Our 30 year old 180L low pressure electric cylinder has sprung a leak and needs replacing, and we are trying to decide on what to replace it with.
We are a family of 5 with pre-teens - so lots of showers and baths, and we currently occasionally can run out of hot water... damn kids :)
Our house was built in 91, on mains water, but a small hot water cupboard that can only fit a 180L cylinder which is currently low pressure. But our pressure isn't too bad. Our tapware is newish and good quality.
Options:
1) replace with another 180L low pressure electric cylinder - no risks with piping and cheapist, but seems old school
2) replace with a 180L mains pressure electric cylinder - cheap, but worry we would go through the 180L even quicker with mains pressure
3) replace with an external heat pump system - after reading posts on here I'm not convinced this is a great option - longevity, noise, initial cost, and we live in Hawkes Bay so it can get cold and therefore be inefficient.
4) replace with gas infinity system - this seems the popular option, but we would have to be on LPG bottles (about $125 each) and general opinion seems very split over whether this is cost effective or not. Having to keep track of and order bottles sounds annoying if there isn't a decent cost benefit.
5) replace with a external 250L electric cylinder - could be connected to heat pump or solar in future.
I am leaning towards 5, as we get a bigger cylinder, we get cupboard space, and it could be used for other options in the future. We do live 300m from the coast, so I worry about corrosion, but I guess we could build something around it to protect it more. We also plan on being here another 2-5 years, so I need to think about what potential buyers would want.
Any opinions on the above? Has anyone else got an external electric cylinder? How do others find the cost of infinity systems on LPG bottle gas?