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Geyser repair in Brackenfell starts at the valves, because a geyser that drips, bangs or runs cold is often telling you about a R300 part rather than a new cylinder. We test before we quote, and we repair before we replace wherever the tank is sound.
Tell us what the geyser is doing. You get a written price before any part is fitted.
Most geyser calls come down to one of six parts. Each one is tested before it is replaced.
The valve that brings mains pressure down to what the cylinder is built for. When it fails, everything downstream feels it.
A constant drip from the overflow pipe outside usually means the safety valve is lifting. We find out whether the valve or the pressure is to blame.
No hot water or water that never gets properly hot. Tested with a meter, so you pay for the part that is actually dead.
The small valves on the cold and hot sides that stop the cylinder collapsing when the supply goes off. Cheap to replace and often missing.
A tray with a drain to outside is what stops a slow leak becoming a ceiling. We fit or repair both.
Water off, power off, cylinder drained and the ceiling protected. If the tank itself has failed, see geyser installation.
The City of Cape Town has said that under normal operation its network delivers water at between 2.4 and 9 bar. Domestic geyser valves in South Africa are sold at 400 kPa and 600 kPa, which is 4 and 6 bar. Put those two ranges next to each other and the gap is plain: on a good day the street can push well past what the cylinder in your roof is built to hold.
The fitting that closes that gap is the pressure control valve on the cold feed. It takes whatever the street delivers and passes on a steady pressure the cylinder is rated for. Behind it sits the safety valve, whose job is to let water out if the pressure or temperature climbs past the cylinder’s limit anyway.
When the pressure control valve wears, the safety valve starts doing a job it was never meant to do all day. The first sign is usually a drip from the overflow pipe outside that never stops. Replacing the safety valve on its own treats the symptom, and the new one will be dripping again soon enough.
Section 24 of the Water By-law also says the City does not undertake to keep any particular pressure. In practice pressure moves when zones are adjusted, valves are fitted or a main is repaired, so a geyser that has been fine for years can start dripping the week after work in your street.
If your overflow pipe is dripping, have the pressure control valve tested before anyone replaces the safety valve. It is the cheaper fault, and the one that causes the other.
Pressure and element readings taken first, and shown to you.
A sound cylinder gets new parts, not a new geyser.
Parts and labour listed before anything is fitted.
Old parts removed, tray checked, ceiling hatch closed behind us.
It depends on the part: a thermostat or vacuum breaker is a small job, a pressure control valve more, an element more again. You get a written price for the specific part after testing and before fitting. The call-out and labour side is listed on our plumber prices page.
That is the geyser overflow. A steady drip usually means the safety valve is lifting because the pressure behind it is too high, which points at the pressure control valve. A drip only while the geyser heats can be normal expansion if no expansion allowance is fitted.
If the cylinder itself is leaking, it needs replacing. If it is a valve, element or thermostat, a repair is almost always the better value. We tell you which, and why, before you spend anything.
The usual suspects are a failed element, a tripped or faulty thermostat, or a tripped circuit breaker. All three are tested with a meter so the right one is replaced.
It is worth having looked at. Banging can come from scale on the element, a failing valve, or pressure surges in the supply. None is an emergency on its own, but all of them get worse.
For a burst, insurers generally want the cause described and the damaged parts kept. We write the cause on the invoice and keep the failed cylinder or parts for the assessor if you ask.
Yes. The geyser’s safety fittings are part of the plumbing CoC the City needs before transfer, so fixing them now saves a rushed job later.
We work on electric, solar-assisted and heat pump systems. Gas water heaters need a registered gas installer, covered on our gas installations page.
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Geyser trouble in Brackenfell, Kuils River or Kraaifontein? Describe what it is doing and the valve or part we suspect comes back priced.
