Hot Water - Plumbing Installations, Services & Repairs in Sydney

Fortunately, you're not alone—this prevalent problem in Sydney households is, most of the time, due to either hot water cylinder rust or cast-iron pipe supply issues. (if in older properties)
Open your taps independently to check whether the discolouration occurrence is on both hot and cold sides. If your issue is predominantly from the hot side - your hot water heater is asking for a check-up.

Are you finding this on both sides? It's a likely supply issue.

Discolouration can range from a slight cloudy white tinge to black, brown and orange water supplies. To check, simply fill a clear cup sample and focus notably on the bottom for sedimentation.
On occasion, even a Sydney Water street mains break can affect surrounding property supply, so in the meantime, continue using your plumbing and, after a day or two - if the problem persists, have this looked over.
Otherwise, give us a call! We would be more than happy to help. 1300 13 80 80

Short answer; check your cleaner packaging before use. Anything bleach-based, when used inside your cistern, can chemically deteriorate internal rubbers and valve parts. If your cistern cleaner is bright blue in particular - this voids most manufacture warranties of cistern components.

A quick tip from the boss: If you're one to use cleaners inside the toilet rim, look into dissolvable stick-on products rather than hanging manifolds. You'd be surprised how many call-outs Plumbers obtain from foreign objects caught down the dunny when flushed. Some can involve fairly significant works to retrieve.

Just remember - bleach for the pan, not your cistern!

We're always happy for a chat if you're experiencing any issues.

1300 13 80 80

Whatever the scenario. Whether this be servicing a tap, toilet or even in the event of a dreaded burst pipe - Try not to panic.

Firstly, what service do you wish to isolate?

If it's your hot water, you'll usually find a control valve with a black, green or blue handle at the lower end of the storage heater. Turn off clockwise to isolate.

If you require turning off the property at the meter or main control valve:

• House owner: Usually, these will be street facing around the front fence boundary. If obstructed and unobtainable, try and source the front hose tap and focus your efforts to track in-line towards the road. Most meter's you'll find a T-shaped brass handle to turn clockwise for ÓFF'.
• Unit owner: On occasion, such isolation taps can be difficult to source as there's no absolute clear-cut standard as to where they're required to be located. The most common areas are laundry tubs, kitchen sinks, standard corridor service doors, car parks and standalone wall valves. If unsure, call your strata and have them confirm its location.

Remember, your mains water isolation valve is the most critical tap around the property. ALL property owners should know their whereabouts.

That’s because it’s a whole lot cheaper to run! Electricity has never been more expensive, and on average, an electric Hot Water service can account for a third of your total power bill. Running your Hot Water service at the cheapest tariff at night is approx. 60% less per kilowatt hour.

But, it’s not all sunshine lolly-pops

Your electricity utility will require installing a new off-peak timer switch on your meter board which is not always possible. Additionally, your hot water heater must be a minimum storage of 250 Litres and sized accordingly so as to ideally remain hot throughout the day and night. Undersized setups can easily run out of hot water until the following day and may not cope should additional household members be present.

‘Off-peak setting 2’ is a potential game-changer in this scenario. This is a setting used at the meter board to enable power back to the heater one further occasion during the day, allowing the setup to cope with supplementary visitors craving for their showers.

Suppose Off-Peak isn’t ideal for you? Perhaps consider gas hot water solutions (if possible) or stainless steel storage cylinder routes which will reduce your running costs and environmental footprint.

For the hottest of hot, hot water you’ve ever seen, Rheem comes on steady, hot and strong. It just keeps going on...

It comes down to glorious advertising. However, (and sorry to burst anyone's bubble)  –  in this day and age, there’s no clear winner in the hot water brand race.

Many heaters are rebranded with matching warranties and technology and often times built in factories situated side by side.

We only recommend purchasing Heaters from Reece to ensure fast and reliable after-sales service and, above all else, suggest sticking to the top brands and not these knock offs found that your local hardware store.

Absolutely! This can, on request, be conducted free of charge during any paid visit. A plumbing report to be issued as part of the service. including:

• flow rate testing
• Checking all indoor taps and toilets for leaks
• Checking outdoor taps for leaks
• Assessing the condition of your hot water service, including operating temperatures
• House pressure testing

A shower, in this case, is just an example. In theory, any hot water fixture can be affected by this problem. You may have hot water quickly on one side of the house and then worry it's broken once you reach the other end.

These issues are mainly pipe sizing and length related problems. The further your heater is away from the fixture, the greater the heat loss and time taken to reach the furthermost tap. Even climate can affect the heat loss in lines.

Only when Hot water services have a lack of pressure preventing optimal flow is when these issues are insanely prevalent. Most of the time, we are able to provide solutions to improve or completely remedy your hot water problem.

Unsatisfactorily low water pressure may be reasonably simple to diagnose in certain situations.

Below is a check-list of possible triggers, from the more popular to the uncommon supplementary causes of low water pressure:

• Your meter tap washer is broken and thus disallowing optimal flow through the meter assembly.
• You have a pressure limiting or reduction device fitted to the meter outlet, which may require replacement.
• Sydney Water has reduced the street pressure supply to prolong outdated and weakened mains pipes from breaking.
• Your fixture tap outlets have become clogged with debris—this is a common problem, particularly after a split in a street main, causing fixture tap outlets to become blocked. This is a common problem, particularly after a break in a road main.
• Your water supply lines are undersized for the number of fixtures you now have around your property. Particularly when homes have been renovated and fixture numbers have doubled without updating water supplies to accommodate the increased flow rates necessary to operate the dwelling
• You have a below ground leak on the property; depending on the severity of the leak, this may impact your working pressures to fixtures.
• You perhaps have a hidden pressure-reducing device fitted somewhere on the property. A full house inspection is often necessary to source these.

The key concern here is: Don't wait for your next water bill to arrive. Check that your water meter isn't ticking over constantly, and if concerned – we're a call away.

In this case – size does matter.

The pipe sizing of your original house before renovations and additions may be of minimum size. Suddenly you’ve doubled your required flow rates and experiencing pressure losses in either/or water and gas supplies.

This may be a result of incorrectly designed plumbing systems. Whether it’s upgrading a gas meter regulator or assessing your pipe size after your water meter through to fixtures – The Pied Plumber can evaluate your concern by providing clear options to assist.

The maximum and most ideal house pressure range is 500KPA.

This is achieved throughout most of Sydney; however, some areas have been known to exceed this immensely. Furthermore, in these particular locations, we’ll often find problem issues that rarely occur elsewhere.

High-pressure notably reduces lifespan and increases wear in pipes and valves. Water hammering concerns are prevalent in these scenarios, and generally, water use in high-pressure homes is far greater than their optimal pressure counterparts.

Unfortunately, Sydney Water does not guarantee a maximum supply pressure, leaving the sole discretion of the consumer to protect their property. As plumbers, we can easily perform a pressure test and, if necessary, install a water meter pressure-limiting device to safeguard your home.

Our regular business hours are Monday through to Friday, 7am – 3pm. This excludes Public holidays and long weekends. However, we understand that not all plumbing issues arise between these times. If urgent, we offer after-hours, same day service if necessary.

The Pied plumber is always happy to help!

For the most part – It's not a secret language.

This refers to sets of rules outlined by countries, states and regions worldwide with the objective of providing safe method, practice and installation of plumbing materials and systems fit for public health and safety.

We operate within the guidelines of the Australian Sydney region, which is primarily governed by the AS/NZ 3500 standard and NSW code of practice.

So if you overhear a plumber saying, "That’s not to standard!” – It’s probably good news that he or she knows the rules which must be carried out.

Well, if cheaper running costs, longer hot water service lifespan, greater warranty periods and fewer working valves to disrupt your hot water is of interest, then instantaneous options are for you.

It is important to keep in mind that instantaneous hot water technologies are typically more costly to install than conventional hot water systems since a weatherproof electrical PowerPoint is a factor in any outlay costs. However, once all infrastructure is in place, these installations save thousands of dollars throughout their life cycle through efficiencies and often last twice as long as electric storage units.

We suggest natural gas versions only since LPG systems are relatively energy-intensive, requiring considerably more bottle swaps throughout a year cycle.

Take it from the owner of the Pied Plumber—a pet hate of agreeing to a price and then the hidden surprise afterwards.

Since 1995 – We have never surcharged a VISA or MASTERCARD expense back to our customers. We will, however, continue to charge 1.5% on AMEX.

All Australian plumbing fixtures must pass strict water efficiency guidelines established therein the Water efficiency and labelling scheme (WELS). Initially, this was introduced to provide consumers with detailed analysis on product flow rates, and to make easy, informed decisions before any purchase. Mainly this scheme ensures your product is approved for use in Australia.

In order to meet these conditions, products must first be produced in compliance with the AS/NZS 6400 standard and that the manufacturer must be licenced within the WELS structures. Simply Check their unique licence number located below the WELS rating or purchase from reputable Australian plumbing suppliers. Reece particularly is a safe supplier choice.

This is a fine example of why it's crucial to purchase Australian rather than inexpensive foreign knockoffs that can't be guaranteed. These products are not intended for our operating conditions, working pressures, or pipe sizing and can be potentially dangerous to you and your property.