OUr PM has contacted us to let us know the old HWS seems to be on the way out - rusty water. We've been quoted on a 125L replacement $1221. The label has fallen off the old one, how can we identify the size? It seems to be about 15 courses of brickwork tall. What size would be recommended for a 2BR (terrace) house - usually 2 adult individuals?
Looks like a basic Rheem type electric unit so a 125 litre should be about 1.3 to 1.4m tall. The old unit measures 14 courses of brick work - about 1.2m high. An 80 litre unit is about .9 high. For 2 adults either a 125 or 160 litre unit works - 80 litre is more for 1 person households. The old unit is poorly installed. Apart from the wonky pipework the hot water delivery pipe should dip below the outlet to limit heat loss.
Now is probably a good time to find out how much it would cost you to upgrade to a continuous hot water system. The system itself will be cheaper, but will probably cost a bit to install as the pipework would change. However, I know as a tenant that would have been a huge plus for me, so you know you'll never run out of hot water.
Noted - I will review the new install! It's a really strange situation with the HWS - on the inside of that brick wall is an older HWS, which has a toilet in front of it. The toilet is separate from the bathroom, above the cistern there is a cupboard door and the older HWS is in there. Pretty hard to get to it without removing the toilet! No idea if it has water in it ... When we do a reno we will have some extra room & another HWS to dispose of.
