Taking a bath in winter without hot water can be an absolutely freezing experience. To avoid that bone-chilling experience, we use a geyser, but which one should you install in your bathroom? An electric one or the one that runs on gas? Finding out which one is better of the two can get a little tricky. They both work differently and both of them have their pros and cons.
Hence, to find which one is better, we have looked at their strengths and weaknesses, safety, cost, lifespan, how they perform, and how they work. After that, we catalogued them in our gas geyser vs. electric geyser comparison.
Let’s start with the first contender, the gas geyser.
Overview of a Gas Geyser
Gas geysers utilise liquid petroleum gas (LPG) for heating the water. These geysers don’t have a power limit when heating water. They provide a constant flow of hot water and consistently heat the water. As a result, they are less power efficient as compared to electric geysers, but they are suitable for big families.
Once popular in the metro cities such as Pune, Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, and Bangalore, they are losing their lustre due to requirements such as large bathrooms with adequate ventilation. However, it is gaining popularity in tier 2 cities such as Vadodara, Faridabad, Mysore, Nagpur, Dehradun, Surat, Nashik, and more.
Different Kinds of Gas Geysers
- Instant geysers or tankless geysers: Instant gas geysers are perfect for people who don’t need a lot of water at once. A majority of gas geyser makers in India make instant gas geysers only.
- Storage geysers: It is ideal for those who need a lot of water to take a bath such as in a bathtub. It is easy to repair due to its simple build and operation. However, they are very rare in India.
How Do Gas Geysers Work?
Gas geysers heat the water with a gas burner placed under a big tank from where the hot water is delivered by a pipeline. During the heating process, the pressure gets accumulated and this is where the pressure valve intrudes and alleviates the pressure.
Pros of Gas Geyser:
- You can control the level of heat
- Heating is steady and therefore, supports power preservation
- Ideal for a big family
- Very quick to repair
- Doesn’t need electricity to run
- Can run on both household LPG cylinders and pipeline natural gas
Cons of Gas Geyser:
Next in the gas geyser vs. electric geyser are the cons of the gas geyser, which can help in making a decision.
- Absolutely unsafe. Can even lead to fires and fatalities.
- Needs extra space to keep the LPG cylinder in the bathroom
- The bathroom should have proper ventilation
- Only gas geysers are available in the Indian market and storage gas geysers are very hard to find.
- They are getting obsolete very fast
- Small life span
- Difficult to install
- Releases carbon monoxide and causes pollution
- Increasing gas prices are increasing the prices of gas geysers everyday
Is a Gas Geyser Safe?
We don’t recommend gas geysers because they are absolutely unsafe. And this is why you’ll never see a major brand manufacture gas geysers. Irrespective of the life risk, if you decide to install a gas geyser, do follow these guidelines.
- Don’t install it in a confined space. Install it in a space with adequate ventilation
- Don’t keep it near explosives, corrosives, or inflammable. Also, keep it away from electric wirings
- Ensure that all the linking pipes are leakproof and clean
- Place it at a height where you can see the pilot flame easily. In case it gets damaged, seeing the pilot flame can be a lifesaver
- Don’t leave it on for too long
The Efficiency of a Gas Geyser
Gas geysers are pretty ineffective because the walls of the storage tank lose heat. With gas geysers, water always remains hot, which means that power is used continually.
Performance of a Gas Geyser
It can heat up a 50-gallon tank in almost an hour and it will heat up the next tank of water even faster by using the recovery rate. Also, it works if there’s a power outage.
Lifespan and Cost of a Gas Geyser
Gas geysers are pocket friendly, but as far as the lifespan goes, electric geysers outlast gas geysers, depending on maintenance and the quality of water.
The next contender in our gas vs. electric geyser comparison is the electric geyser.
Overview of an Electric Geyser
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Kinds of Electric Geysers
Just like gas geysers, electric geysers have two types. And they are:
Instant geysers: As the name implies, it provides hot water instantly. You can turn it on whenever you want hot water. However, storing hot water is not available on these types of geysers
Storage Geysers: These geysers are often big in size and work similarly to instant geysers, but they can store water depending on their capacity. These geysers are available in a capacity from 3 to 35 liters.
Pros of Electric Geysers
- They are easy to handle
- You can install it without worrying about ventilation
- Electric geysers are cost-effective as they consume less electricity
- They don’t pollute the environment
- Longer lifespan
- Water heating is almost instant
Cons of Electric Geysers
- Can’t be used during a power outage
- They are expensive
- A short circuit can be dangerous
How Do Electric Geysers Work?
It uses a copper coil that leverages electricity and transfers heat energy to the water in the tank. Then the water is delivered through the pipelines. If we put it in front of a gas geyser, an electric geyser is much more efficient and safe.
Gas Geyser vs. Electric Geyser: Which One is Safer?
The electric geyser is the clear winner in our instant electric geyser vs. gas geyser comparison. It is because if an electric geyser gets damaged, it might short circuit. However, if there’s a leak in the gas geyser, it might lead to an explosion. Additionally, chemicals sediment at the bottom of a gas geyser, corrode the bottom and lead to a leak.
Gas Geyser vs. Electric Geyser - The Conclusion
Gas geysers are cheaper, but they are a safety hazard. An electric geyser, on the other hand, is expensive but is much safer. Installing a gas geyser is a hassle as it needs space and proper ventilation. An electric geyser can be installed in almost every bathroom. Both the geysers require maintenance, but with an electric geyser, it is negligible. It is quite compact and even kids can use it safely. Lastly, electric geysers last a lot longer as compared to gas geysers.
