1. Use a registered installer

By law, fixed gas work must be done and certified by an installer registered with SAQCC Gas. Ask for the registration number before you accept a quote and check it on the SAQCC Gas register. Every installer we pass enquiries to works under their own business name and issues their own Certificate of Conformity (gas CoC).

2. The type of geyser decides where it may go

Gas geysers are grouped by how they get air and get rid of exhaust gas, and that decides where they may be fitted:

Outdoor models (the most common in South Africa) go on an outside wall, usually under a weather cover. They must not be moved indoors.
Flued models may go indoors only with a flue to the outside and the ventilation the maker specifies.
Room-sealed, fan-forced models draw air from outside and push exhaust out through a double flue, so they can go indoors, even in small or unventilated spaces.
Very small units (around 5 L, with a low heat input) may be used indoors without a flue in a ventilated space, for a basin or sink.

The danger is a geyser meant for outdoors, or one without its flue, fitted in a bathroom or closed space. Carbon monoxide has no smell; people have died in South Africa from exactly this. A registered installer will not certify it.

3. Where the cylinders stand

Gas cylinders go outside on a firm, level base, away from doors, windows, drains and electrical switches, and never in a garage. The installer measures the distances in the standard (SANS 10087-1) on site. If you want them out of sight or locked, ask for a cage in the quote.

4. Size it for the taps you use together

Geysers are sized by flow (litres per minute): 5 to 6 L for a basin, 10 to 12 L for one shower, 16 L for a shower and a basin together, 20 L or more for two bathrooms. Low water pressure, a tank or a borehole may need a low-pressure model. More in the gas geyser installation guide.

5. Know what the job costs

The geyser itself costs from about R2,400 for a small unit to R11,000 and more for a premium 20 L (see gas geyser prices, checked November 2026). The installation adds labour, the gas line, cylinders and regulator, a flue or cover where needed, and the CoC. Converting from electric also means disconnecting the old geyser. A quote that is far below the others usually leaves one of these out.

6. Running costs

A gas geyser heats water only while a tap is open, so there is no tank losing heat all day. What you save compared to an electric geyser depends on how much hot water you use and on the price of gas and electricity where you live; the maximum LP gas price is adjusted by government every month. Most households refill or swap 48 kg or 19 kg cylinders; ask the installer which suits your use.

7. What to ask for in the quote

The geyser make, model and size, and where it will go.
The gas line route and length, the cylinders, regulator and any cage.
Flue, cover and plug point if the model needs them.
Removal of the old geyser, if any.
The CoC and the installer's SAQCC Gas number.
The guarantee on the work, and the maker's warranty on the geyser.

Where people ask for this

In the last 12 months, gas geyser installation requests through National Gas Installers came from East Rand (316), Pretoria (288), Johannesburg (246), Roodepoort (158), Alberton (107), Centurion (90), Cape Town (88), Bellville and Durbanville (77), Witbank (39), Durban (38), Bloemfontein (33), Bloubergstrand (28) and Strand and Somerset West (27). Each area page shows who the local installers are: