Gas Ducted Heater Replacement and Changeovers in the Macedon Ranges

When a gas heater is finished

Gas ducted heaters in the Ranges do a long, hard winter every year. Most give fifteen to twenty years of service. The usual end comes when the heat exchanger cracks, when the heater needs a fan motor and a control board in the same winter, or when it becomes the thing you cannot rely on in July. At that point the decision is not just “which heater” but “which kind of system”, because the options have changed.

We replace gas ducted heaters across the Macedon Ranges from Sunbury and Gisborne to Woodend, Kyneton, Romsey and Lancefield. We install both gas and electric systems, so the advice you get is about your house rather than about what we happen to sell.

Option one: like-for-like gas heater

A new Brivis or Rinnai gas ducted heater, matched to the home’s heat load and connected to the existing flue, gas supply and ductwork where they are suitable. This is the quickest and usually the least expensive path, and for a home with sound ductwork, a good gas connection and separate evaporative cooling it is often the right one.

We size the new heater on the house, not on the badge of the old one. Heaters were often oversized in the past, and a correctly sized modern unit runs longer, quieter cycles and heats more evenly.

Option two: Braemar Dominator direct replacement

The Braemar Dominator is designed by the manufacturer as a direct replacement for a gas ducted heater: an electric reverse cycle unit intended to take the place of the gas heater and, where the existing ductwork and outlets are suitable, connect to them. For some homes it is a sensible middle path between a new gas heater and a full conversion. It is a product-specific approach with its own suitability conditions, and we assess those at the site visit rather than assuming the existing ductwork will do.

Option three: whole-home gas to electric conversion

Replacing the gas heater with a ducted reverse cycle system that heats and cools the whole house, usually with support from the Victorian Energy Upgrades program. In our experience a proper conversion commonly involves removing the gas heater, often removing the evaporative cooler, and installing a new ducted reverse cycle system with new ductwork and new outlets, because the ductwork that served a gas heater is frequently too small, too poorly insulated or laid out wrongly for reverse cycle airflow. That is typical, not universal; where inspection and design confirm the existing ducts are suitable, we reuse them. The full picture is on the gas to electric page and in our guide on reusing gas heating ducts.

How we help you choose

The site visit is where this gets decided. We inspect the heater, flue and gas supply, get into the roof space to look at the ductwork, return air and outlets, ask how the house is used and which rooms matter, and check whether the household is likely to be eligible under the VEU program. Then we put the realistic options in writing with what each includes, so you can compare them properly. If only one option makes sense for your home, we say so.

Why the ductwork decides so much

Whichever option you choose, the ductwork decides whether the new system performs. Crushed or split ducts, missing insulation, an undersized return and outlets in the wrong rooms will make a new heater feel like the old one. For a gas heater the existing ducts are often fine. For reverse cycle they often are not, because the air volume and temperature are different. We do not replace ductwork to pad a quote, and we do not connect new equipment to ductwork that will compromise it. We tell you which it is and why.

The warranty

Our 9 year labour and workmanship warranty covers the installation work on every replacement we do. The heater or reverse cycle unit carries the manufacturer’s product warranty, which we manage for you. If anything we installed is not right, we come back until it is.