Geyser Maintenance

The geyser quality in the South African market is very poor. The best guarantee on one of the industrys largest geyser producers, Kwikot is 5 years. W.E Geysers, the producers of Solartherm and Duratherm, offer a 10 year guarantee. This is a very short period of time when you consider that very few geysers installed in Europe carry less than a 25 year guarantee. (Drip trays are not used in the UK market because geysers dont split) Most geysers are installed in the ceiling space and failure can cause serious damage. Ensuring that your home and business insurance is up to date and covers both the damage caused by a burst geyser and the geyser replacement itself is recommended.
The insurance industry is responsible for the procurement and installations of more than 75% of replacement geysers and almost 50% of all standard geysers sold in this country. Geysers are insured on homeowners policies and 70% (Aquisto 2010; Addison 2010) of claims on these policies are geyser related. (Kritzinger)http://www.crses.sun.ac.za/files/services/conferences/annual-studentsymposium/karin-kritzinger-paper.pdf

One of the reasons for burst geysers is the failure of the geyser lining. Some geyser manufacturers persist with making geysers with steel inner linings. Steel is used in many applications but when it comes in contact with water, it rusts. The manufacturers have tried to prolong the life of the steel by using sacrificial anodes in the geysers. These are usually aluminium based and attract corrosive properties of the water thus protecting the steel. When these anodes have fully corroded, the steel lining is attacked. Most people dont know if their geyser has a sacrificial anode and fewer people have these anodes replaced periodically to prolong the life of the geyser. The speed of anode corrosion depends on the quality and quantity of water used by the household.

The first picture is a new anode pre installation. The second picture is an anode about 4 years old from a 200l Kwikot geyser in a two person house in Newlands, Cape Town. The third picture is the sediment remains of an anode from a burst Kwikot geyser about 10 years old in Table View, Cape Town. A new sacrificial anode costs between R120 and R160 and it should only take 1 hour for a plumber to replace. On rare occasions the geyser has been installed in such a way that the anode is inaccessible. Replacing the anode will prolong the life of your geyser! But wont prevent eventual failure. OTHER HINTS: Investigate the possibility of installing your new or replacement geyser on the outside of the house. Some insurance companies (Outsurance) say there is no difference in premiums if the geyser is installed on the outside of the property. Miway Insurance suggested that there may be a premium saving depending on the security of you property. It is very important for the homeowner to understand the guarentee smallprint when having a geyser installed. This will ensure the homeowner knows his/her rights in the event of a failure. Shop around for geyser installation quotes. R1000s can be saved by finding the right installer.