
So the first thing we do is find out which it is. That takes a look at the cylinder, the valves around it and how old the thing actually is. If it has years left, we will say so and fix what has failed. If it has corroded and is about to make a mess of the cupboard floor, you want to know that before it happens rather than after.
Asset Plumbing & Drainage work on cylinders right across the North Shore, in everything from a hallway cupboard in a Glenfield house to an apartment riser cupboard in Takapuna where getting the old one out is most of the job.
The signs worth acting on
Rusty water from the hot tap, water pooling in the tray or on the floor beneath, a cylinder that is noticeably noisier than it used to be, or hot water that runs out faster than it once did. Any of those are worth a phone call. A cylinder that fails properly, rather than slowly, will empty its full contents into whatever is underneath it.
Getting the size right
Sizing a cylinder for the house it is going into
A replacement is not automatically the same size as what came out. Houses change. A bathroom gets added, the kids leave, a second shower goes in, and the cylinder that was right in 1994 is either undersized or heating water nobody uses.
Undersized is the obvious problem, hot water running out mid-shower. Oversized is the quieter one, because you pay to keep a larger volume hot every day of the year and nobody notices the cost on a power bill.
The other question is mains pressure versus low pressure. Older North Shore homes often still run low pressure, and converting to mains pressure gives noticeably better flow at the shower, but it also means the rest of the pipework and the fittings have to be up to it. We will tell you whether that conversion makes sense for your house or whether it is money better spent elsewhere.
- Mains pressure and low pressure cylinders
- Electric, indirect and wetback connections
- Valve, thermostat and element replacement
- Tempering valves and safe delivery temperatures
- Seismic restraint and safe tray installation
Plumbing maintenance and repairs
What it costs
What changes the price of a cylinder job
The cylinder itself is only part of the number. These are the things that move it.
Getting the old one out
A cylinder in a garage with a roller door is straightforward. A cylinder in a hallway cupboard at the end of a narrow passage, or in an apartment riser accessed by lift, is a different proposition. Access drives more of the labour on this job than anything else.
Whether it is a like-for-like swap
Same size, same type, same position is the cheapest outcome. Changing from low pressure to mains pressure, or moving the cylinder to a different spot, means new pipework, new valves and sometimes electrical work as well.
The state of the surrounding pipework
Old copper tails and valves that have not been touched in thirty years often do not survive being disturbed. On older houses we price on the expectation that some of it gets replaced, because discovering it mid-job helps nobody.
Compliance items that were never there
Safe trays, seismic restraint and tempering valves are required now and were not always fitted historically. If they are missing they get done as part of the replacement, which is not optional and should be in the quote.
Repair or replace. We will tell you which one your cylinder needs, including when the answer is the cheaper one. A thermostat on a cylinder with ten years left is a good repair. The same thermostat on a cylinder that is already weeping is money thrown away.
Why Asset
Why people call us for hot water
We check before we condemn
Plenty of cylinders get replaced that did not need replacing. We find out whether the fault is the cylinder or something bolted to it before recommending anything.
Awkward access is normal here
Hallway cupboards, roof spaces and apartment risers. Most Shore cylinders are in somewhere difficult, and that is not a reason for the job to go badly.
Compliance done properly
Safe tray, restraint and tempering all fitted as part of the work rather than skipped because the old installation did not have them.
Sized for the house as it is now
Not automatically a match for what came out. We ask how many people live there and how many showers run at once, because that is what actually decides it.
Straight about the cost
The old pipework around a cylinder often has to go too. We would rather flag that in the quote than discover it on the day and hand you a surprise.
Two tradesmen, both experienced
Over twenty years between Dominic and Tyler. The person who quotes the job is the person who does it.
Coverage
Hot water cylinder work across the North Shore
We replace and repair cylinders throughout the Shore and up the Hibiscus Coast.
Questions
Hot water cylinder questions
How long does a hot water cylinder last?
Most mains pressure cylinders are built around a fifteen to twenty year life, and low pressure copper cylinders often go longer. What actually determines it is water quality, how hard the cylinder has been worked and whether the valves were ever serviced. If yours is past twenty and has started weeping at the base, plan for a replacement rather than hoping. A cylinder that fails properly releases its entire contents at once.
Can you replace a cylinder in a day?
A like-for-like replacement in an accessible spot is usually a same-day job. What stretches it is access, changing the type or position, or finding that the surrounding pipework and valves have to be replaced as well. If yours is in a tight cupboard we will say up front whether it is a day or longer, because getting the old one out is often the slowest part.
Is it worth converting from low pressure to mains pressure?
Sometimes. The gain is noticeably better flow, particularly at the shower, and it removes the header tank in the roof. The cost is that the pipework, fittings and tapware all have to be suitable for mains pressure, and on an older house not all of it will be. We will look at what you have and tell you whether the conversion is worth doing or whether the money is better spent elsewhere.
Why is my hot water lukewarm rather than hot?
Most often a tempering valve that has drifted out of range, or a thermostat that has failed partially rather than completely. Both are repairs rather than replacements. It can also be a cylinder that is undersized for the household, where the hot water is genuinely running out and being replaced with cold faster than it can reheat. Those need different fixes, which is why it is worth diagnosing properly.
Do you fit safe trays and seismic restraint?
Yes, as part of any replacement. Both are required and both are frequently missing on older installations, because the rules changed after a lot of these cylinders went in. A safe tray with a drain to somewhere sensible is what turns a cylinder failure into a puddle rather than a flooded hallway, so it is not something worth leaving out to save a little.
No hot water, or a cylinder on its way out?
Tell us the age of the cylinder and what it is doing and we will tell you whether it sounds like a repair or a replacement. If it is leaking, say so when you ring and we will treat it accordingly.
Or call the team09 213 9815