The Hermanus Plumbers issues a burst geyser guide for homeowners ahead of the festive season

HERMANUS, Western Cape – With the festive season approaching and holiday homes across Hermanus about to be opened up after weeks or months standing empty, The Hermanus Plumbers, a plumbing service on Royal Street in Hermanus, has put together a practical guide for homeowners on burst geysers: what to do in the first hour, how insurance claims usually work, what a compliant replacement has to include, and why the Certificate of Compliance is the part of the job not to let go of.

Geyser work comes up more often than any other job in Google reviews of plumbers in the Hermanus area, ahead of blocked drains. A geyser that bursts in an occupied house is a mess. One that bursts in an empty holiday home can run for days before anyone notices, which is why the first steps below matter as much for whoever holds the keys as for the owner.

The first hour after a geyser bursts

South African insurers give broadly the same first instructions. In order:

1. Switch off the electricity to the geyser at the distribution board. Water and a live element do not mix, and an element running in an emptying cylinder can burn out.
2. Close the main water supply to the house at the stopcock, usually near the water meter. This stops the cylinder refilling and draining into the ceiling.
3. Contain the water. Put buckets under the leak, move furniture and electronics, and stay out from under any part of the ceiling that is sagging.
4. Take photos and video of the damage before you clean up. Insurers ask for them.
5. Call your insurer. Most run an emergency line and will arrange a plumber. Read your policy before calling your own plumber: Santam, for example, settles work it did not authorise based on a fair and reasonable market value.

If you are not in Hermanus when it happens, the person on site needs to know where two things are: the geyser switch on the distribution board and the main stopcock. Tell them before you leave, not on the phone while water comes through the ceiling.

Signs a geyser is close to failing

Geysers often give warning before they burst. Insurers list these signs:

• More water or steam than usual from the overflow pipe on the outside wall
• Humming or cracking sounds from the roof when the geyser heats
• Water marks or damp patches on the ceiling under the geyser
• Brown or rusty water from the hot taps only
• Hot water that is cooler than it used to be, or hot-water pressure that has dropped

In Hermanus, brown hot water deserves a closer look before anyone assumes the worst. Part of the town's supply is borehole water that is treated at the Preekstoel plant to remove iron and manganese, and deposit from the network can settle in the bottom of a cylinder. Sediment and rust look similar from a tap, and a plumber can tell the two apart.

What insurers usually cover, and what they don't

Policies differ, so read yours, but the published guidance from the major insurers follows a similar pattern:

• Burst and leaking geysers are generally covered, together with the resultant damage to ceilings, walls and fitted carpets.
• Rust and wear and tear are excluded by some insurers unless you have added optional cover. Others include them, so check.
• A slow leak ignored for months may not be covered, which is one more reason to act on the warning signs above.
• A geyser that fails inside its manufacturer's warranty period is a warranty claim, not an insurance claim.
• The excess varies: some insurers charge one fixed excess, and some charge none when their own appointed contractor does the work.
• Compliance costs can be split. Santam's own guidance to brokers says it pays for the geyser installation and its certificates, while the owner is responsible for bringing the rest of the plumbing system up to standard.

What a compliant replacement has to include

Every geyser replacement in South Africa must comply with the national standards SANS 10252-1 and SANS 10254. The compliance tables published by the Institute of Plumbing South Africa (IOPSA) and the Plumbing Industry Registration Board (PIRB) list the main parts a homeowner can check for:

• A temperature and pressure valve, with a metal discharge pipe that slopes down and ends where you can see it outside the building
• An expansion control valve on a closed hot water system
• Vacuum breakers on both the hot and the cold pipes
• A pressure control valve, with an isolating valve on its inlet
• A drip tray large enough to cover the geyser and its valves, draining to a visible point outside
• Insulation on the first stretch of the hot and cold pipes

The electrical side needs its own paperwork: an electrical Certificate of Compliance for the connection. Insurers also advise checking that the isolator switch is within a metre of the geyser and that the geyser is earthed.

If the old installation was missing any of these, the plumber is expected to tell you in writing. If you are building a new house or an extension that needs approved plans, the national building regulations go further: at least half of the hot water must come from something other than an electric element, such as solar, a heat pump or gas.

The Certificate of Compliance: ask for it before you pay

According to the PIRB, a plumbing Certificate of Compliance is required for any installation, repair or replacement of a geyser, a solar water heater or a heat pump, regardless of what the job costs. The rules are clear:

• Only a PIRB Licensed Plumber can issue one. It is the plumber's declaration that the work meets the standard.
• It must be logged with the PIRB within five working days of the work being completed.
• You are entitled to a copy, and insurers ask for one. Santam's guidance lists a signed Certificate of Compliance, an invoice showing the old and new geyser serial numbers, and before-and-after photos as the documents it needs.
• You can check a plumber before they start. The PIRB's Verify a Plumber page searches by name or registration number, and a separate tool lets you verify a certificate.

Gas geysers are different. A gas installation needs a Certificate of Conformity from an authorised person registered with SAQCC Gas, not a plumbing certificate.

"A geyser replacement isn't finished when the hot water comes back on," said a spokesperson for The Hermanus Plumbers. "It's finished when the owner has the certificate in hand and knows exactly what went into the roof. For owners who aren't in Hermanus when the work is done, the certificate and the photos are the only proof they have. We find the cause before anything is replaced, say the price before the work starts, and hand over the certificate before the invoice is closed."

Three checks before the holidays

• Look at the overflow pipe on the outside wall. A pipe that drips constantly is wasting water and is telling you a valve on the geyser needs attention.
• Set the thermostat and the timer. Eskom recommends 60°C and says each 10-degree reduction saves 3 to 5 percent of the energy used to heat water. It also advises setting geyser timers to run outside the 5pm to 9pm peak.
• Show whoever holds the keys where the geyser switch and the main stopcock are, and leave them your insurer's emergency number.

About The Hermanus Plumbers

The Hermanus Plumbers is a plumbing service based at 18 Royal Street, Hermanus, working across Hermanus, Onrus, Sandbaai and Vermont and along the Overstrand coast from Kleinmond to Gansbaai. Its work includes geyser repairs and replacements, solar geyser repairs, leak detection and drain unblocking, on a simple principle: the cause is found before any part is replaced.