Gas Hot Water Cylinders

Gas hot water cylinders work by heating the water in an insulated tank to a temperature set by a thermostat. They can run on either natural gas or LPG. This is similar to how electric cylinders work except that gas is used in this case.

Benefits of a gas hot water cylinder include:

• No electricity is required, which means that gas hot water cylinders continue to supply hot water during power outages.

• They can be located outside which can free up space.

The water pressure at which a gas water cylinder operates may be:
- low pressure - open-vented systems where the pressure is provided by a cold water storage header tank (3-12 metre head - 30 to 120 kPa)(typically 3-7 metre head)
- low pressure - systems which rely on a pressure-reducing valve to reduce the pressure below the mains pressure (3-12 metre head - 30 to 120 kPa)(typically 3-7 metre head)
- mains pressure - with a working pressure equal to the incoming supply (ranging from 120 kPa to 1400 kPa)(typically 350-700 kPa)

Mains pressure water heaters are the predominant type of new installation in Australia and New Zealand.