Top 3 Gas Heater Issues

Have a gas heater issue?
We’ve compiled the top 3 problems homeowners in Singapore face with their gas heaters and how to fix them. 

1. “Replacement cost is really high”

This applies mostly for condominium home owners whose house came with a gas heater. Many have reported that their gas heater breaks down after about three years. These are the costs for replacement:

Even with additional electrical works, homeowners stand to save much more replacing their gas heater with a storage heater. It is safe to make the switch and will save you a fair amount of upfront costs.

Side note: Are gas heaters more energy saving than electric heaters?

• The running cost of a gas heater is comparable to that of an electric heater
• You only really start saving when using renewable energy heaters like
  – solar water heaters – save 50%
  – heat pump water heaters – save 80%

You may also upgrade your electric heater to a digital heater to save about 10% more energy.

A comparison on energy saving water heaters may be found here.

2. “My gas heater has very low water pressure and goes cold-hot-cold”

In many other countries, gas heaters run on natural gas and are of higher technology. In Singapore however, our gas heaters run on town gas and since the market for this type of gas is smaller, the heaters here are of lower technology and have lower performance.

Water heaters fall into two categories:

1. Instant heaters, which are pressure reducing
2. Storage heaters which are non-pressure reducing

Gas heaters in Singapore are instant heaters. The reason why your water goes cold-hot-cold is due to the low water pressure of the gas instant heater. If you are showering and someone in the kitchen turns on the hot water, you will both experience a drop in pressure of hot water.

➡️ A drop in hot water pressure means, your shower gets colder.

➡️ When the kitchen tap goes off, hot water pressure increases and your shower gets hotter.

Fix this issue by replacing the gas heater with a storage heater, which gives you higher water pressure.

3. “High wastage of cold water”

The hot water from your gas heater takes a long time to reach the shower head because gas heaters cannot be fixed indoors for safety reasons (gas leaks) and so, are situated further away from the bathroom. You need to drain off all the cold water from the pipes before hot water reaches you.

Do note that if you are replacing your existing gas heater with a storage heater, this issue will still persist as your water pipes are already run. It is messy and costly to change the location of your water heater while you are still living in the house.

In conclusion..

As water heater specialists who supply both gas and electric heaters in the international market, we hope this article will give you a balanced understanding of why your gas heater operates the way it does in Singapore and what you can or cannot do to fix the issues.

Other related articles:

Gas vs. electric heaters

Gas heaters are also pressure reducing systems. If showers in both bathrooms are running at the same time, users will feel a flow rate drop.

Convert: gas to storage heaters

Useful step by step guide which walks homeowners through the procedure and costs of making the switch from gas to storage.

The instant-storage heater

The fastest storage water heater in Singapore which can perform like an instant heater to produce hot water in 0 minutes.