No hot water? Start here.

Before anything else

If you can see water pooling, hear running water inside a cabinet, or smell gas, stop troubleshooting. Isolate the system and treat it as an emergency hot water callout.

Electric storage systems

• Check the switchboard: is the dedicated hot water circuit on, and has anything tripped? A tripped circuit that trips again usually means a failed element.
• If you are on an off-peak tariff, confirm the tariff is active — a metering or supply issue can leave the tank cold with nothing wrong inside it.
• Look for a manual reset button on the thermostat cover. A tripped high-limit is a symptom, not the cause; if it trips again the thermostat needs replacing.
• Feel the tank and check the ground beneath it for damp — corrosion is the fault you do not want to overlook.

Gas storage systems

• Confirm the gas supply: is the bottle empty, or the isolation valve closed? Check whether other gas appliances still work.
• Check whether the pilot is lit through the sight glass, and relight only per the instructions printed on the unit.
• A pilot that lights but will not stay lit generally points to a thermocouple or gas valve fault — that is licensed work.

Continuous flow units

• Read the error code on the controller and note it down before doing anything else.
• Check the inline water filter for debris, and confirm the isolation valves are fully open — low flow can stop the unit firing.
• Switch the unit off at the power point or isolation switch for a minute to clear a one-off lockout.

Heat pumps

• Check for an error code and confirm the unit has power.
• Confirm the fan and compressor are running during a heating cycle — silence usually means a control or refrigerant fault.
• Check the boost element setting if the household has been using more water than usual in cold weather.

When to stop and call

Anything involving opening a thermostat cover, gas components, or the sealed parts of a heat pump is licensed work in Tasmania. If the checks above have not restored hot water, the fault is inside the system — book a hot water repair, and if the tank is old, read the repair or replace guide first. Related symptoms are covered in common hot water problems.

Solar hot water

• After a run of grey Hobart days, check the electric or gas boost is switched on — a cold tank is often just an unboosted one.
• Look for the pump running on a sunny afternoon on a split (ground-tank) system; silence points to a pump or controller fault.
• Check the controller display for a sensor fault code before assuming the collectors are the problem.

Safe checks versus licensed work

Safe for a homeowner

• Resetting a tripped circuit breaker once, and noting whether it trips again.
• Reading and writing down an error code.
• Checking gas bottle level and isolation valve position.
• Clearing leaf litter from a heat pump's airflow or condensate line.
• Closing the cold water isolation valve if you find water escaping.

Licensed work only, in Tasmania

• Removing a thermostat cover or testing an element — the terminals are live.
• Any work on gas valves, burners, thermocouples or flues.
• Anything inside a heat pump's sealed refrigerant circuit.
• Replacing PTR or tempering valves, which are pressure and scald safety devices.

Things specific to Hobart homes

A few local patterns come up repeatedly. Older homes in New Town, Moonah and West Hobart often still run controlled off-peak electric tanks, so a cold morning is a tariff question before it is a fault. Properties beyond the reticulated gas network — much of the Huon, parts of Kingston and the outer Eastern Shore — run on LPG, where an empty or cold bottle mimics an appliance failure. Heat pumps installed in tight side passages of heritage cottages lose the airflow they need, and outdoor units on exposed Eastern Shore and coastal blocks lose pilots to wind. None of these are faults with the appliance itself, and all are worth ruling out first.