Diagnose and replace a failed hot water unit

What is going on

Work order WO-26-1190 is scheduled for a Latrobe Regional Housing Trust unit in Morwell where the tenant has had no hot water for two days. The existing electric storage unit is fourteen years old, sits on an external slab and feeds a kitchen, a bathroom and a laundry. The housing trust's maintenance contract allows replacement when a repair is not economical, and it requires a tempering valve on any replacement, a compliance certificate and a copy of the test record. The tenant has a young child, so the delivered water temperature at the bathroom matters. Your supervising licensed plumber, Aisha Rahimi, will inspect and sign off the work but expects you to plan it, select the unit, install it and complete the work order.

Your brief

Inspect the failed unit, decide between repair and replacement with reasons, install the replacement correctly with a tempering valve and relief drain, test and record the installation, and complete the work order so the compliance certificate can be lodged within five days.

Work through it

You do not need to do it all. Doing a few of these will show you what the work is like. Your ticks and notes stay on this device.

• Read the Plumbing Testing and Compliance Certification Procedure and note the tests, records and certificate timing that apply to a hot water replacement.
• Inspect the existing unit, check the element, thermostat and tank for leaks, and record your findings and the repair versus replacement decision on the work order.
• Select a replacement unit of the right capacity and energy type for the household from the supplier catalogue, and list the fittings, valves and materials needed.
• Prepare a risk assessment for the task covering electrical isolation, hot water scalding, manual handling of the tank and working on the external slab, using the SWMS template as your guide.
• Install the unit, tempering valve, isolation valve, relief drain and pressure limiting valve, then pressure test and check the delivered temperature at the bathroom and kitchen outlets.
• Record the test method, pressure, duration, outlet temperatures and your supervising plumber's inspection in the Plumbing Work Orders system and change the status to Awaiting test then Complete.
• Explain the operation of the unit to the tenant, and note on the work order that the compliance certificate must be lodged by Aisha within five days.

What someone in this role would produce

• Completed work order with findings, materials and test results
• Task risk assessment
• Photographs of the installation before and after
• Note of the compliance certificate requirement and lodgement date