Question 1

How much does a gas geyser cost installed?

Accepted Answer

Installed, expect from R11,000 for a Cadac 12L Ecoflow, R12,200 for a Cadac 16L Ecoflow, R15,000 for a Dewhot 16L Constant Temperature, around R21,500 for a Rinnai 20L and about R22,000 for a Paloma 20L. Those are from-prices including the unit and a standard installation. The units themselves are roughly R5,700 (Cadac), R8,500 (Dewhot), R13,500 (Rinnai) and R14,000 (Paloma). Everything above the unit price is the work: gas line, water connections, mounting, isolation, cylinder setup and testing. A Dewhot on a double cylinder setup comes closer to R15,100 installed.

Question 2

Why is the installation so expensive?

Accepted Answer

Because you are not just hanging a box on a wall. A compliant installation includes correctly sized and secured gas pipework, an isolation valve, hot and cold water connections into your existing plumbing, cylinder positioning and restraint, ventilation and clearance requirements, pressure testing, and a Certificate of Compliance. The single biggest variable is distance. A geyser mounted two metres from the cylinder and one metre from existing hot water plumbing is a short job. The same unit on the far side of the house means metres of gas line, more brackets, more chasing and more time.

Question 3

Why do I need the extras?

Accepted Answer

Most of the extras are not upsells — they are what makes the installation legal, safe or durable. A gas cage or cylinder restraint keeps bottles secure. A weather box on a Dewhot or Cadac protects the control board and wiring loom from Garden Route rain and salt air, which is the number one killer of those units. A weatherproof plug point is not optional on a Paloma or Rinnai, because they run on electricity. And correct pipe sizing is not an extra at all — undersized gas line is why a geyser runs fine on one tap and drops out on two.

Question 4

I can get it cheaper somewhere else — why?

Accepted Answer

Usually one of three reasons: it is a cheaper unbranded unit with no local spares, the quote excludes the gas work and the certificate, or the installer is not registered. All three cost more later. We are not the cheapest and we do not pretend to be. What you get instead is a registered installer, five models we know inside out, a Certificate of Compliance on completion, and someone who comes back if the unit misbehaves. If price is the only factor, the Cadac 16L Ecoflow at about R12,200 installed is our honest entry point rather than a discounted premium unit.

Question 5

How do I know this is the right geyser for my home?

Accepted Answer

we assess four things on site: your incoming water pressure, your plumbing layout, how many hot outlets get used at once, and whether there is electricity near the geyser position. The model recommendation falls out of those answers rather than out of a price list. As a rough sizing guide: 10L/min suits a kitchen, 12L a shower, 16L a bath, and 20L a whole house running more than one outlet at a time.

Question 6

What is the difference between Paloma and Rinnai?

Accepted Answer

Both are premium 20L units, both run on electricity, both handle mixer taps well and both accept preheated water from a solar system. The practical difference is price: from R22,000 installed for the Paloma against from R21,500 for the Rinnai — only R500 apart. Both are outstanding premium, whole-house gas geysers, and neither is a compromise. Our recommendation comes down to your home's plumbing layout, hot-water requirements and availability.

Question 7

Why choose Rinnai over Paloma?

Accepted Answer

There is no meaningful price difference — the Rinnai is from R21,500 installed against from R22,000 for the Paloma, just R500 apart. Both deliver 20L capacity, electric ignition, mixer-tap stability and solar-inline capability, and both are outstanding premium choices. The choice usually comes down to availability, the home's plumbing layout and what our assessment shows will suit the installation.

Question 8

Why not just fit a cheaper 16L unit?

Accepted Answer

Plenty of homes should. A Dewhot 16L Constant Temperature at about R15,000 installed handles a standard family home very well, and it runs on batteries so load shedding does not touch it. The catch is that 16L means one serious hot outlet at a time. If someone showers while the bath is filling, a 16L will disappoint. And neither 16L unit can take preheated water from a solar system.

Question 9

Is Cadac good enough for my whole house?

Accepted Answer

For a small home, a flat or a granny flat with one bathroom, yes. For a family house with two bathrooms, no — and we will say so rather than sell you one. The Cadac 16L Ecoflow's real strength is its low-flow start, which means it fires up on water pressure that other units ignore. That makes it the right answer for flats and older properties with weak pressure, not for a four-bedroom home.

Question 10

Will it work with mixer taps?

Accepted Answer

Paloma, Rinnai and Dewhot all handle mixer taps. The Cadac is limited with mixer taps where water pressure is low, because mixing cold into the hot line drops the flow through the unit and it can struggle to hold temperature. Mixer taps are the classic cause of the 'hot then cold' complaint on undersized units. If your house is fully on mixers, that pushes the recommendation towards a constant-temperature or 20L unit.

Question 11

Will it work during load shedding?

Accepted Answer

The battery-powered units will: Dewhot 16L and Cadac 16L Ecoflow ignite off torch batteries and do not care whether Eskom is on. Paloma and Rinnai need a weatherproof plug point and will not fire during a total outage unless they are on backup power. If load shedding resilience is your top priority and you do not have an inverter, a battery unit is the safer choice.

Question 12

Will it be hot enough in winter?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A gas geyser heats water on demand as it flows through, so it does not run out the way a 150L electric tank does after two showers. What changes in a George winter is incoming water temperature — colder in, so the unit works harder and flow drops slightly at the same temperature setting. That is exactly why sizing matters: a 16L on a big house feels fine in February and thin in July.

Question 13

Will it work with my water pressure?

Accepted Answer

Every gas geyser needs a minimum flow to trigger. Pressure that is too low means the unit never fires, which people describe as 'the geyser does nothing'. The Cadac 16L Ecoflow has a low-flow start, which makes it the most tolerant of weak pressure. If your pressure is marginal, that is normally the model we recommend, or we look at what is throttling the supply first — an old filter or a partly closed stopcock is a common culprit.

Question 14

Can it supply the whole house?

Accepted Answer

A 20L Paloma or Rinnai can run a whole house, including more than one outlet at a time. A 16L Dewhot or Cadac realistically supplies one serious outlet at a time. Count your simultaneous demand rather than your bathrooms: a household where the shower and kitchen run together at 7am needs 20L.

Question 15

Can it connect to my existing hot water system?

Accepted Answer

Usually yes. Gas geysers tie into existing hot and cold plumbing, and replacing an electric tank with a gas unit is one of our most common jobs. The important exception is solar. If your solar panels feed preheated water into the geyser, only the Paloma and Rinnai can handle it. Dewhot and Cadac cannot take preheated water and will misbehave if you force it.

Question 16

Does it need batteries or electricity?

Accepted Answer

Paloma and Rinnai use electric ignition and need a weatherproof plug point near the unit. Dewhot and Cadac run on batteries. Battery units keep working through load shedding but the batteries do eventually go flat — and a flat battery is the single most common reason a gas geyser stops clicking. Change them before you phone anyone.

Question 17

Are you registered?

Accepted Answer

Yes. we are a registered domestic LPG installer, which is the legal requirement for doing gas work on homes and for issuing a Certificate of Compliance. If an installer cannot issue a COC, they should not be installing your gas geyser. It matters at the moment you sell the property, when the conveyancer asks for the certificate.

Question 18

Do you issue a COC?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every compliant installation we do can be signed off with a gas Certificate of Compliance, and we also issue COCs on existing installations after inspection and any remedial work needed. If your existing installation does not pass, we tell you exactly what has to change and what it costs before we do anything.

Question 19

What happens if something goes wrong?

Accepted Answer

You phone 071 551 2108 and we come back. That is the whole policy. Units carry their manufacturer warranty, and our workmanship stands behind the installation. Intermittent faults sometimes take more than one visit to pin down — one Google review reads 'returned several times until it worked properly', which is exactly how a stubborn fault gets solved.

Question 20

Do you service geysers you did not install?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and a good part of our week is exactly that. We repair and diagnose gas geysers installed by other people, including brands we do not supply, as long as parts are available. Where an unbranded import has no spares in the country, we will tell you honestly that repair is not possible rather than charge you to find out.

Question 21

How long does a gas geyser installation take?

Accepted Answer

A straightforward installation is usually a single day. If the gas line has to run a long distance, or an old electric tank has to come out and the plumbing be re-routed, it can stretch into a second day. You will be told upfront which of those your job is — nobody enjoys discovering at 4pm that the water is off overnight.

Question 22

What is included in the installation?

Accepted Answer

The unit, mounting, gas pipework and isolation, hot and cold water connections, cylinder positioning and restraint, pressure testing, commissioning, and the Certificate of Compliance. Extras that depend on your site — a gas cage, a weather box, an electrical point for a Paloma or Rinnai, or the cylinders themselves — are quoted separately so you can see what you are paying for.

Question 23

Do I need to be home?

Accepted Answer

Someone should be there at the start so we can confirm the geyser position and cylinder location with you, and at the end for the handover and certificate. For the middle of the job it is not essential if access is arranged. The water will be off for part of the day.

Question 24

What about my existing plumbing?

Accepted Answer

We work into it wherever it is sound. Replacing an electric geyser with a gas unit usually reuses the existing hot water distribution, so you are not re-plumbing the house. If we find perished pipework, a failed non-return valve or a blocked filter during the install, we flag it and quote it — we will not quietly plumb a brand-new geyser onto a line that is about to fail.

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