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Repair Or Replace Your Gas Heater
If you make use of a gas heater in your residence, it might experience some problems now and then. In some cases, you need to have a professional replace the faulty parts with new ones. However, it is advisable to replace your old gas heater with a new model to prevent dangerous occurrences in the future if the problems are too severe and irreparable.
This article will provide you with information on when to have your gas heater repaired or if replacement is required as well as provide a detailed list of some reputable Australian models of gas heaters that you can opt for. If you are ready, let's begin by looking at the signs that your gas heater requires a replacement.
Signs Your Gas Heater Is Due For Replacement
Carbon Monoxide (CO) Leaks
If your gas appliance leaks CO into your home, it will expose you and your household members to carbon monoxide poisoning, which could lead to more severe health complications.
Therefore, if your gas heater constantly leaks CO into your space, it is an indication that you will likely need to replace it as soon as possible to prevent increased instances of CO illnesses. In addition, you should have a carbon monoxide detector installed to ensure that you are aware of all CO leaks as the gas is colourless and odourless.
Significant Increase in Your Energy Bill
Suppose you discover that your energy bill significantly goes up whenever you use your gas heater. In that case, you should definitely look into switching to a more energy-efficient gas heating system. A faulty gas heater consumes more fuel, but this does not always imply that it produces enough heat to warm your space efficiently.
Therefore, if your gas heater keeps running but does not yield the desired results, it means that it is failing, and you should look into replacing it soon.
Breaks Down Frequently
It is not a good investment to keep repairing a gas furnace that breaks down frequently. Instead, replacing such a gas appliance with a new one will save you more money in the long run.
Gas Furnace is Too Old
If your gas heater is about ten to fifteen years old, it is time for an upgrade. Old gas furnaces are prone to developing faults and causing issues such as inefficient heating and CO leaks. It's important to note that the parts of outdated gas appliances are no longer available in the market and might prove difficult to repair or service.
Gas Heater Leaks Gas
A leaky gas furnace is a potential trigger for a hazardous gas explosion, which can result in fatalities. Therefore, once you detect gas leaks within your gas heating system, please endeavour to replace it with a new one as fast as you can.
Excess Wear and Tear
When your gas heater shows signs of severe physical wear and tear, you should look into replacing it with a more effective one. Physical wear and tear include minor cracks, bumps in the metal, and rust on its surface.
Signs That Your Gas Heater Just Requires Repair
Gas Heater is Noisy
When you turn on your gas heater, it makes a noise. However, you should look into it if you hear new noises, such as banging, squealing, rattling, and popping. A noisy gas heater could be a result of so many things like loose ductwork, a faulty fan or motor, among other issues. In this case, replacing or fixing the faulty parts would solve the problem.
Does Not Produce Warm Air
If you notice that your gas heater is not producing warm air it might be due to the accumulation of dust, dirt, or debris in the air vents. Moreover, a faulty fan or air blower and a blown circuit breaker might be another reason why your gas heater is failing to meet your heating needs. In such a situation, cleaning the air vents or having a professional fix the air blower or repair the circuit breaker would solve the problem.
Pilot Light Has Issues
If you begin to notice that your pilot light has issues, it could mean that your gas heater needs repair. The issues could stem from air drafts, malfunctioning thermocouples, clogged gas lines, etc. To start with, a pilot light flame is blue in colour.
Therefore, if you notice that it is either yellow or a mixture of yellow and blue, this indicates that there is an issue that needs to be addressed. Moreover, if the pilot light is flickering or constantly going out, it's a sign that something is not quite right. Most pilot light-related gas stove or oven problems are mostly associated with clogged gas lines.
Replacing the affected part or repairing the gas heater is enough to get it in good working condition. Now let us look at the different models of gas heaters you can consider while replacing your gas furnace.
Non-Flued Or Flueless Gas Heaters
Also known as unflued gas heaters, non-flued gas heaters lack an outlet through which the combusted fumes escape out from your living space. As a result, they release poisonous gases, such as carbon monoxide, into your space. This type of gas heater utilises both natural and LPG gas to heat a room.
Unflued gas heaters are suitable for heating an open space or outdoor areas. They are equally available in portable forms.
Examples of reputable brands that manufacture portable unflued gas space heaters include:
Rinnai Avenger
This portable gas space heater has several features, including:
- Safety and child lock features
- Automatic temperature control
- Identical timers that are programmable
- It comes with a remote control
- Has an energy rating of 5.8 or 5.9 star
- High heat emission
- It is energy efficient
- Does not require installation as long as bayonet gas fitting is available
Paloma Convector
This brand of gas heater manufactures both unflued and flued heaters. The gas heaters run both on natural and LPG gas. They have their gas consumption-ability rated at 15, 18, and 25MJ per hour, which specifies that they are energy efficient.
The unflued models are available in various size ranges to warm up small, medium, and large-sized areas. The flued model of Paloma gas heaters has features like:
- Thermostatic control
- An ample automatic convection design with a rate of 23 Megajoule per hour
- A fan that is filtered
- A well-balanced flue pipe
Everdure Heater
This model of gas furnaces is an example of a portable radiant convector gas space heater. A radiant convector gas heater provides sun-like warmth to your indoor space. This type of gas heater primarily provides warm air to areas directly in front of it (spot heating) and equally distributes heated air throughout the remaining part of the space with the help of the blower.
Flued Gas Heaters
Unlike their flueless counterparts, this category of gas heaters emits the combusted gas or fumes through a flue or the chimney. The flue or exhaust pipe can either pass through the ceiling or wall with the other end connected to the heater.
Flued gas heaters pull combustion air from outside of your living space and equally ensure that the amount of air drawn in balances out with the emission of combusted air. However, flued gas heaters cost a bit more than the flueless ones.
Examples of flued gas heaters include:
Rinnai
It has a modern design and offers a wide variety of radiant and power-driven flued gas heaters for you to choose the one that best suits your household needs. They require installation by a registered gas fitter, ideally by a gas fitter that is a specialist in installing and servicing Rinnai gas heaters.
Pyrox
This is another high-quality brand of gas furnaces in Australia. The Pyrox power-driven flued wall gas furnace is ideal for providing warmth to an entire space.
Gas Fireplaces
A gas fireplace is an example of a flued gas heater. This category of gas space heaters is fuelled with bottled gas and burns a log of wood to keep the area around it warm. They are energy-saving, have considerable heat output, and are not too expensive.
They are classified into three types: freestanding, insertable, and inbuilt gas fireplace:
Freestanding
Just like the name implies, this fireplace stands freely on its own and does not require any installation or any structural attachment to your space. All that is required is running the flue pipe (especially a metal one) through your roof or ceiling. A good number of reputable Australian brands have varieties of freestanding gas fireplaces.
Insertable
This category of gas fireplaces fits into the fireplace opening already existing in a property. They are designed to be inserted into the opening provided in your space. They can easily replace your old and worn-out inbuilt gas fireplace. These insertable gas fireplaces are available in different sizes but ensure to purchase the one that would fit right into your fireplace space.
Inbuilt
Most modern homes have at least one fireplace built into them. However, if your home doesn't have an inbuilt gas fireplace, you have the option of adding one while remodelling your space. To add an inbuilt gas fireplace to your home, you need some pieces of wood, plastering board, and space to build it in.
You might be required to carve out space into the wall for the fireplace. You can also customise the inbuilt fireplace already existing in your home to your desired features.
Gas Water Heaters
Aside from electric water heating, gas heating is one of the hot water systems preferred by most homeowners. Generally, gas water heating is deemed cheaper and more energy-efficient when compared to an electric water heater.
Gas water heaters are mainly of two types:
Storage Tank
This type of gas water heater burns the gas supplied and heats the cold water in the tank to a certain degree, then stores the hot water in the tank till it's ready to be used.
The inner part of the water storage tank is insulated, and this helps it to retain the heat of the hot water for a longer time. This type of water heater is suitable for supplying hot water to multiple bathrooms at once. Due to the water storage tank, this gas water heater takes up space.
Tankless
Unlike the storage tank, this type of gas water heater does not store the hot water; rather, it heats the exact amount of water when needed. This category of gas water heater is also known as a "continuous flow" hot water system. It does not take up space like its storage tank counterpart.
Unlike the storage tank gas water heating, a tankless gas water heater is only suitable for supplying hot water to one bathroom at a time. They are more efficient and cheaper to run when compared to the other type of gas water heaters.
Tips Before Getting A Replacement Gas Heater
Whether you are getting a flued or an unflued gas space heater, there are a few things to have in mind; these include:
- Consider the size of the gas heater and ensure that it is the right size for the intended space. In addition, it's important to consider the height of your ceiling.
- Decide on whether to get a portable unflued or flued gas heater. You can consult a registered gas fitter and determine what best suits your space.
- Consider the energy efficiency, gas consumption rate, and heat output of the gas heater of your choice.
- Check for the star ratings of the megajoules per hour (MJ/hr) and the ratings for the overall performance of the gas heater you intend to buy.
- Ensure to buy your gas heater from reputable brands and manufacturers.
- Compare the price of the reputable brands and go for the gas heater with the price that offers you value for your money.
- Having an HVAC technician assess your new gas heater frequently will help maintain proper functioning of the gas furnace and significantly increase its lifespan.
- Ensure to read the owner's manual before unpacking and using your new gas heater unit. Doing this will help you learn how to safely use and operate the unit.
Use Experts For Gas Heater Repair/Replacement
After reading and understanding this article, you should now be aware of the tell-tale signs of when your gas heater needs repair services and when it is time to invest in a new one.
Have a registered and professional gas technician help you resolve all your domestic gas emergency plumbing needs like new gas heater installations, gas pipe leak repairs, gas heater replacement, gas heater safety assessment, and other gas heater repair and maintenance services.
