aussiegas FAQ page:
all information herein is correct to the best of our knowledge however please refer to appropriate Australian Standards and State Legislation for actual documentation.
What are your payment terms?
We prefer payment upon completion of installation. Cash or Bank Deposit is commonly used by our clients. We can (and prefer to) give our client's a price cap estimate before we begin our work so please do not hesitate to discuss this with us. Also please discuss payment with us if you are in any way unable to pay at the time of completion, or if you prefer other payment options, before the work is carried out and we will write up an aggreement with you.
PLease note that for jobs that we install & work on where aggreed payment is not forthcoming all other means of resolution are exhausted...then all of the installed items remain the full property of e.b.m. industries until such time as payment is recieved by us. PLease contact us for full terms and conditions at your leisure.
Do you sell and install hot water systems? also, what should i be looking for?
We can on-sell items to the public as part of our installations. We do not have a showroom but can refer you to our preferred suppliers if you prefer to buy direct.
Also, we generally advise potential purchasers & users of hot water systems to be aware of the pros and cons of the 3 or 4 options that they may choose when deciding on a hot water system type. Namely:
a) -electric storage tank (not very good energy ratings, and can waste a little bit of water) or
b) -gas storage tank (several types available within this category)...(not very good energy ratings, and can waste a little bit of water)
c) -continuous flow (instantaneous) gas hot water systems (with optional electronic temperature controllers ). These can be electronic (better control of water temperature but slightly more expensive than) or mechanical operational controls (lack temperature control accuracy, and poor with multiple point household taps running simultaneously)+ (often do not work well with water saver shower roses and so on). They do however possess very good 5 star plus energy ratings. They may waste a little bit of water when water pipe is purging cold water out of tap after turning it on.
5 star gas hot water systems can at the time of writing this, get a $300 rebate by way of gas bill deductions. see link on my website to more information.
d) -solar (with gas or electric booster) very good 5 star plus energy ratings, but more expensive to buy and install approx $4000 to $8000 dollars average, but very good rebates available. The design of these is improved on what was available some years ago, and you do not need to have the water storage vessel on your roof these days.
TO have some understanding all of this is more important, especially I think for people who have only ever used a storage type hot water system, as these systems behave well in certain aspects but cost more in energy. The Storage types of system have different personalities to Continuous Flow type Hot water systems. You can do more research of the type of benefits you gain or lose from one type of system to the other, from many websites.
One of the main things i think is to look at the energy rating, and these days of course the water usage / wastage with different models. There are even water saving devices around now that save wasting the cold water in the pipework which normally goes down the drain whilst waiting for hot water to come out of the tap but the items for this water savings are not cheap and you would need a licensed water plumber to fit that particular item.. if you want more info on any of this just let me know and i will try to put something together for you.
For new houses and new extensions to houses you need to install a 5-star plus rated system by law now. Often people go for solar being unaware of 5-Star Continuous Flow - instantaneous hot water systems. Significant cost / $ outlay difference.
Note that this is just supplied to you as a general guide. You should consult your Local Council or Retailer for precise specifications relating to the above topics. Rheem, Bosch, Rinnae, Dux and many more websites have brochures you can access online.
...can you install gas system for my potential new cooktop. i am renovating my kitchen and need to plan ahead...-please advise approximate cost of this if you can.
Thanks,
after getting all relevant details of your requirements see following breakdown:
-For best estimate the price of installations, the following figures indicate a approximate cost I allow for this job of yours as of time of writing this.
It includes 2 x 9kg gas cylinders sitting on a small slab or wall brackets if available, located as discussed, with chain constraints where appropriate. you can observe how this would look if you refer to one or two pages of pictures on my website showing two small gas cylinders. Copper piping over to the gas appliance and connection and testing and commissioning the appliance, approx 6 meters long.
Note - as you mentioned, yes I will convert the appliance from natural gas to lpg , if the kit of replacement jets is supplied with the cooktop (as it usually does)…inclusive in the installation for no extra cost. if the jets are missing i will supply them for a small fee. if you are buying the cooktop or any appliance for that matter that is running on gas, ensure it has an approval sticker on it namely A.G.A. APPROVED.
Also ensure that while you are building your new kitchen that you please pay attention to distances from combustible surfaces outlined in the attached files, especially nearbycabinets, windows and curtains, and rangehoods. If you need any tiling or stainless steel splashbacks etc done (to satisfy heat protection requirements) I can organize that for you. Thanks for this opportunity and I look forward to speaking soon
Can you tell me what sort of time my gas cylinders should last before i need to refill them?
Sure, if you are talking about LPG gas cylinders, use this formula...
= 1kg of lpg liquid (as stored in gas cylinder) is equivalent to 50mj of stored energy. Using this knowledge then , if you have one 9kg gas cylinder you will get 9 x 50 = 450 mj total out of the cylinder. All you need to do then is estimate how much cooking you will do on average per week on the cooktop...and knowing that your cooktop burners are around 6mj per hour to approx 25mj per-hour, you could guess say you’d likely get a month or two out of each 9kg cylinder without too much trouble. if you like i can fit a twin cylinder kit so that you can quickly switch to the reserve gas cylinder, to allow you to replace the empty one in the month or two that you will get out of your backup. often people get more than a month or two if they are just using one gas cooktop, with conservative usage rates. if you have a gas oven and any other gas appliances, you should organize with your local gas supplier to have a set of 45kg gas cylinders supplied. We can install the gas piping and commission and test your entire system for you in that event.
Can you advise me what the weight of lpg gas is so i can work out how long it will take to run out of gas?
Sure,
lpg gas when stored as a compressed liquid is approx half the weight of water. ie if you take the standard 45 kg gas cylinder it actually has 90 litres of lpg inside it. you may refer to a previous question in this page, about how many Mega-joules you get out of a kg of lpg, but basically you need to know that 1 litre of lpg compressed gas, will expand 273 times its volume, and knowing that you will obtain approx 96 mj per m3 of gas vapor you will end up with close to the same figures as if you worked on 50mj per kg of compressed gas ie liquid lpg. for more information on gas properties etc refer to Gameco's website calculation / conversion page . see this link or go to our web links page: http://www.gameco.com.au/
What do i need to know about water temperature and safety?
At the time of writing, in Qld there are laws in place to limit the maximum water temperature delivered to consumer usage. It is to protect the elderly and also infants (whose skin burns much faster than adult’s skin) from scalds due to exposure to hot water.
You can read more in the Australian Standards pertaining to this and also to other dwellings classed as disabled persons care etc, however generally speaking for a normal household the maximum temperature is often supposed to be maximum of 50 degrees Celsius.
Note that this is compulsory in some circumstances and not in other, however always recommended for obvious reasons. Some Hot Water Systems have inbuilt controls which are non-adjustable, which ensure this requirement is maintained. In cases where this control is not inbuilt, the licensed plumber would need to fit a temperature limiting valve. This adds cost to the installation which is passed onto the consumer, but it is worth it.
I would allow a couple of hundred dollars for this to be done. Note that the Australian Standard nominates other ways this legislation can be fulfilled, for example by fitting temperature limiting devices to the actual tap which the water is delivered to. You can read more on the website of the Master Plumbers association, or other reputable sites
