Geysers

Solar Geysers & Electric Geysers

Drain Ratz technicians are equipped to solve all common geyser problems.  May it be not enough hot water, thermostat related, overflowing geysers, valves, leaking geysers or element replacements.

Electric Geysers & Solar Geysers

Drain Ratz are professional installers of all brands of water storage tanks /geysers, servicing:Pretoria, Centurion,Midrand, Johannesburg area and Cape Town. We are the geyser specialist. All our workmanship is guaranteed. Drain Ratz also installs solar geysers as part of our water & energy saving campaign.

What is an electric geyser?

In general terms an electric geyser is classified as a hot water on demand or a hot water heating system . A hot water storage tank is often described as a instant hot water tank that provides water on demand. This system is used in a commercial and domestic  capacity.An insulated tank can retain heat for days by using electricity. Hot water tanks may have a built-in gas or oil burner system, or electric immersion heaters.Geyser as we call them,  may use an external heat exchanger (electric) to heat water from another energy source such as a wood burning stove or a central heating system. Geysers are a convenient water storage tank as the water has a high heat capacity. Hot water heating systems used for hot water heating are very common in all households. Only the brands and sizes of the systems differ.

In some cases  the geyser is also referred to as forced hot water heating. The uses for the water heaters are similar across the board. We use water basically for everything.  For  washing, bathing, or laundry.  Geysers normally have thermostat controls to regulate the temperature, in the range of 40 to 60 °C, and are connected to the domestic cold water supply. There are water supply has a high content of dissolved minerals such as limestone. Heating the water causes the limestone to dissipate.

Solar Geysers: What is solar heating?

Solar water heating is the conversion of sunlight into renewable energy for water heating purposes. This type of water heating uses a solar thermal collector for water heating using a solar thermal collector. The most popular solar geyser installation is the close couple system. This is usually a horizontally mounted storage tank above the solar collectors on the roof.  Then you get the pump circulated system. This solar geyser system is floor mounted and is usually below the level of the of the collectors. A circulating pump moves water between the tank and the collectors. Solar water heating systems are designed to deliver hot water for most of the year. However, in winter there sometimes may not be sufficient solar heat gain to deliver sufficient hot water. In this case a gas or electric booster is used to heat the water. This problem persists more in the European countries where they have snow fall. Solar water heating in South Africa is the ideal solution to an ever increasing water and energy struggle.

Leaks on geysers

Drain Ratz fixes leaking geysers, both electric geysers and solar geysers. We repair leaking valves or may it even be a burst geyser.Electric  geysers/electric water tanks or even solar geysers may develop leaks due to corrosion after only a few years. Dissolved oxygen in the water can also accelerate corrosion of the tank and its fittings.When installing Water heater tanks should be installed with physical access in mind, both for inspection and replacement of the long anode rod, and for the eventual replacement of the entire tank. With regards to repairing leaks in hot water storage tanks, it is generally accepted by plumbers and specialists that any leak from the bottom of the tank will require total replacement of the unit (i.e. it is unrepairable). However, if the leak is coming from in or around the pipes or taps on the storage tank, then repair is an economically feasible option. All  electric geysers installed in the roof should be installed with a drip tray. A drip tray will prevent the leak from the geyser to overflow into the ceiling.

Drain Ratz & Geysers

1.  Installation of all geysers according to SABS Standards – both electric geysers & solar geysers
2.  Installation of geyser blankets. (A hot water storage tank is wrapped in heat insulation/Geyser blankets to reduce heat loss and energy consumption)
3. Fixing of leaking geyser – both electric geysers & solar geysers
4. Replacing vacuum breakers
5. Fixing and replacing geyser pressure (tp) valves
6. Install drip trays
7. Replace burst geysers – both electric  & solar geysers

History of the electric Geyser:

Hot water heating was practiced by our grandfathers and fathers fathers and their fathers before them.” Its quite interesting to see how THE GEYSER evolved and became became a mechanical topic of interest.

The Forefathers of the Modern-Day Geyser

Before the 19th Century, water could only be heated by putting it in a kettle over a fire like in the picture above or similar heating systems.The first form of a geyser was in the1850s, in the form of gas jets that heated the water in a bath from beneath. It didn’t really work as well as the conventional geyser we have today. The problem with the jets was the fact that the jets did not heat the water directly.
And Then came our Fore Fathers

An Englishman named Benjamin Maughan who developed a water heater in 1868 called The Geyser. Maughan’s invention heated the water as it poured into the bath much to the disdain of many using this system as it was dangerous because the water sometimes over heated. That though was the beginning of the geyser as we know it today. An d with much perfection in the late 1800’s a Norwegian perfected the engineering of hot water into a tank and using electricity as a heating instrument.

Edwin Rudd and the Modern Water Heater

Edwin Rudd, a Norwegian mechanical engineer, founded the electric water heater. Rudd invented a storage-based water heater in 1889. It consisted of a large tank to store hot water, and a heat source to warm it to the desired temperature. The drawback to these water heaters is that once the storage empties, it takes time for new water to reach the right temperature, since water entering the storage tank is cold. When the hot water runs out, it can take a few hours for the supply to replenish.

We are now in the era of Green Heating (Solar-Geysers)

Given the disadvantages and the expensiveness of storage-based hot water heaters, tank less water heaters are the next logical step in water heater development. With a tank less water heater, you only heat the water as you need it; therefore, it’s much more efficient than a storage tank.This idea has been given birth to a new culture and idealism of harvesting heat in its natural form and having an endless supply of hot water without restriction. This idea of Solar and Heat Pumps sprouted from our forefather, Edwin Rudds modern-day tank less geysers ideology : “Everything in this world can be naturally harvested for the benefit of the environment as well as the human race. Why conform to using tanks when there is an endless supply of heat which we can generate.

Give Drain Ratz a call for any Electric geyser or Solar geyser related issues or questions.

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