Hot water systems are a fabulous invention. Gone are the days of cold showers, and flannel baths or having to boil water on the wood stove to bathe in warm water… but you will pretty quickly feel like you have travelled back in time to the dark ages if your hot water system fails. 

So what do you do if you notice that your hot water system isn’t working? 

The first step is to check if there is anything visually wrong with your hot water system - is water leaking out of it everywhere? 

If yes, your hot water system has likely rusted out, or a valve has failed and you will need the services of a plumber to replace it. To stop the leak, you will need to isolate the water to your hot water system. You will need to find the copper pipe at the bottom of the hot water system that leads into the side of the tank, if you follow that pipe, you should find a round black knob or the handle of a ball valve. You will need to turn the black knob clockwise to turn off the water, or twist the ball valve handle 90 degrees to the pipe. This will prevent any further water from entering the hot water system and stop the leak. 

If it is an electric HWS it is also a good idea to isolate the power to your hot water system by finding the switch marked “HWS” or “Hot Water” in your electricity box and flicking it to “OFF”, this will reduce the risk of electrocution.

Once your hot water system is safe, and no longer leaking it’s time to give HC Plumbing a call on 0439 648 390. We will endeavour to get you booked in for a replacement system as soon as possible, however, if you urgently need your hot water reinstated, we do have temporary hot water systems that we can often install on very short notice. 

No leak? 

Step 2 is to determine if you have a gas, electric or solar hot water system.

Then follow the relevant steps below: 

Electric Hot Water System: 

1. Check if the hot water system is actually heating your water.
   While the water in your home might be cold, the water in your hot water system might be hot. Test the temperature of the hot water in your hot water system by opening the temperature pressure relief valve, be very careful and ensure that children and animals are kept at a distance, as, if the system is working correctly, the water that comes out should be very hot.
   If your water is hot from the tank, but not at the tap, you likely have a faulty tempering valve and will need to give us a call on 0439 648 390 to come and fix or replace it (make sure you let us know that you have done this test so we can ensure we have the correct parts with us to bring!)
2. If the water coming out of your system is cold, then it's likely your problem is electrical. The next step is to check your electrical box to make sure that your safety switch and/or hot water switch have not tripped. If either switch is in the “OFF” position, move it back to the “ON” position. Provided the switch does not trip again, you should have hot water within a matter of hours. 
3. If your electrical switches weren’t tripped then the cause of your problem will likely require the services of an electrician, give your sparky of choice a call and get them to come and diagnose your problem. 

Gas Hot Water System: 

1. The first thing to check if you have a gas storage hot water system is that your pilot light is still lit. If it is not lit, follow the instructions on your hot water system to relight it. 
2. If you are unable to relight your pilot light, your issue is like related to the gas supply, check that your gas supply has not been affected by ensuring: 
3. If it is natural gas that it has not been turned off at the metre, if it has, it will likely have been disconnected by your gas supplier - reach out to them to discuss why
4. If it is LPG that the bottles are not empty or that they gas has not been turned off - if the gas supply is empty you will need to contact your gas supplier to refill your gas
5. If it is a continuous flow hot water system (box on the wall type) check that it is plugged into power and the power supply is working. If that is ok, the next step would be to check gas supply per the above steps a/ and b/. Sometimes after bottles run empty a system needs to prime the gas again or needs to be reset. Most systems are reset by turning the power off to them for 30 seconds then turning them back on. To re-prime the system you can turn a tap on for 10 seconds, then off for 10 seconds and repeat that process. Depending on the length of the gas line it could take up to 5 or 6 repeats to purge the air from the gas line doing this.
   
   If you have confirmed that there is gas getting to the system, but you are unable to light your pilot light and reinstate your hot water, it’s time to give us a call on 0439 648 390.

Solar Hot Water System: 

If you have had lots of overcast weather, it’s likely your system has simply received insufficient sunlight to heat the water. When your system was installed, you should have been shown how to turn on your booster (often this is located in your electricity box). Turn on the booster, wait a couple of hours and see if this has heated your water. 

If turning on the booster fails to result in hot water (will normally take about an hour to heat up), it is time to give us a call on 0439 648 390 and we will arrange to inspect and diagnose the issue. 

If at any time you don’t feel comfortable with the steps that we have mentioned above, the best bet is to give HC Plumbing a call on 0439 648 390 and we will be able to arrange to attend and investigate the cause of the issue.  Oftentimes, particularly if your hot water fails on the weekend or after hours, we won’t be able to replace it then and there, however, the HC Plumbing team have several small temporary hot water systems that we are able to install quickly to ensure that you are not left in the lurch with no hot water until we can arrange the installation of your new system.