Emergency Plumber Geelong does plumbing work across the Geelong and Bellarine region, including hot water. Tell us what's happening and whether water is still running. We give you a firm price before work starts.
Worth checking before you ring
Electric storage: check the circuit breaker, and check whether it's on an off-peak tariff that simply hasn't reheated yet. Gas: check the pilot or ignition and that gas is on elsewhere in the house. Any type: check the isolating valve at the unit hasn't been knocked shut.
Those checks cost nothing to rule out.
Repair or replace
Under about eight years old: usually repair. Elements, thermostats, thermocouples and pressure relief valves are all replaceable at $180 to $600.
Past about ten years, the end of the 8 to 10 years that Solar Victoria gives as a typical life, replacement may be the better spend. If the tank itself is leaking, it's replacement. A leaking tank cannot be repaired — the cylinder has corroded through, and anyone offering to patch it is wasting your money.
In between, the honest answer depends on the specific fault. We tell you which part has failed rather than just quoting a new unit.
Replacement types and cost
Electric storage $1,200 to $2,200 and simplest to swap like-for-like. Gas storage broadly similar. Continuous-flow gas $1,800 to $3,000 and needs adequate gas supply. Heat pump $2,500 to $3,500 and cheapest to run, though it performs less well in genuinely cold weather — which in Geelong is worth factoring in rather than ignoring.
Rebates change regularly; ask what's current rather than assuming.
Why it's an emergency sometimes
A leaking tank releasing water continuously is urgent. So is no hot water in a cold snap where there are elderly people, small children or someone unwell in the house.
No hot water in a mild week in a healthy household generally isn't, and business hours save the after-hours premium: $60 to $150 on the call-out in our indicative ranges. Being straight about which one you have is worth money to you.
Areas covered
Geelong, the Bellarine and the Surf Coast.
