Removing Gas from Property in Melbourne's West

Gary Gary Gary on 08/08/2025 - 12:35

Hi Ozbargainers,

We’ve already made a few steps toward ditching gas at our place in Melbourne’s west (Deer Park area) – installed solar and removed our ducted gas heating in favour of split systems.

Now we’re looking to go fully electric and would really appreciate any local recommendations or advice on the following:

Gas hot water system removal and disconnection
 - Who did you use?
 - What was the cost like?
 - Did you go with a heat pump or electric storage system instead?

Induction cooktop and electric oven install
This is going to be the biggest expense in this journey.
 - Looking to replace our gas stove and oven – who installed yours?
 - Were there any issues (e.g. upgrading switchboard)?
 - What did installation cost (labour only or package)?
 - Any models you’d recommend or avoid?

Final gas disconnection or abolishment
 - Anyone done this recently?
 - Did you go through Jemena or your retailer directly?
 - Cost and process – anything we should be aware of to avoid extra fees?

Trying to plan the final steps and weigh up what it will all cost us. Appreciate any stories, tips, or contacts!

Home & Garden Gas Supply

Comments

  • Hybroid on 08/08/2025 - 12:41
    +5

    All of this is pretty much specific to your scenario and available tradespeople. Anecdotal figures aren't going to help much as each scenario and amount of work may be different. Get some no obligation quotes to cross-compare them.

    Abolishment is done via your current retailer - contact them for the process and fees to fully disconnect.

    What's the motive behind this? Reduce ongoing costs? Well worth calculating the ROI, as there's quite a bit of outlay upfront costs here.

    • Gary Gary Gary on 08/08/2025 - 13:33
      +2

      The gas oven is already on its last legs, so we’ll need to replace it soon anyway. Our old ducted heating was costing us over $2,000 per quarter during winter, then it broke down—so we took advantage of a rebate and had four split systems installed for around $2,400 total, including gas disconnection.

      Now that only the hot water system and oven are left, I’m seriously considering going fully gas-free. It seems like a good long-term saving, and it also eliminates the risk of gas leaks in our 1940s-built house, which probably has some questionable old piping.

  • jv on 08/08/2025 - 13:18
    -2

    removed our ducted gas heating in favour of split systems.

    Is the split system still using the same ducts?

    • Gary Gary Gary on 08/08/2025 - 13:34

      Nope - just installed into separate rooms - ducting was through the whole house, now we can also just heat a room or 2 if need be - rather than the whole house.

      • jv on 08/08/2025 - 13:41
        -2

        So you have all they useless ducts around your house now?

        • Gary Gary Gary on 08/08/2025 - 13:49

          Yes - they are covered - but will get them plastered over at some stage in the next few years after we restump and need to fill a bunch of cracks anyway.

          • jv on 08/08/2025 - 14:19
            -2

            @Gary Gary Gary:

            but will get them plastered over

            That won't work for people with floorboards

            • Gary Gary Gary on 08/08/2025 - 14:56
              +9

              @jv: I do not have floorboards on my roof.

            • pln on 09/08/2025 - 08:03

              @jv: I was planning to get this done at some stage & have floorboards - curious what would be the issue with plastering up duct holes in the ceiling once gas ducted heater is decommissioned?

              • larndis on 09/08/2025 - 08:11
                +2

                @pln: I think jv is unhelpfully referencing homes that have ducting under the floor.

                • jv on 09/08/2025 - 11:07
                  -2

                  @larndis:

                  ducting under the floor.

                  Most with heating will be under the floor.
                  Only reverse cycle ones would have the vents on the ceiling.
                  Heat goes up, not down.

                  • try2bhelpful on 09/08/2025 - 11:47
                    +2

                    @jv: And your post is still irrelevant to the person posting as they don’t have that setup.

                    • jv on 09/08/2025 - 11:50
                      -1

                      @try2bhelpful:

                      your post is still irrelevant

                      No it's not.

                      • try2bhelpful on 09/08/2025 - 11:52
                        +1

                        @jv: As per 90% of your posts it is. This might be relevant to people where the vents are in the floor boards but that isn’t the case here.

                        • jv on 09/08/2025 - 11:53

                          @try2bhelpful:

                          As per 90% of your posts it is.

                          Not really, I was asking a question.

                        • jv on 09/08/2025 - 11:54
                          +1

                          @try2bhelpful: Your posts however, are 100% irrelevant in this thread.

                          • try2bhelpful on 09/08/2025 - 12:00
                            +1

                            @jv: Ooh, I feel so burned. Honestly mate I would put my record up against yours any day. I don’t feel compelled to post irrelevant nonsense through every one else’s discussions. The poster isn’t using floor vents.

                            • jv on 09/08/2025 - 12:21

                              @try2bhelpful:

                              I feel so burned.

                              There are places you can seek help.

                            • jv on 09/08/2025 - 12:22

                              @try2bhelpful:

                              The poster isn’t using floor vents.

                              You only know that because I asked…

              • skillet on 09/08/2025 - 11:12
                +2

                @pln: Nothing, plaster gets plastered all the time. If done and painted correctly you won't notice a thing. You just need to cover everything if sanding is required.

                • jv on 09/08/2025 - 11:52
                  +1

                  @skillet:

                  If done and painted correctly you won't notice a thing.

                  You will if you have an old house. The type of plaster used has changed a lot over the years.

  • jv on 08/08/2025 - 13:24

    Cost and process

    About $400 in Vic…

    https://www.energymatters.com.au/renewable-news/how-much-doe…

  • SydStrand on 08/08/2025 - 13:31
    +2
    1. I went with 'Same Day Hot Water' few years ago, replaced the old gas heater with a 270L heat pump, was about $2500 + $500 electrical work - $1000 rebate = approx $2000 out of pocket
    2. This was the easiest, since my oven was already electric, so the induction hob was just installed by a sparkie. The countertop cut-out is pretty standardised and I picked up a cheap, clearance hob from Ikea. Honestly, less is more. Unless you really take advantage of extra features and regularly use four burners at the same time, just pick a cheap one. They're bulletproof with zero moving parts, so you don't get any longevity with a fancy brand
    3. Local retailer, contacted them and they capped the gas connection. Just check that you won't receive any more daily supply fees from here. Was about $60
    • tp0 on 08/08/2025 - 15:55
      +1

      Induction cooktops usually need their own 32A circuit. Are you saying you just got it wired in on the same circuit as the oven?

      • SydStrand on 09/08/2025 - 01:10

        No, just that the oven didn't need to be replaced unlike the OP. He did need to install a new circuit with switch for the hob.

  • w3dge on 08/08/2025 - 14:16
    +1

    Not in Melb, we did this a bit ago, generally happy. Cannot tell you what induction to buy but we bought a Siemens cooktop (https://www.siemens-home.bsh-group.com.au/en/mkt-product/coo…) (not for anywhere near that listed price) as we did the entire kitchen at the time.

    Thing is, it's fine as a cooktop but the surface area heats massively unevenly and as I was new to induction I was not prepared for this. If you consider the centre circle and you had a pan that reached to the outer circle, the temperature difference in the pan will be over 40 degrees C from middle to outer. You don't have any of this sort of issue with gas as you can literally see the surface area of the flame.

    I have no idea if this is just crap cooktop, all induction or what. It makes the flex zones useless as well for large pans as they do the same just even more localised.

    As stated, not the end of the world, but maybe worth testing on your search.

    • JimB on 08/08/2025 - 15:25

      That's odd. I have Bosch Series 8 induction cooktop and Siemens should be better based on the Bosch totem pole.

      I have no issues with uneven heating if using appropriately sized cooking zone.

    • bigticket on 08/08/2025 - 18:52
      +3

      The uneven heating on most if not all cooktops is due the induction coil below the glass being smaller than the indicated circle on the cooktop. Probably to cut costs.

      To gauge its relative size of the induction coil place a large flat saucepan on the hob with just enough water to cover the bottom and boil. The boiling area indicates the relative size of the heating coil.

  • MS Paint on 08/08/2025 - 14:42

    Gary Gary Gary

    Oi Oi Oi

  • sharkyoz on 08/08/2025 - 15:26

    fart in a jar

  • firestormx on 08/08/2025 - 15:41
    +1

    I am also in the same boat and just need to replace my hot water with a heatpump and the cooktop with induction.

    I want a hot water heat pump with a stainless steel tank (our old gas stainless storage heater has been going strong for almost 25 years), but there seems to be only Sanden or Reclaim, which are very $$$. If anyone has any recommendations for a stainless steel tank heat pump, please let me know!

    I haven't looked into the induction cooktop yet, so unsure.

    For the gas meter, I don't think it's necessary to abolish. When the time comes, I plan to just turn the valve to off and then cancel the gas account. Since the switch is off, there should be no more gas flowing and you shouldn't be billed anymore.

  • brad1-8tsi on 08/08/2025 - 17:10
    +2

    The My Efficient Electric Home FB group would answer those questions.

  • freefall101 on 08/08/2025 - 19:27
    +1

    I used a place called Darebin in the north. They did everything on the same day for me, electrical work for the oven (it can draw up to 10KW, so definitely needs a dedicated circuit), hot water and oven itself. They supplied the oven at the same price as Good Guys Commercial, took away the old stuff and tidied up nicely. Honestly, can't praise them enough. Cost was ~$3,400 oven, ~$1,500 heat pump water system (after rebates) and ~$1,200 do the power and install it all. Could I have gotten the install cheaper? Maybe. Would it all be delivered, installed and done in a single day? Definitely not.

    Gas you call your retailer, and they contact the network to disconnect. Don't even need to be home for it. Took maybe a week for that to happen. For me they backdated it to the date of request (because I'd stopped using it).

    I went with Westinghouse on the oven because it's Aussie made. To true Australian quality, one of the internal racks was wrong. Darebin sorted that though.

    Also, get a heat pump. Yes, there are quality questions, but they're cheap as chips to run. Even if it does blow up before the warranty is up (5 years) it's still probably worth it in power savings.

    • try2bhelpful on 09/08/2025 - 11:50
      -1

      Sorry we woke you up from your Trump stupor.

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 08/08/2025 - 19:47
    -1

    Get quotes, duh.

  • Tj1987z on 08/08/2025 - 22:39
    +1

    Hey, I'm in Kings Park.

    Re heat pump. Go an iStore 270.
    Reason to go bigger is that heat pumps take long to recover temp. I got a rapid X6 and in winter it's 4 hours. So that's that part. I also installed midea vsr splits in all the rooms and ditched the gas ducted.

    Lately I installed a devanti induction 400bucks with 5 years warranty. Been 6 months now zero issues.install was free for me cousin is sparky.

    • Tj1987z on 08/08/2025 - 22:39

      Or a rapid x8

  • 2esc on 09/08/2025 - 10:10

    Im all electric at my place as no gas in my town.

    How old is the gas hot water system you have? Personally feels like a waste to replace it if its working fine.

    When you do replace just leave the lines in place just disconnect at meter.

  • lost in transit on 09/08/2025 - 11:15

    Why would you get rid of gas ????

    The power goes out and you’re stuffed. It seems to go out a fair bit in my area.
    What happens when they start restricting power over summer because everyone’s using there air con….

    My gas wall heater is radiant heat and after half an hour I turn it off. That’s for the lounge, dining and kitchen area going down hallway to the bedrooms.
    I’ve been in split system houses and they have it flat out on 30 and still complaining there cold .. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

    I know you can get better quality units….

    • tenpercent on 09/08/2025 - 11:22
      +1

      What happens when they start restricting power over summer because everyone’s using there air con….

      You'll use your gas to cool the house? It's doable but that's a very niche backup A/C unit.

    • try2bhelpful on 09/08/2025 - 11:57

      If you have panels on your roof then you use those to run your air con. Add in a battery and Summer is the best time for solar.

      A combination of solar and batteries will probably even out your outages as well; dependent on if the grid needs to be available for your power to work.

      So you have a gas powered fridge, lights, TV etc?

    • SydStrand on 09/08/2025 - 19:24
      +1
      1. I've literally never had a black or brown out since I moved in. If you do, then yes, it does change the calculus a bit. But if you have a home battery, it's basically a null issue
      2. Doesn't happen here. In fact, it's the opposite. Because of high PV solar uptake, the solar companies are begging people to take electricity during peak generation. I get free electricity between 11:00-14:00, and during summer, even a modest 6.6kW system will easily power your appliances while the sun is out (when everyone is using AC)
      3. You've probably only experienced shit systems with weak and inefficient units in an open plan house. Even a 2.5kW unit will get a room up or down to temp in 10-15 minutes on the right setting

      Even ignoring the health implications of burning fossil fuels indoors, gas appliances cost a bomb to run. Your hot water heater is likely burning a hole in your pocket, even in summer; and from the description of your use, I suspect your wall furnace is, too. These are easy switches and once they go, you can cap your gas tap. That's a $500pa daily supply charge just to stay connected, regardless of how little you use it. Gas makes no financial sense to defend anymore, and that's even before factoring in the wild fluctuations in gas prices and government incentives.

    • Gary Gary Gary on 10/08/2025 - 21:58

      I do have Solar, so summer won't be an issue.

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