How Do You Maintain a Gas Geyser?
Gas geysers are low-maintenance, but they are not no-maintenance. Batteries, weather protection and an annual once-over prevent almost every breakdown we get called to. Nearly all of the emergency call-outs we attend started as something small that nobody noticed.
What regular checks can I do myself?
Nothing technical and nothing behind the cover. Your job is to notice changes and keep the unit protected — the rest is registered installer work.
- Listen to the ignition. A healthy unit clicks and catches straight away. Two or three clicks before it lights means the batteries are tiring.
- Watch for hot-then-cold patterns. A shower that wavers is telling you something about flow, gas supply or the flow sensor. Note when it happens.
- Check the cover after storms. Wind lifts and cracks weather boxes on the Garden Route, and a cover that is no longer sealing is worse than useless.
- Replace batteries when ignition gets lazy. Roughly annually, and keep a spare set in the house.
- Look for rust streaks or soot. Brown streaks below the unit or black marks around the burner area mean it needs looking at.
- Smell around the cylinder. Any smell of gas: close the valve, ventilate, keep flames and switches away, phone 071 551 2108.
Why do Garden Route units need extra care?
Because of what the air does to them. Salt-laden coastal moisture and wind-driven rain corrode boards, wiring looms and burners, and units on this coast age faster than the same unit inland.
Battery-ignition units take the worst of it, which is why the Dewhot 16L and the Cadac 16L Ecoflow must stay under a proper weather cover. A corroded loom is the most common reason we have to condemn a battery unit that is otherwise young and healthy, and it is entirely preventable.
The Paloma and Rinnai are built for outdoor mounting and generally do not need covering, but they still benefit from being out of the direct spray of a sea-facing wall. Position matters as much as protection: Pacaltsdorp, Herolds Bay and Glentana properties feel this more than properties tucked inland at Blanco or Heather Park.
What are the warning signs to act on?
These are the things that turn into cold showers if they are ignored. If your unit is doing any of them, book a look before it stops completely.
- Not clicking at all when you open the hot tap — batteries, power or the flow sensor.
- Cutting out mid-shower — flow, gas supply, or a unit fighting a mixer tap.
- Error codes on the display, especially recurring ones. Paloma owners can start with our Paloma error codes guide.
- Soot marks around the burner or casing, which point at combustion or ventilation.
- A yellow or lazy flame where you can see it, instead of a crisp blue one.
- A pilot that keeps going out on older units.
- Any smell of gas — close the cylinder valve, ventilate and call immediately.
Our common gas geyser problems page runs through what each of these usually turns out to be.
What's included in a professional check?
our team works through the installation in order and finishes with an honest opinion rather than a sales pitch. Most units get a clean bill of health or a small repair.
- Gas supply: cylinder, valve, regulator, hose dates and the condition of the line.
- Flow sensor and spinner, plus the inlet filter, which is a frequent quiet culprit.
- Burner condition, flame picture and ignition or flame-sensing components.
- Flue routing and ventilation, including anything that has been built in around the unit since.
- Every connection pressure tested rather than sniffed at.
- An honest repair-versus-replace call with the numbers behind it.
Book it as a gas safety inspection if you want the whole installation covered, or as a fault diagnosis if the unit is already misbehaving and you want the cause found.
Gas Geyser Maintenance — Common Questions
Once a year is sensible for a normal household, and the best time to do it is before winter — that is when the inlet water is coldest, the unit works hardest and a marginal fault turns into no hot water. Older installations, rentals and holiday houses that stand empty for months benefit from being looked at more often, because nobody is there to notice the small changes. A yearly check also keeps your compliance paperwork current if an insurer ever asks.
Book the yearly check before winter
A single visit catches tired batteries, perished hose and a corroding loom while they are still small jobs. Phone 071 551 2108 or send a WhatsApp to get it in the diary.