Converting house (stove) from electric to bottle gas?

[VladTepes]

Buying a 'new' house :D and it currently has an electric cooktop, and we would MUCH prefer gas.

Anyone have any idea of the ballpark cost for a fitter to instal the necessary plumbing on a typical single storey brack and tile house? (Just the piping etc as required, not the cost of the cooktop itself)

Initially for cooktop only, possibly for water heater down the track (if the current electric one ever craps itself)

[incisor]

why not ring one and ask..

only cost you a ph call :p

[harlie]

Gas fitter charged me $440inc.

I supplied the stove, he ran a 1/2 inch copper line out to a regulator and valve to switch between two bottles. I use 9kg bottles and go nearly 5 months on a bottle, not bad for $19.95 swap and go. I went solar for HWS.

Cost would depend on site. Mine is a raised house, line comes throught the floor and under house, approx 6m.

[VladTepes]

Thanks harlie. - Why'd you go solar rather than gas for hot water?

Inc the bloke I rang said he couldn't (or wouldn't) give me an idea without looking - even though I told him I just wanted an idea not a quote....

[UncleHo]

Because over a number of years solar hot water with a booster for bad weather works out very economical, also if you get a large enough solar panel as well as the hot water system,you can sell it back to Energex, I have a friend that does it,I think his last electricity bill was $36.50 for the quarter.

[weeds]

if the cylinder can be on the other side of the wall from your cooktop than it will be bugger all i.e. a couple of hours.

are you planning gas hot water later, if so go 50kg cylinders

do you have natual gas running up the street.....umm this would be expensive cutting into th eline

what will make it cheaper if its only a cook top

- pull the old cook top out
- you install the cook top into the bench
- shop around for the cheapest gas in 9kg's i.e. buy your own cylinders, swap and go or rent from gas company

other than that but a BBQ on and ranga and I will pop around and we can install over a couple of beers

[VladTepes]

It'd be bottled LPG.

Kitchen is at rear so there would be no easy access for any 3rdparty coming to swap / refill cylinders....

I also thought there were rules around how far from a door / window a gas cylinder / line can be ?

[weeds]

It'd be bottled LPG.

Kitchen is at rear so there would be no easy access for any 3rdparty coming to swap / refill cylinders....

I also thought there were rules around how far from a door / window a gas cylinder / line can be ?

yes there are a bunch of rules but you want to keep the run a short as possible.......

i used to hold a gas installer licence.....

[VladTepes]

Stood in the corner and held it for someone else did ya ? :lol2:

[bee utey]

We retired our instant LPG water heater 5 years ago as it was costing us a fortune. Heat pump or full solar is now the way to go. If you have a good quality ground level HWS tank you can now run a DC pumped system to have the panels remote mounted on the roof, it all runs off a 20W panel next to the HWS panels.

Example: Sidek Solar (http://www.sideksolar.com.au/) (not ours but similar)

But the missus still prefers to cook with gas so we have a couple of our own 27kg cylinders and an arrangement with the local gas wholesaler to fill them.

[Saitch]

Vlad
I'm pretty sure we've got a brand new, unused gas range here somewhere.
We were going to convert the stove in our last house to gas but sold instead.
PM if interested & I'll quiz the wife on it's whereabouts.
Steve

[pickstock]

i work with gas everyday, we wont quote without seeing anything or even give a ball park because people can mistake that as a quote and you know how that ends.

just ask for a stove top thats set for LPG, it needs different jets.

I know a lot of people who use the 9KG bottles as they always own them (no rental fees) can be filled or swapped easily (very little down time) and a lot of people have spares if you need to use one in an emergency.


Chances are it will be cheaper in the long run.

I know people (pensioners mostly) who also run the gas hot water off 9kg bottles but im less keen on it

[sheerluck]

I'd suggest you think again about the gas powered HWS. We went for a heat pump system, which cost about $900 after all the rebates.

The last bill was $16 for a quarter.

[VladTepes]

Heat pump as in electric I presume you mean Dave ?

pickstock Cheers !

Steve - We'll need a separate oven (leccy) and cooktop (gas) due to kitchen limitations... Thanks anyway.

[pop058]

We run a (bottled) gas stove and self-igniting instant hotwater. You can always have a cuppa (and feed) and a hot shower if there is a power outage (which seems to happen more than it should here).

We have the local gas crowd top them up every 6 months or so, but can hook up one of our own 9 kg bottles if we run out before they (Elgas) get here.

The system works well for us.

[Ranga]

My plumber mate across the road did mine for free :-P

I'll ask him for a ballpark cost tomorrow, and I can see if he's interested in coming to have a look

[harlie]

Thanks harlie. - Why'd you go solar rather than gas for hot water?



Solar hot water costs us less than $4 / quarter. I have a oneshot switch so the booster only runs when needed. In summer we can go 3 consecutive days of rain before boosting, winter is usually only 1. Last quarter the booster was not run at all - $0 hot water power bill for the quarter.

Plumber mate told me that heat pump uses less power than solar - I ask how can it use less than zero?

[d2dave]

Heat pump hot water might be ok in QLD but not much good in Vic. I nearly got them a few years ago when there were generous government subsidies.

I am sure glad I didn't, after staying in a motel that had them. Noisy bloody things they were.

[DeeJay]

Exchange bottle rule is simple enough - metre rule.
Metre from Drain, Doorway, window, opening to building, ignition source.
Can be under a window - 150mm
David

Distributors can't leave bottles at premises anymore without sighting the installation. Too many used in the lounge room with the family sitting around the ring burner having Chow Mein...:angel:

[sheerluck]

Heat pump as in electric I presume you mean Dave?....

Yep! With 4 of us in the house, including 2 teenagers, $16 for our worst quarterly bill I thought was pretty good. It certainly was compared to our last bill for the old water heater, which had started leaking (unknown to us). $170!

And for noise, it's barely audible. It's about 10m from the nearest bedroom window, which is my son's. And he says he doesn't hear it at all.

[Vern]

Lpg regulator is about $120, gas bottle is about the same, there will be an isolater, a couple of meters of gas line, so probably $300+ in materials and 2 hrs labour tops. 1 gas bottle lasts us about 12 months, that's for our cook top only.
As for hot water, look into apricus solar hot water, the only way to go.:)

[bee utey]

Heat pump hot water might be ok in QLD but not much good in Vic. I nearly got them a few years ago when there were generous government subsidies.

I am sure glad I didn't, after staying in a motel that had them. Noisy bloody things they were.

That's funny, I bought mine second hand off a guy in Shepparton who was removing them from his motel because of the noise. But then he was on natural gas and just put a bunch of instant heaters back on like he used to have.
At my place (Adelaide Hills, much like Victoria) it's on a timeclock to shut down before 10pm, the solar circulating pump runs during the day and if it's sunny enough the heat pump never kicks in. In darkest winter the heat pump hws costs me around $1.20 per day.

[Vern]

My heat pump works great as well. But some don't, quantum are the way to go. The rheem and dux ones are rubbish.

[d2dave]

My heat pump works great as well. But some don't, quantum are the way to go. The rheem and dux ones are rubbish.

Quantum were the ones I nearly had installed, the same was what I saw/heard at the motel(in Benalla), and I would bet that the ones bee utey purchased from the Shepparton motel were Quantum.

With all the government rorting that went on a few years ago Tongala footy club(small town 50 km from my place) had them put in their change rooms. The were told that they needed 18 of them, and at a cost of about $30 ea, with the government paying the rest.

[Saitch]

Steve - We'll need a separate oven (leccy) and cooktop (gas) due to kitchen limitations... Thanks anyway.
Vlad
It is only the gas stove top 4 burner thingy !
Steve

[VladTepes]

I think she wants a 6 burner - or maybe 4 plus a wok but I'll ask her. If you have any details of the brand and model number (and $ you want) I'll run it by her. Cheers.

[Saitch]

Ummm Vlad
The good woman has just informed me that it was donated to a "good cause".:(
Apparently she did tell me but I do suffer from DD. (Domestic Deafness)
Sorry about that
Steve

[VladTepes]

No worries at all.

[Saitch]

No worries at all.
Well this takes the cake!
My B-I-Law just phoned & informed me that the wandering stove top is sitting gathering dust at his place up at Moore so still up for grabs.
I'll try & find make & model soon.
Steve

[Saitch]

Vlad
Info as discussed.

[VladTepes]

PM on the way