Hot Water System Repair, Installation & Replacement

Nothing wrecks a morning quite like the hot water cutting out mid-shampoo. You're standing there, soap running down your face, and suddenly it's ice cold. Or maybe your system's been clunking away for months, power bills keep creeping higher, and you're sitting on the fence about whether it's worth fixing or you should just start fresh. Either way you need someone who's going to be straight with you — these things cost serious money and whatever you decide now is going to show up on your energy bills for a good while yet.

We're licensed plumbers working out of Canning Vale and we repair, install and replace all the major hot water system types right across Perth's south-east. Here's what you should probably know before making a call.

Types of hot water systems

Four main options for a Perth home, really, and each one has its own pros and cons depending on your situation.

• Gas systems run off natural gas from the ATCO network, or LPG bottles if mains gas doesn't get to your street. They heat water quickly and running costs tend to be fairly reasonable. You'll find them as storage tanks or the continuous flow models.
• Electric storage is the cheapest to buy and put in upfront. Running it on off-peak electricity keeps the bills down a bit, though over the long run you're usually paying more than gas.
• Solar setups have collectors on the roof that tap into Perth's sunshine — and we've got plenty of that going for us — to heat your water. When it's cloudy for a stretch a gas or electric booster takes over.
• Heat pump units draw warmth out of the surrounding air, which admittedly sounds a bit weird, but they use way less electricity than a standard electric tank.

Our guide on electric vs gas vs solar hot water walks through the pros, cons and running costs if you're trying to figure out which way to go.

Common hot water problems we repair

Plenty of hot water faults can be fixed without replacing the entire unit, and if your system isn't ancient that's almost always going to be the cheaper option. What we see most often:

• No hot water at all, or it just never gets properly hot no matter how long you leave it running
• Water that starts warm then goes cold after a minute or two
• Leaking from the tank itself, the valves, or where pipes connect
• Rusty or discoloured water coming out of your taps
• Banging, rumbling or hissing sounds from the unit
• A gas pilot light that keeps going out
• Electrical elements that have tripped, or a thermostat that's stopped behaving itself

If the system's completely cactus and you want to check a few things before picking up the phone, our guide on hot water isn't working has some safe checks you can try first.

Repair or replace?

This is the big one everyone wants to know about, and honestly it comes down to a few things — how old the unit is, what's actually broken, and how much you've already poured into fixing it.

When repair makes sense

Broadly speaking, if your system is under about 8 years and what's failed is a replaceable part — element, thermostat, valve, thermocouple, anode — then repair is the smart move and we can usually sort it that same day. A tank that's been maintained reasonably well should comfortably push past ten years.

When replacement is the better call

Once a storage tank gets past the 10 to 15 year mark the internal cylinder starts corroding from the inside out, and a tank that's leaking just isn't something you can patch — it needs to come out. If you're ringing us every few months because it's broken down again, or your bills keep going up, or the tank itself is looking rusty, pouring more money into an old unit doesn't really add up. Swapping it out also opens the door to something more efficient — solar or a heat pump — and those can qualify you for federal STC rebates which takes some of the sting out of the upfront cost.

We'll always give you a straight answer. If a repair genuinely makes sense we'll say so, and we're not about to push a new system on you when there's no need.

Choosing the right size

This part matters just as much as picking the right type. Undersize it and everyone's fighting over the last bit of hot water on a winter morning; oversize it and you're paying to heat water that just sits there going cold.

Continuous flow gas units get sized by how many litres per minute flow through them rather than by tank volume, so technically speaking they don't actually run out. That's what makes them popular with bigger families or households where the kids are growing and using more hot water. We'll look at how your place actually uses hot water and recommend a capacity that fits properly.

Brands we install

We work with all the names you'd recognise from any plumbing shop across WA — Rheem, Rinnai, Dux, Solahart, Bosch and Vulcan to name a few. Every range has its own strengths depending on whether you're going gas, electric, solar or heat pump, and what we do is match a solid, well-supported unit to what you actually need and what you've budgeted for. Not going to just push whatever brand happens to be sitting on the truck.

Same-day service when it matters

Nobody wants to be stuck without hot water for days. When it's possible we aim to get your repair or replacement handled that same day, and we keep common parts plus the more popular units on the truck so in a lot of cases we can get things moving quickly. If your system decides to pack it in at 10pm on a Saturday, our emergency plumbers are available 24/7 so you're not left waiting till Monday.

Hot water systems involve gas, electrical and plumbing connections, and WA law requires a licensed plumber for the plumbing work and a licensed gasfitter to handle the gas side. It's there for your family's safety and it also keeps your warranty from getting voided.

Local knowledge matters

Perth homes come with their own particular quirks when it comes to hot water, and having someone who knows the area genuinely helps. Scheme water from the Water Corporation is generally decent quality, but pressure swings around quite a bit depending which suburb you're in. Older homes around Gosnells and the more established parts of Thornlie sometimes have pipework that's seen better days, and that can affect flow going into your hot water unit. All of that gets taken into account when we're sizing and putting in a system, so what you end up with actually delivers consistent hot water instead of fighting against your home's plumbing.

We also handle the practical side of a replacement properly, which honestly isn't always a given with every tradie. That means safely draining and removing your old unit, putting the new one somewhere with decent access and airflow, connecting everything to code, and testing the lot before we walk out the door. If we're changing system types — electric over to gas, or gas to solar — we check that the site, gas supply and electrical connections can handle the change beforehand so there's no nasty surprises come install day.

Whether you're after a quick repair or you're ready to switch to something more efficient, our licensed Canning Vale plumbers can sort you out. Give the team a call or request a quote today and we'll give you honest advice and upfront pricing before any work starts.

Frequently asked questions