Continuous Flow Hot Water near you

The honest comparison is about demand patterns rather than about which technology is better. A storage system holds a fixed volume that has been heated in advance, so it copes easily with several outlets at once and then needs time to recover once it is drained. A continuous flow unit has no reserve at all and instead has a rate: it will run a shower indefinitely, but its output is shared among whatever is open at the same time, which is why a second shower or a filling laundry trough can leave the first one cooler.

That rate is set by how much the unit can raise the temperature of the water passing through it, and incoming water is coldest in the middle of winter, in June, July and August. A unit sized against summer performance will disappoint in the weeks when it matters, and the effect is more pronounced the further south the house is. Sizing is therefore about the household's simultaneous demand at the coldest time of year rather than its average use.

There is also a difference in how each system relates to the Code's Legionella requirements, and it is worth understanding rather than repeating as a slogan. The Code requires heated water to be stored and delivered under conditions which avoid the likelihood of Legionella growth, and its verification method for storage works on time at temperature: water subjected to at least 32 minutes at 60 °C, 2 minutes at 66 °C, or 1 second at 70 °C or greater, within 7 days before it leaves the outlet. Those exposure periods are about stored water. A unit that holds no meaningful volume is a different proposition, which is one genuine advantage of heating on demand, while the delivery temperature limits at the fixtures apply either way.

The supply feeding the unit is where most of the real work sits, and it is the part a like-for-like quote can quietly assume. A gas continuous flow unit consumes gas at a much higher rate while running than a gas storage unit does, so the existing gas line, meter and regulator have to be capable of delivering that rate to the appliance at the required pressure. Undersized gas supply is one of the more common reasons a correctly chosen unit underperforms after installation, and it is a question to ask at quoting stage rather than after the first cold shower.

Then there is the appliance position: clearances from windows, openings and boundaries, the flue arrangement for any internal installation, the water connections, an isolating valve so the unit can be serviced, and a discharge arrangement for any relief device the system requires. The Code's pressure relief and temperature limitation requirement is expressed as relieving pressure so that the maximum rated working pressure, or 1400 kPa, whichever is the lesser, is not exceeded, and limiting water temperatures to a maximum of 99 °C.

Finally the delivery temperature has to be right at the fixtures, not just at the appliance. The Code limits the delivery temperature of heated water at the outlet of each sanitary fixture to not more than 50 °C in ordinary cases, and not more than 45 °C in settings such as the residential parts of aged care buildings, patient care areas in health-care buildings, the parts of early childhood centres and primary or secondary schools used by children, and designated accessible facilities, with the requirement applying to heated water installations intended for personal hygiene. Where a temperature control device is used to achieve that, the required maximum delivery temperature must be achieved in accordance with AS/NZS 3500.4, and thermostatic mixing valve work must comply with AS 4032.3.

Gasfitting is its own licence class in Australia, separate from plumbing, and for a gas continuous flow unit that distinction is the whole point. New South Wales requires the right licence or certificate before you do any plumbing, draining or gasfitting work, regardless of the cost of the work and regardless of whether the property is residential, commercial or industrial, and it takes the definition of gasfitting work from the Gas Supply Act 1996: the installation, alteration, extension or repair of a gas installation, work on any flue, connecting or disconnecting a gas installation to or from a gas supply point, and connecting or disconnecting a gas appliance. LPG work is separately categorised again, with LP gasfitting restricted to installations carrying liquefied petroleum gas in vapour phase at pressures not exceeding 150 kilopascals, and advanced LP gasfitting covering LPG without that restriction.

The practical consequence is that one person may not be entitled to do the whole job. Ask at quoting stage who is doing the water side, who is doing the gas side, whether they hold the relevant categories and, for LPG, whether they hold the right restricted or advanced category. Then ask what each will issue when the work is finished.

The paperwork varies by state and it is specific about water heaters. Queensland lists twelve categories of notifiable work in schedule 1 of the Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2019, and two apply squarely here: work necessary for installing, replacing or removing a water heater, and work necessary for installing, replacing or removing a temperature control device, each for an existing building or an extension or structure for an existing class 1 building, registered with the QBCC on a Form 4 or 4a. Western Australia is blunter still: while it treats much like-for-like repair as minor plumbing work, replacing a water heater is one of only two exceptions that automatically default to major plumbing work in all cases, which brings the notice of intention and certificate of compliance requirements with it. Victoria allows plumbing work only by a plumber with current registration or a licence, or an apprentice.

Collect the paperwork while the installer is still there. That means the invoice with the scope described rather than just a total, the certificate or notification your state requires for the plumbing work, the separate evidence for the gasfitting where gas was involved, the product documentation with the model and serial number, and the WaterMark certification details where the product type requires certification. Photograph the installation, the connections and the data plate before anything is boxed in or the unit is mounted out of reach.

An installation is both a supply of goods and a supply of services, and the Australian Consumer Law guarantees both. Products must be of acceptable quality. Services must be carried out with an acceptable level of care and skill, be fit for any purpose you made known, and be supplied within a reasonable time where none was agreed. Where a problem with the service is minor, the business must fix it free of charge and the business chooses the remedy. Where it is major, which includes work creating an unsafe situation or work that cannot be used for the purpose you made clear and cannot easily be fixed within a reasonable time, you choose between cancelling for a refund and keeping the agreement at a reduced price. Telling you to take it up with the manufacturer is not an answer to an installation fault.

LokalMatch handles the introduction and nothing else. You describe the job once, with your postcode, whether you have gas or are considering electric, what system is there now and whether it has already failed, and plumbing and gasfitting businesses covering your area contact you directly. Those businesses pay LokalMatch for the requests they receive. LokalMatch does not install or repair hot water systems, does not set or quote prices, and does not vet, rank or recommend any business, so checking each licence category on your state register and comparing what the quotes actually include is still your work.