WARNING Heat pumps, 3 years max.

N

nww

Looks like I may have got about 3 years out of a Rheem 310 heat pump.
Now out of warranty.
Condenser is not cutting in to heat so is relying on the mains backup which
only heats 120 litres of water.

Told if condenser needs replacing looking at around $700, After contacting
my plumber who installed it he told me to contact my electrician who finally
gave up and got me to call Rheem who then came out for a service call
charge and said do you know any refrigeration mechanics. Gave a few a
call and no one wants to know anything about them.

Rheem have given me two numbers for a refrigeration guy , one in Sydney
and one in Newcastle and Im in the middle so can imagine the call
out fee for their driving.

Speak with the refrigeration guy tomorrow and if he says money Im going
to install a standard electric hotwater heater I have in storage I got off
ebay cheaply a few months back for another property I had plans to upgrade.



Rant over.
 
they dont transit well, we had some on some mine sites and the repairs are problematic. I am looking to install (in a new build) one that I have had in storage, it has been freighted over long distances and not looked after very well... the fix up of it maybe more headaches than worth. during the tranist the box got torn and some of the fittings were lost so i am not even sure if i can replace them yet?? I think the units are about $4k to buy new without subsidy?
 
Ausprop said:
they dont transit well, we had some on some mine sites and the repairs are problematic. I am looking to install (in a new build) one that I have had in storage, it has been freighted over long distances and not looked after very well... the fix up of it maybe more headaches than worth. during the tranist the box got torn and some of the fittings were lost so i am not even sure if i can replace them yet?? I think the units are about $4k to buy new without subsidy?
Click to expand...

My original receipt says $3850 installed but thankfully most was covered
by the State and Feds grants at the time and I was left to pay around $400
 
Often the risk with cutting edge technology that becomes bleeding edge loss.

We have simple instantaneous gas with electric starter. Works a treat and cheap to run.

Peter 14.7
 
Some bright spark also ordered some new "dongas" at work with these overpriced pieces of junk.

The old design whether it was instantaneous or storage could be repaired by the local sparky or plumber.. not anymore and we are paying the price of a poor decision. Because they now use refrigerant in them you now need a sparky or fridgy or both, I'm glad I don't have to pay that bill.

I ran some checks on the heat pump units at work compared to the old reliable Rheem storage and they came in pretty much the same energy use (kw/h) to heat the water back up to temperature. Rheem took 20 or so minutes to heat back up and the storage took up around 2 hours.

I haven't read many good reports regarding them either when used in cold areas such as Vic and Canberra with them taking an excessive amount of time to reheat. Anyone care to comment on their performance in cold areas?
 
nww said:
My original receipt says $3850 installed but thankfully most was covered
by the State and Feds grants at the time and I was left to pay around $400
Click to expand...

So really not to bad $400 for 3 years. I could see you really bitching if you had been up for the full $3850. That would have been one large storage unit per year ouch.

We went solar and glad I did.

Cheers
 
Update.

Have a guy coming Monday another $140.00 service call fee on top
of the Rheem call out $135.00 , says could still be under warranty if
its the electronic cables which run internally from the top of condenser unit
to the the bottom heating elements, There are actually two cables one
as a spare built in which was swapped by the Rheem guy but still did not work.
If its the cable then another is added externally and if its the condenser he
quoted under $1000.00.
So to date has cost me approx $675 after rebates approx $400 and two call out fees.
Will not be spending anymore money on this if it is in need of a new condenser.

After my experience will not look at another heat pump when you
can still buy standard electric hot water systems.
The service guy said the reason the electric hot water systems have not
been phased out as yet as they should have been is due to all the trouble with the
heat pumps.
 
Should have updated this previously as I got the heat pump repaired out
of warranty by rheem but it did not last long , this heat pump only lasted
another 12 months and has now been replaced with a standard electric hot water service. manufactured date says July 2009
 
nww said:
Should have updated this previously as I got the heat pump repaired out
of warranty by rheem but it did not last long , this heat pump only lasted
another 12 months and has now been replaced with a standard electric hot water service. manufactured date says July 2009
Click to expand...

to be clear - can you still buy and install an electric hws?
 
I don't know the answer to Ausprop's question but I just wanted to point out that a bog standard electric HWS will cost a bucket load at today's electricity prices compared to pretty much any other option for regular family use.

Gas or solar boosted HWS would be far better for everyone involved. Of course if it's for tenants then you have the usual question of whether the LL should have any responsibility for reducing the tenant's energy efficiency and cost of living - we all have to make up our own minds on that!
 
HiEquity said:
I don't know the answer to Ausprop's question but I just wanted to point out that a bog standard electric HWS will cost a bucket load at today's electricity prices compared to pretty much any other option for regular family use.

Gas or solar boosted HWS would be far better for everyone involved. Of course if it's for tenants then you have the usual question of whether the LL should have any responsibility for reducing the tenant's energy efficiency and cost of living - we all have to make up our own minds on that!
Click to expand...

gas is often not available tho. Did they ever put it thru to Yanchep? that was a ridiculous situation - I had to put an electric storage into a new build up there, imagine living with that with a large family
 
HiEquity said:
Gas or solar boosted HWS would be far better for everyone involved. Of course if it's for tenants then you have the usual question of whether the LL should have any responsibility for reducing the tenant's energy efficiency and cost of living - we all have to make up our own minds on that!
Click to expand...

exaclty, depends who you ask.

govt: landlords should pay

tenants: don't care as long as it's not them (day of move in "what sort of hws does this place have anyway?")

LLs: tenants should pay cost+20% amortised over 3 years
 
yeah were screwed where we live,
were in rec 4 which they dont recommend heat pump HWS as the average yearly temperature is below 19?c
we dont have any gas mains so stuck with electric HWS

http://www.energymatters.com.au/renewable-energy/solar-power/solar-hot-water/solar-heat-pumps.php
Energy Matters do not recommend the installation of heat pumps in RECs zone 4 or the colder areas of Zone 3. Zones 1 & 2 are generally warm enough to enable efficient operation of heat pumps. The yearly average ambient temperature should be equal to or greater than 19 degrees Celsius.
Click to expand...

also if you live in the cooler areas it cost you about the same if not more due to the cost of fixing the unit when it breaks

*Energy Matters do not recommend installing heat pump units in areas with low average temperatures. Although the units will work in cold weather, installation in cold climates will cause longer compressor runtimes which can lead to reduced unit life expectancy and greater energy consumption.
Click to expand...

the only choice would be a solar HWS

or if you dont have offpeak get solar panels and run the hws during the day when the solar panels are providing the energy (if your FIT is less than what it cost you for electricity)
 
Ausprop said:
to be clear - can you still buy and install an electric hws?
Click to expand...

Yes can still buy them here in NSW.
You can pick up a cheap newish one from any plumber who is
changing them over to solar or heat pumps.

This one is large enough for off peak hot water , tenant has had
her first bill and no difference with this hot water service , possibly
because the heatpump was on during peak periods , doesn't make sense to me.
 
In Canada we install ground source heat pumps in areas where the air temperature goes to -40[sup]o[/sup]C every winter.

air exchange systems are less efficient, less than useful

the ground remains around +15[sup]o[/sup]C regardless of air temperature, about 1m down, the heat echanger is a simple loop of pipe line buried in close contact with the earth, no moving parts, ~400% efficiency

hot water, and entire house heating is drawn from a single fridge unit
 
Another hot water alternative I've not seen here much is a wet back in an open fire place, sometimes called a donkey. Highly efficient but does require an open fire so great in winter.
 
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