Fitting out a flat, granny flat or rental unit? You do not need a R22,000 premium system — you need reliable hot water at a practical price. The Cadac 16L Ecoflow starts from around R12,200 installed and copes with the weak water pressure these units usually have. Call us on 071 551 2108.
Smaller dwellings have different requirements to a family home, and the honest answer is that a lot of the premium features simply do not earn their keep in a granny flat. One or two people, one shower, a kitchen sink, and usually a water supply that is weaker than the main house because it is at the end of a long run of pipe.
What matters here is a unit that lights reliably on a modest flow, runs off batteries so load shedding is a non-event, sits neatly on a small wall, and does not cost more than the rental it is supporting. That is exactly the job the Cadac 16L Ecoflow was built for, with the Dewhot 16L a step up when the tenant deserves a bit more comfort.
we fit these across George — Pacaltsdorp, Blanco, Heather Park, and the holiday-let units out towards Wilderness and Sedgefield. Same registered installation and the same Certificate of Compliance as the big jobs, just sized sensibly.
The Cadac 16L Ecoflow in most cases. It is battery-powered so it needs no plug point, it starts on a low water flow, it is compact enough for a small outside wall, and it comes in from around R12,200 installed. The Dewhot 16L Constant Temperature is the step up when you want steadier shower temperature.
To be straight with you: neither of these is a whole-house geyser. If the granny flat is really a three-bedroom cottage with two bathrooms, you are into Paloma or Rinnai 20L territory and we will tell you that on site. Sizing as a guideline: 10L/min covers a kitchen, 12L a shower, 16L a bath, 20L a whole house.
Usually yes, and that is the main reason we reach for the Cadac in these units. Every gas geyser needs a minimum flow of water through it before it will light. The Cadac's low-flow start means that threshold is lower than most, so it fires up on the sort of pressure a back-of-the-property flat actually has.
Open the tap and a small water turbine inside the geyser has to spin fast enough to tell the unit someone wants hot water. A low-flow unit needs less water moving to trigger that, so you are not forced to open the tap flat out just to get a flame.
On the wrong unit, low pressure shows up as "it's not clicking" or a shower that runs cold until you open the tap all the way. It looks like a broken geyser. It is normally a mismatch between the unit and the supply.
Sometimes the pressure problem is a blocked filter, a throttled stopcock or a narrow feed pipe. We check that first — see fault diagnosis — because fixing the supply is cheaper than buying a geyser.
A Cadac 12L Ecoflow comes in from R11,000 supplied and installed, a Cadac 16L Ecoflow from R12,200 and a Dewhot 16L from R15,000. Cylinders, cage and cover are extra. Those figures assume a straightforward job — outside wall, cylinder close by, no surprises behind the plaster.
We do not quote fixed prices sight unseen. we look at the layout, gives you the number in writing, and it does not change afterwards. Compare all five models in the gas geyser buying guide if you want to see where the money goes.
Because it takes the hot water argument off your desk. The tenant buys their own gas, so the running cost sits with the person using it, and there is no electric element waiting to fail and flood a ceiling at your expense.
A cylinder is bought and refilled by whoever uses it. No apportioning of a shared electricity bill, no monthly disputes about who showers longest.
There is no stored tank of hot water sitting in a ceiling and no element to burn out. That removes the most expensive and most disruptive rental plumbing claim there is.
Battery-ignition units light with no power. Your tenant still showers, and you do not get the 6am phone call.
An annual check, a set of batteries and a look at the weather cover. Book it between tenancies with a gas safety inspection and the unit is sorted for the year.
One practical point for owners: keep the paperwork current. A gas safety inspection each year keeps the installation sound and your insurer comfortable, and if you ever sell the property the COC is already in place instead of becoming a transfer-day scramble.
“Quick and neat job”
“Work done neatly and on time”
“Professional service and good quality hardware”
Yes — one shower at a time, comfortably. Sixteen litres a minute is enough for a shower or a bath tap, and it is the right size for a one or two person dwelling. What it will not do is run a shower and a kitchen sink at the same time without the temperature dropping away. If that matters to you, or if you are heating a whole family home, you want a 20L Paloma or Rinnai instead. We will say so rather than sell you the cheaper unit and let you find out in winter.
The budget-sensible unit for flats and granny flats: battery-powered, low-flow start, from around R12,200 installed.
Read moreA step up in comfort with constant temperature control, still battery-powered, from around R15,000 installed.
Read moreAll five models side by side — what each one does well, what it needs, and what it actually costs installed in George.
Read moreTell us what the unit is — flat, granny flat, rental cottage — how many people use it and which taps need hot water. You will get an honest recommendation and a written price, without being pushed into a unit bigger than the job.