Costs to replace natural gas heater

I am a bit confused, and I will say I have limited experience, however I have seen the odd house, that gas a plug type gas point in a living area, which I assumed was for the type of heater you listed, that just plugs in. So where does the $3k come from.
 
3k! You should be able to get a whole ducted system done for that price!
If it is a straight change over, $500 is heaps for labour. So maybe $1700-2000.
 
TMNT said:
One of my gas heaters in an ip has broken down

Its this style

http://www.harveynorman.com.au/rinnai-spectrum-space-natural-gas-heater-inbuilt-metallic-brown.html

what sort of costs are we looking at for installation? got a quote for $3k inclusive of a unit, which seems very very excessive,

I was thinking of simply installing a split system, the last split system I managed to get it done for about $1200 installed
Click to expand...

One of those you can get cheaper under 1k but I would go gumtree or ebay and get a good second hand around $200 to $300.
 
Depending where the house is located, heating can be a deciding factor when it comes to tenants choosing a house to rent.

In Canberra a house with gas heating would be considered much more favourably than a house with a split system.
 
thansk everyone, its apparently broken down since the new tenant moved in, they said it hasnt worked from day one, even though the previous tenant was using it......

and yes the area is a bit cold but I will need to replace it

so it seems everyone is recommending that I buy it second hand,

and yes you guys are right, I just checked my friendsd gas heater and it plugs into the damn wall!!!!!
 
Never, ever install second hand. You're lucky if they come with a 3 month warranty and they don't last. A new heater will come with a longer warranty, up to 5 years! Second hand appliances never save you the money you expect they will.

I do agree that you should be able to almost get a ducted heater installed for that amount - it is probably more economical to disconnect that heater but leave it there and install a ducted heating system!

The price does depend on the location of the current heater. If it is set into some stone work with all of the connections in the old chimney (for example, it's the most common set up I've seen) then you will find there is a lot of work to get it out and put the new one in as they're slightly different sizes and the gas pipe work will need upgrading too.
 
Have you had a gas guy check it out?

We had similar. Tenant said heater was not working. Had it checked out and the heater just needed a clean.
 
All of these heaters are un-flued: that is, the heater gets air from the room and the burned gas goes back into the room. Flued heaters are those that are sealed and the burned gas gets exhausted to outside the house.

There was a post on the forum recently about carbon monoxide and a couple of kids in Victoria that died in their sleep from CO poisoning: their heater was un-flued. A flued heater would have not been a problem.

For an IP I would not be putting in an un-flued heater. Put in a gas outlet and let the tenant supply their own portable un-flued heater, or install a fixed flued heater.

I do not think that clauses in rental contracts to not fix supplied items are invalid in NSW. If the property comes with something then that something must be maintained by the landlord.
 
vaughan said:
All of these heaters are un-flued: that is, the heater gets air from the room and the burned gas goes back into the room. Flued heaters are those that are sealed and the burned gas gets exhausted to outside the house.

There was a post on the forum recently about carbon monoxide and a couple of kids in Victoria that died in their sleep from CO poisoning: their heater was un-flued. A flued heater would have not been a problem.

For an IP I would not be putting in an un-flued heater. Put in a gas outlet and let the tenant supply their own portable un-flued heater, or install a fixed flued heater.

I do not think that clauses in rental contracts to not fix supplied items are invalid in NSW. If the property comes with something then that something must be maintained by the landlord.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't be putting an un-flued heater in either. These heaters need some sort of venting to bring in clean air from outside (ie. window left slightly open).

The Robinson kids who I think you are referring to, where actually killed from a flued heater that hadn't been serviced for around 6 years. the build up of soot in the flue, together with an extraction fan being left on caused some carbon monoxide to enter the room instead of it all going out the flue. The landlord was sent numerous letters from their agent stating the heater should be serviced but they failed to act. It is a horrible story..
 
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Gas Furnance

I have the gas furnaces in each of my rentals. I get them serviced each year, although the gas service company say they only need to be done every 3 years.

I paid $3200 installed for the last one. I also have the Fujitsu Inverters installed for both airconditioning and as back up heating.

I have both installed at my house and find the furnace works just fine during the day but when we get hit with a freeze I need to run the inverter to warm up the bedrooms.

All the furnaces are flued.

I would not take a chance on unflued gas heating in a rental.

Chris
 
Good points here!

Never took into consideration the non-flued issued, but it makes perfect sense.... especially in this day and age of litigation.

Regarding the supplied, but if broken won't be replaced, my PM told me he could include such clauses in here as long they were stated upfront and were not essential items.

I try to avoid that where possible anyway and remove items that are likely to break or supply new ones that are under warranty.
 
Update:
managed to get a new one installed for $1000,

harvey Norman had one on special for $725 display model,
got it down to $695, got a plumber who said it shouldnt cost more then $300 to install...lets hope not, I havent had much luck with tradies,
and its the un-flued model as it saves me $1000,

agent highly recommend that I go flued model considering resale value, but I doubt any prospective buyer is even going to check if the heater is flued or not

Thanks everyone!
 
if its unflued why is it even costing anything to install?

In my mind unflued gas heaters are those you connect to a bayonet and thats it. In summer you can disconnect and put it aside and bring it back in winter.

Unless there's another type of unflued heater.
 
neK said:
if its unflued why is it even costing anything to install?

In my mind unflued gas heaters are those you connect to a bayonet and thats it. In summer you can disconnect and put it aside and bring it back in winter.

Unless there's another type of unflued heater.
Click to expand...

im not 100% sure, the plumber did say that there is a chance the bayonet would have to be replaced before looking at it,

maybe I just got ripped off
 
Where do you live TMNT?

300 is a bit on the expensive side for a non flued heater. 200 would seem reasonable. all they are doing is disconnecting the old one and changing it over..

keep in mind the gasfitter has to by law test the property before disconnecting anything for gas leaks and by law has to fix any leaks prior to commissioning the new gas item. will mostly likely charge 150-200 per hour to find and then fix the leak. (quite common to have a gas leak with an older property)
 
chrispy said:
I have the gas furnaces in each of my rentals. I get them serviced each year, although the gas service company say they only need to be done every 3 years.

I paid $3200 installed for the last one. I also have the Fujitsu Inverters installed for both airconditioning and as back up heating.

I have both installed at my house and find the furnace works just fine during the day but when we get hit with a freeze I need to run the inverter to warm up the bedrooms.

All the furnaces are flued.

I would not take a chance on unflued gas heating in a rental.

Chris
Click to expand...

What is wrong with unflued?
 
tj22 said:
What is wrong with unflued?
Click to expand...

The fumes from the burned gas goes into the living room. The issue is not just carbon monoxide, it's also all the water vapour that gets made: this causes condensation, moisture, and dampness mould problems if there is not enough ventilation (and IME tenants never open windows).
 
tj22 said:
Where do you live TMNT?

300 is a bit on the expensive side for a non flued heater. 200 would seem reasonable. all they are doing is disconnecting the old one and changing it over..

keep in mind the gasfitter has to by law test the property before disconnecting anything for gas leaks and by law has to fix any leaks prior to commissioning the new gas item. will mostly likely charge 150-200 per hour to find and then fix the leak. (quite common to have a gas leak with an older property)
Click to expand...

Hi Tj22, im in goulburn!
 
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