A continuous flow gas water heater, often called a califont or an instantaneous system, has no storage tank. When a hot tap opens, water runs through a heat exchanger, the burner lights, and hot water keeps coming for as long as the tap is on. Nobody has to plan showers around how much is left in the cylinder.
We install, replace, repair and service continuous flow units across Wellington, the Hutt Valley, Porirua and the Kāpiti Coast. Every installation is carried out by a certifying gasfitter, sized for how your household actually uses water, and handed over with the gas certification the law requires.
Pricing: quotes are free, and every job gets a fixed price before we start, so there are no surprises on the invoice.
Continuous Flow Hot Water Jobs We Handle Across Wellington
- Califont replacement
- Gas califont repairs
- Infinity hot water systems
- Instant gas hot water
- Electric to gas conversions
- Continuous flow servicing
Natural gas or LPG: where you live matters
Powerco owns the natural gas network that runs through Wellington, the Hutt Valley and Porirua, and it says homes close to existing gas pipes can most likely connect for free. Powerco also finished a four-year upgrade of central Wellington's gas pipes in 2021 to add capacity. Its address checker is the quickest way to see if gas is in your street.
The Kāpiti Coast is not among Powerco's listed gas areas, so homes in Paraparaumu, Raumati, Waikanae and Ōtaki generally run continuous flow units on LPG bottles. That works well; it just means planning bottle size, placement and deliveries. If you do not want gas at all, heat pump hot water is the alternative we would look at.
Is continuous flow right for your home?
It suits most households, but not all. It tends to work best when:
- Several people shower back to back and the cylinder keeps running out
- You want the cylinder cupboard back for storage or a bigger laundry
- Gas is in the street, or you are happy to run LPG bottles
- The unit can go on an outside wall near the main bathroom
- You are replacing an old gas storage cylinder and want less heat lost from a tank
How It Works
Sizing: the part most installs get wrong
Continuous flow units are rated by how many litres per minute they can heat. A small unit runs one shower comfortably; a large one can handle two showers and a kitchen tap together. Undersize it and the water turns lukewarm as soon as a second tap opens.
The gas supply has to keep up. A bigger unit burns more gas, which can mean a larger pipe from the meter, a new regulator or a different LPG bottle setup. Our gas fitting team checks the meter, pipe size and run length before we quote, so the unit gets enough gas on a cold July morning, not just on paper.
Wind, salt and earthquakes
Wellington adds a few things to think about. Units hang on outside walls, and on exposed hillside and south coast sites they take the full force of the wind, so we follow the maker's guidance on placement and flue clearances and avoid the most exposed corners where we can. Homes within 500 metres of the sea or the harbour, from Island Bay and Seatoun to Eastbourne and Tītahi Bay, are likely to be in a high corrosion zone, which affects where a unit sits and how fittings are protected.
The region also sits on active faults, including the Wellington Fault. Every installation gets an accessible gas isolation valve, and we show you where to turn the gas off at the meter or bottles, which is the first thing you want to know after a strong quake.
Installation, repairs and servicing
A standard installation covers mounting the unit, connecting gas, cold and hot water, fitting isolation valves, setting the delivery temperature, and testing gas pressure and combustion. When the unit replaces a storage cylinder, we take the old tank away and cap off what is no longer needed.
For hot water repairs, the error code on the controller is our starting point. Common faults include failed ignition, flame sensing errors, blocked inlet filters and damaged pipework on exposed walls. Wellington's supply is soft water, under 100 mg/L of calcium carbonate according to Tiaki Wai, so heavy scaling of the heat exchanger is less of a worry than in hard water areas, but filters and combustion still need regular checks.
What affects the cost
We give a free quote once we know your setup. The main cost drivers are the size of the unit, natural gas or LPG, the distance from the meter or bottles, whether the gas pipe needs upsizing, how much hot water pipework has to be rerouted, access on steep or tight sites, and whether you want temperature controllers in the bathroom or kitchen.
Why Choose Cheeky's Plumbers for Continuous Flow Hot Water
Sized for your busiest morning
We size the unit on how many showers and taps run at once in your house, so the water stays hot when two outlets are on together.
Gas supply checked first
Meter, pipe size, run length and LPG bottle arrangement are checked before we quote, so the unit is never starved of gas.
Placed for Wellington weather
We follow the maker's guidance on placement and flue clearances and think about wind and salt before choosing the wall.
Certified by a gasfitter
Every installation is done by a certifying gasfitter and handed over with a Gas Certificate of Compliance.
Continuous Flow Hot Water FAQs
Does continuous flow hot water run out?
No. It heats water as it flows, so it keeps going as long as the unit is sized for the number of outlets you use at once.
Can I have continuous flow on the Kāpiti Coast?
Yes. Kāpiti is not in Powerco's listed natural gas areas, so units there usually run on LPG bottles. We size the bottles and regulator to suit.
Is natural gas available at my Wellington address?
Much of Wellington, the Hutt and Porirua is on Powerco's network. Use Powerco's address checker, or we can check for you during the quote.
Why does my califont go cold mid-shower?
Common causes are a unit too small for the demand, low gas supply, a blocked filter or very low flow at the tap. We check each one.
Do continuous flow units need servicing?
Yes. A periodic service checks combustion, cleans filters and checks the burner and controls. How often depends on how hard the unit works.
Do I get a gas certificate?
Yes. All gasfitting we do comes with the certification required by law.
Continuous Flow Hot Water Across Wellington
Our continuous flow hot water team works in every Wellington suburb. Find your local plumbers:
Continuous Flow Hot Water Guides
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