Gas Water Heater

[Daffy D]

Hi All

We are thinking of getting a gas water heater for the kitchen sink. Something like the electric shower heaters but running off bottle gas.

I have not actually seen them in this country, maybe because I never bothered to look before, but I assume they must be available.

Anyone have experience with using one of these heaters? How expensive are they to buy and what are the running cost compared to electric?

The ones I’ve had in other countries worked of the water pressure, our tank is one of those blue 1000lt plastic type set about 10-12ft off the ground, would this give enough pressure to activate the heater?

Also the connections from the heater to the kitchen sink would carry hot water, it’s never going to be scalding hot so would the normal blue pipes be OK to use?

I know about having adequate ventilation so that is not an issue, just like to get some info up front.

Thanks in advance

D.D.

[lazeeboy]

Hi All

We are thinking of getting a gas water heater for the kitchen sink. Something like the electric shower heaters but running off bottle gas.

I have not actually seen them in this country, maybe because I never bothered to look before, but I assume they must be available.

Anyone have experience with using one of these heaters? How expensive are they to buy and what are the running cost compared to electric?

The ones I've had in other countries worked of the water pressure, our tank is one of those blue 1000lt plastic type set about 10-12ft off the ground, would this give enough pressure to activate the heater?

Also the connections from the heater to the kitchen sink would carry hot water, it's never going to be scalding hot so would the normal blue pipes be OK to use?

I know about having adequate ventilation so that is not an issue, just like to get some info up front.

Thanks in advance

D.D.

im sure your local gas bottle supplier will be able to point you in the right direction ,if not sell you one ,me i use 7 kilowatt elctric heaters ,good enough to fill the bathtub ....

[thaipapajim]

If you go down the electric route please DON'T use the ordinary heaters designed for bathroom showers. You can get specific electric heaters for under the sink use. If you have mixer taps make sure the heater is suitable. Costs are about 6000 baht.

Better than having a shower unit blow up like the one we had installed. Blew off both cupboard doors one of which impaled itself in another door on the opposite side of the kitchen and bits of the unit were spread over the kitchen/ living area. I was lucky - I had been washing dishes just 2 minutes before the explosion.

[TBWG]

If you go down the electric route please DON'T use the ordinary heaters designed for bathroom showers. You can get specific electric heaters for under the sink use. If you have mixer taps make sure the heater is suitable. Costs are about 6000 baht.

Better than having a shower unit blow up like the one we had installed. Blew off both cupboard doors one of which impaled itself in another door on the opposite side of the kitchen and bits of the unit were spread over the kitchen/ living area. I was lucky - I had been washing dishes just 2 minutes before the explosion.

Hi DD

I did quite a bit of research into gas water heaters and was put off by their lack of availability and also the ventilation problems.

In the end I opted for electric under sink unit made by Zanker and available from Homepro for about 6-7000 baht.

The water is almost instantaneous and b****y hot however I did initially have an instalation problem because of the type of mixer tap I had fitted.

You also need a good electricity supply as it sucks up a lot of juice!

Conclusion I am one satisfied customer.

TBWG

PS If you do not have enough pressure to activate it a 2,000 baht pump would do the job!

Edited September 18, 2007 by TBWG

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Hi All

We are thinking of getting a gas water heater for the kitchen sink. Something like the electric shower heaters but running off bottle gas.

I have not actually seen them in this country, maybe because I never bothered to look before, but I assume they must be available.

Anyone have experience with using one of these heaters? How expensive are they to buy and what are the running cost compared to electric?

The ones I've had in other countries worked of the water pressure, our tank is one of those blue 1000lt plastic type set about 10-12ft off the ground, would this give enough pressure to activate the heater?

Also the connections from the heater to the kitchen sink would carry hot water, it's never going to be scalding hot so would the normal blue pipes be OK to use?

I know about having adequate ventilation so that is not an issue, just like to get some info up front.

Thanks in advance

D.D.

I'd sure NOT get one. They used to be about all that was available here back up to the late 1970s, and it was not at all uncommon to read in the BKK Post, the Nation, the World papers about expats dieing from leaking gas and inadequate venilation.

August 1979 I rented a new townhouse on Soi 1 Sukumvit.  Requested the landlady to install hot water for the master bathroom.  She said no problem, in the next day.  I said no way, want electric.  She said would take a few days and she'd have to raise the rent a bit.  I said no problem do it.

A good friend, an American, died from the gas leaking here in 1982.

Pretty soon all that was available was/is electric, and no one dies.

Mac

[soap]

Hi All

We are thinking of getting a gas water heater for the kitchen sink. Something like the electric shower heaters but running off bottle gas.

I have not actually seen them in this country, maybe because I never bothered to look before, but I assume they must be available.

Anyone have experience with using one of these heaters? How expensive are they to buy and what are the running cost compared to electric?

The ones I’ve had in other countries worked of the water pressure, our tank is one of those blue 1000lt plastic type set about 10-12ft off the ground, would this give enough pressure to activate the heater?

Also the connections from the heater to the kitchen sink would carry hot water, it’s never going to be scalding hot so would the normal blue pipes be OK to use?

I know about having adequate ventilation so that is not an issue, just like to get some info up front.

Thanks in advance

D.D.

hello daffy d

i bought a gas heater about 12 years ago for our shower room i paid 3,000 baht.

the heater was made in china but was not automatic,i had 12 years of excellent service apart from the

run of the mill repairs/cleaning.about 3 months ago i spotted another one at mae sai on the thai burma border this one was a slimline automatic i paid 2.500 baht for this one and so far its working like a dream,we change the gas bottle maybe every 3 or 4 months at a cost of 260 baht.

i would not have any thing else in the shower room

[chownah]

I've got a gas shower and its great. Mine is a National which is expensive....Ecolux makes them and they are much cheaper and I have heard that they are good quality and are pretty much problem free. When my wife takes a shower it doesn't dim the lights!...nor does it reduce the voltage which will reduce the life of your pump which is usually running while the shower is running.....also it makes nice hot water even in the cold months when the water is colder when coming from the tank and when it is cold enough in the evenings that if you shower you will really want a good hot one.

Wouldn't have an electric shower unless gas wasn't available.

[ProThaiExpat]

My falang neighbor had two and swore by them. Since it was a single family dwelling, he merely put the gas bottles on the outside of the house and ran the gas line through the wall to the shower which was on the outside wall.

If I had my druthers, I would have used gas when I built, but more economical. Fear of death from asphyxiation is similar as fear of electrocution from electric ones.

I had a very pricey German induction range top in my kitchen which I finally replaced with a 5k baht gas range top and couldn't be happier. Nothing better than cooking with gas.

[Neeranam]

I used to have one for each bathroom in my old house in Bangkok. They were great - could fill up a steaming hot bath in next to no time. I bought an electric shower last week and it's rubbish compared to the gas.

[Bpraim1]

My friend imports then to Thailand, I have been helping him to sell them.Seem to work great.

[qualtrough]

Homepro has several gas heaters on display. I have been thinking of getting one at some point. I would rather die of asphyxiation than electric shock if I had a choice. Actually, I would choose C: Not die if I had a choice!

[goldfish]

If you go down the electric route please DON'T use the ordinary heaters designed for bathroom showers. You can get specific electric heaters for under the sink use. If you have mixer taps make sure the heater is suitable. Costs are about 6000 baht.

Better than having a shower unit blow up like the one we had installed. Blew off both cupboard doors one of which impaled itself in another door on the opposite side of the kitchen and bits of the unit were spread over the kitchen/ living area. I was lucky - I had been washing dishes just 2 minutes before the explosion.

Can any of the electricians explain how this happened? Im curious and a tad worried

[jaiyenyen]

If you go down the electric route please DON'T use the ordinary heaters designed for bathroom showers. You can get specific electric heaters for under the sink use. If you have mixer taps make sure the heater is suitable. Costs are about 6000 baht.

Better than having a shower unit blow up like the one we had installed. Blew off both cupboard doors one of which impaled itself in another door on the opposite side of the kitchen and bits of the unit were spread over the kitchen/ living area. I was lucky - I had been washing dishes just 2 minutes before the explosion.

Can any of the electricians explain how this happened? Im curious and a tad worried

An electric shower is designed to work with a permanently open outlet, ie the shower handset.

Inside the electric shower is a water resevoir with a heating element inside, and the control on/off valve is positioned BEFORE this. So when you open the valve, water enters the resevoir, heats up very quickly, then escapes out the handset.

If you connect one of these heaters to a tap, you stop the hot water escaping, therefore building up pressure,until BOOOOOM . I've seen the aftermath from some of these explosions, VERY nasty.

Electric Water Heaters, although they look the same, are built differently, some can incorporate an expansion vessel, others require a measured amount of pipework before the tap outlet, to enable expansion.

Hope this helps,

I'm not an electrician, but an ex Plumbing/Heating engineer.

And for what its worth, if anyone does use a Gas Water Heater, PLEASE make sure it is installed by a Proffesional.

Carbon Monoxide (produced through gas combustion) is known as the Silent Killer.

I would reccomend that anyone who has a Gas Water Heater fitted, to also fit a Carbon Monoxide Detector, although I'm not sure if these are available in Thailand.

Regards

Jaiyenyen

[Daffy D]

Thanks for all the replies much appreciated.

Electric heater would be easier/simpler to install except the wiring is not up to it and I would have to run a new cable right across the house.

The gas bottle is by the kitchen anyway so I was thinking it is simple?

Will have a look at some Gas heaters and then decide.

Thank y’all

D.D.

[goldfish]

An electric shower is designed to work with a permanently open outlet, ie the shower handset.

Inside the electric shower is a water resevoir with a heating element inside, and the control on/off valve is positioned BEFORE this. So when you open the valve, water enters the resevoir, heats up very quickly, then escapes out the handset.

If you connect one of these heaters to a tap, you stop the hot water escaping, therefore building up pressure,until BOOOOOM . I've seen the aftermath from some of these explosions, VERY nasty.

Thank you for explaining that. Having read the very informed posts in the building section I knew the pressure controlled heaters were not liked. Now I know why, I have a bomb in my bathroom. A simple fault in the on/off valve and...Think I may change it