Bosch HydroPower

It was a perplexing problem until – We live in an isolated community and as such have no mains power - only a stand alone solar power system. That's why we purchased and had installed a Bosch GAS HOT WATER SYSTEM Model H16 which we had installed about ten years ago. These things don't need electricity to work - only water pressure, so it suited us down to the ground. During the… Read more

last 6 months or so the hot water supply to the bathroom shower began to play up. Sometimes hot, sometimes cold - it was impossible to regulate. Funnily enough, hot water came through the shower head at times, but once the cold tap was turned on to regulate the temperature, the hot water would cease to flow and all we got was cold water. All other hot water taps inside the house seemed to have no problem getting hot water or when the cold water was turned on to mix with the hot! The bath, bathroom basin and kitchen sink were all good! It was very, very perplexing - even to the plumber! After a couple of hours searching for various causes, we discovered the problem. What was initially thought to be a fault in the Bosch gas heater, then the pressure tank, then the pump, (all replaced in turn) it turned out to be the shower head - or more precisely - the shower stem. The inside components allowing the shower head to swivel up or down had clogged up to some degree with corrosion surrounding the internal working parts. While the holes in the shower head were clear, the restrictions imposed by the corroded parts in the shower stem reduced the water flow through the gas hot water unit until there wasn't enough force for the internal workings of the Bosch gas unit to allow gas to flow. So while there was enough flowing through for the pilot light to work, there wasn't gas enough to light up the unit and supply hot water! Cleaned off all the internal shower stem components and the system fired up as per normal - nice hot water in an instant and cold water to mix with. So for anyone who might be having this same problem with their Bosch gas hot water heater - this might help! We're extremely pleased that out Bosch H16 is still going strong after ten years - no maintenance either I might add. Next thing is a new shower head - ASAP.

Useless for hot showers – I asked before installation if my mains water pressure was going to be good enough and was told it was... but I have had problems since day one - for 2+ years... It is ok for hot water from the kitchen tap only as long as you are willing to run the tap at full pace and waste 20+ Liters before you start getting warm water, not sure how they gained… Read more

the energy rating they did? but do not try to mix hot and cold at the same time - getting showers right is almost impossible

I have a 16H Bosch unit - it has been hit and miss since install as to if hot water will start. Now I have hot water starting no problem but as soon as I mix in cold water the back pressure seems to slow the flow of hot to the point that the burners stop and the hot water system supplies only cold. turn off the cold water and the hot - turn the hot back on and all is fine. If I leave another hot tap on I can see the hot pressure increase at that tap when I turn the cold on in the shower - like the cold is flooding back through the hot pipes. burner stays on only if a second tap is left running!

Inherited it on a bungalow of a home we purchased in 2016. Was told by precious owner it was installed in 2002 so it’s now 23 years old and it’s been fantastic. Super hot, great pressure and been amazingly reliable. Will replace with exactly the same when the time comes.

Happy customer – We inherited our 13H water heater when we bought the property. We did have some issues with it not starting, it looked like it was a really old unit so we just replaced it with a new 13H water heater. Have had it working with no problems for at lest 7 years. We can not run the shower and the kitchen at the same time, realizing that the unit it not… Read more

big enough. So we are about to replace it with a 16H and fit our older 13H to a one bed room bach on the propert. The only gripe I have with these Bosch units is, the paint, it peels off over time. Just read a really good 6 tip review on these units. Like the guy says, these units are designed for low pressure and no power. Under stand what you have. It's not going to work quite like your city appliance.

Never had a problem with any Hydro models, only trouble with previous pilot types was (high winds blowing pilot out ) – I opted for the 16 H even though there are only 2 of us, to ensure there was no shortage of hot water for quickly filling a bath. Show details

Absolutely piece of rubbish. Had two installed over 16 years, foolish me. Failure to ignite , due to bugs entering ignition pipe. Very noisy when running. Plumber says he doesn't install, sell them any more. I'm going for rinnair 16 continuous flow, Hope they last longer! Show details

utter rubbish – I'm a renter and been at our current place for 12mths so far and we have this unit. Its your guess if you will have hot water or not that day, sometimes having to turn the tap on and off for up to 20mins for hot water to come (this happens on a regular basis). There have been days where we've had no hot water for hours and as long as 3 days. I've… Read more

had my pm send a plumber out to look at it, he changed a valve ( which made no difference). Even he said these units can be unpredictable and had suggested to the owners (long before we moved in) to install an electric one instead. We had gas water units at other properties I've lived with no issue like I do with this one. Utter rubbish.

Bad bad – Last one just failed to heat up then a new one was installed for $1600 and since then have been unable to regulate the hot water temperature. Complete waste of money. Show details

We installed a 16H LPG at our beach house in 2017 to replace a storage tank that was an awful thing to light every time we went to the beach houses. 8+ years on it’s been faultless. Would highly recommend!

Temperature regulating issue – This unit cannot keep it's temperature no mater what you do. You either have scolding hot, lukewarm or cold. Turn the cold a smidgen too far then shower is cold. Even added dots to the taps so we knew where to turn them so we could have a decent shower but onky worked for a while. Will be replacing the unti very soon. Rubbish unit for a gas continuous hot water system. Show details

I cannot fathom why this product is still being sold or is standard in many homes? – I've had multiple iterations of this Bosch heater since the 1980's. All are utterly crap and have caused massive trouble. These require gallons of water flow or they will shut down, and once they do good luck getting them to work again. How is a wasteful product like this even allowed given water restriction devices are mandatory? And if you are… Read more

showering and someone use hot water to wash the dishes, say goodbye to your hot shower. Oh and good luck finding the owners manual for this on the Bosch website.

How is a product such as this even fit for purpose, given all (yes ALL) the negative reviews, Consumer Affairs?

Why is German engineering touted as superior when they produce products such as this? An absolute disgrace of a design.

Bosch 16h sparks wont start up – Less than 2 years old. It wont fire up. Piezo firing, but no gas. Called plumber and he removed wire gauze and blew in the opening- cleared whatever there and it worked. What have i done to deserve this? Its made in China now, so I guess its the typical buy it and junk it in 2 years routine… Show details

Worst hot water system EVER – Inconsistent temperature, despite how fast the taps are on. Worst experience, hot then cold. Waiting for Bosch supervisor to call today. If no response by 5pm I’m going straight to the ombudsman to get a full refund. Show details

Can't wait to change to electric – Inconsistent flow of hot water suddenly turning cold; high use of gas with often a smell of gas. Seems impossible to mix cold without the hot turning off. A lot of money compared to our previous system. This cost $1099-00 + $ 450- installation. I was told this was one of the best by installer. Should have checked reviews. Show details

Reported to energy safe N. Z. ! Caught fire causing injuries. Only 7 months old – I had the hot water tap running in shower.the water was not hot. I went outside to check the heater and found the interior completly engulfed in flames. Burning the side of my house and burned my hands removing the housing cover. Bosch wont cover under warranty claiming an insect caused the fire. Nothing but problems dealing with bosch.  Show details

Terrible!! Avoid at all costs – I’ve had two accidentally. The second one which I asked not to have the same system was exactly the same. Irregular temperatures. Takes ages to heat up at times. My first one broke down after only 3 months & I had to pay for repairs for a ‘consumable item!’ Continued to break down until it got replaced at 3 years old. It looked like it had caught… Read more

on fire. Black soot over the top of the unit as well as a large metre wide black patch under my eaves. Second unit broke down after about 8 months & fixed under warranty. It just broke down again, luckily just in warranty. Definitely do not recommend this unit

Bosh Hot water system – Hi, I have Bosch 16H Hydropower system. Initially it was working fine but now it works only in laundry and does not work in kitchen and bathroom as when I turn on the taps the burner does not get flame. The water flow for all taps are the same. Any help would be highly appreciated. TIA

Chunk of crap, avoid at all costs – The older 16H systems were good, years of trouble free hot water, then they changed the design of the hydro generator (spark igniter). Now they only last 2-3 years and then you have to pay another $200 odd for another one, only good part is you can get a battery holder from jaycar electronics, a couple of AA batteries and a toggle switch and… Read more

bypass the broken hydro generator until your new one arrives about a week later. They tend to die on a friday night when you can't order a new one and have a houseful of dirty sweaty people all needing a shower and nowhere else to have one. Apart from the crappy hydro generator nothing else seems to ever die on them

Works fine, don’t know why some are complaining – Needs to be set up correctly.. good for small family... not for large households.. Slow the water flow right down and full heat..on settings...Make sure whoever set it up , have the Lpg regulator Flow set right.. my gas fitter Had to adjust mine.. water is frigging hot and only takes a few minutes for it to g to the other Side of house. Show details

Top unit this lpg 10h – Great unit! I had my 10h lpg installed by a licenced plumber nearly 11yrs ago.... never been serviced until yesterday (09/07/2020) and even then i was able to do it myself,.. needed 2 Orings on water pressure tap spindle and a fibre washer on the water inlet...leaks stopped... very reliable and lights 1st time and living in regional WA the water pressure is all over the place... Will install another 10h or 13h sometime in the next year. Show details

Rubbish – 5 minutes to set shower temp because the water pressure is so bad then it just cuts out, children screaming because water just gone cold. Had a 20 year old Bosch system previously in same spot that had amazing water pressure. If I have to take it down myself its a going right back where it came from. Stop making them BOSCH Show details

In reply to Julia – Julia, you have to take the case off. A knob on each side at the back. Note how the cover goes back on. The knob controls the water flow. The way I set mine up is turn the hot in the shower if that's the main focus or at the kitchen sink to full open. Turn the knob in the heater untill you have the temp set to the maximum you want at the outlet. … Read more

This way if your washing the dishes you shouldn't need to add cold, but you will in the shower or vise a versa. In summer/winter you might need to adjust at the tap or unit. I'm in Perth and set mine in winter time, in summer I back the hot off at the tap and add cold. I had and old internal Bosch Junkers, that corroded through. I replaced that with a Bosch 760 Water Wizard 20>yrs ago. I got the biggest available as I knew then one day it would run another bathroom. Lucky I knew the state manager at Robert Bosch and he had the 760 and recommended it. I've done a diaphragm or 3, replaced the cover, took the covers off the gas chamber and vacuumed all the brown rust from the gas pipes when Alinta did work on the mains and DE CARBED the pilot jet. That's all. This is big enough to set the water valve on the unit to full open! It will make plenty of hot water on full noise even in winter. Yes the pilot light might go out in bad winds once a year. Big deal. A Bosch Junkers MAG 250 that is used just for the kitchen sink has corroded through after 32 yrs. I'll be replacing it with a Bosch unless I'm convinced otherwise.

So I've got the 760 which does the bathroom, shower, laundry and powder room. Then 2x 13H NG's. One does the kitchen, powder room, bathroom and shower upstairs and the other does the ensuite bathroom and shower. That's 4 in all. When the tap is turned hot water is there. I'm not empting a long run of water down the drain everytime I turn the hot on the length of the house. We can run the three showers at once no probs 24/7 that's the beauty of instantaneous, ya never run of hot, not like storage. You need someone to advise you what's what. That story above with a 13H feeding a family of 6! That's sales dude is knob and has no idea. They would of been better off with two units feeding a shower each and the laundry kitchen split depending of location. Totally under speced. We went to NZ on holiday and stayed at a Top 10 park at Lake Taupo. What a set up. They must of had 8 units feeding a common manifold at the shower blocks. Hot water anytime. Now that's what you call serious! Tip when starting any instantaneous GHWS open the hot up full. I run both hot taps to get the water up when I'm having a shave. Remove the water restrictors from your shower head and tap diffuser setup. You want as little restriction as possible between the tap and outlet. Have your hot pipes cladded in AC sheathing. I've had no problems, but you have to have an understanding how a instantaneous GHWS works. It's all about having the right flow through the heat exchanger matched to the mains pressure so the the diaphragm will let the right amount of gas in to light the burner and then keep it running. You learn how to fool it into moving the diaphragm. Always oversize the unit, this will give you more flow with temp.

Good Luck. Mike.

No real issues – We have had this system for about 6 years. We previously had a storage water heater with pilot light. The bosch 16h uses much less gas. It failed once with a water filter disintegration. That was because I failed to service the unit at the recommended 2 year intervals. We have no issues with it now. We have correct gas pressure, water pressure and… Read more ·  1

water flow from the taps to ensure correct operation of the unit. Also, our service technician really knows his stuff.

Don't buy one of these! – We installed the Bosch 16H about five years ago and it's been trouble ever since with intermittent lighting. The spark works but it often does not light the gas. There seems to be no pattern with it - sometimes it lights first time, sometimes it takes several goes (so wasting water) to get going. Three plumbers have looked at it and can find no… Read more

fault but they all agree that it is a very poor model that they receive many calls about for the same reason as us. I have contacted Bosch a number of times but they have either ignore my emails or suggest getting it looked at by a licenced Bosch repairer (which we have without any improvement). I suggest strongly that you should not consider buying this model. We have finally had enough of it and are replacing it next week with another brand.