Less than two months after they were installed, solar geysers are proving a nightmare for Ward 5 residents, who are questioning the competence of the people who installed them.
Less than two months after they were installed, solar geysers are proving a nightmare for Ward 5 residents, who are questioning the competence of the people who installed them.
While beneficiaries in parts of Grahamstown have been pleased by the rate at which subsidised solar geysers are being installed, some may be starting to feel it was perhaps too fast as overflowing tanks cause havoc in their homes.
There was excitement earlier this year when the project roll-out began, with Ward 5 councillor, Monwabisi Tame, saying the Lumizone Company would install 300 geysers in three months. “They will install 100 geysers per month and I don’t know when the project will end,” the 30 March edition of Grocott's Mail reported Tame saying.
He said at the time that the geysers had a five-year guarantee and would be serviced every 10 years. When Grocott's Mail visited Ghost Town and Extension 9 this week, however, our reporter found many customers who were grateful for the free geysers – but unhappy that they weren't working properly.
Ghost Town resident Tommy Daniels, of Voegt Street, said his geyser had been overflowing, thanks to a loose ball valve. When you turn on the geyser's hot-water tap after you finish bathing, water runs into the street, said Daniels.
He questioned who would be responsible for paying for the wasted water. "I am a pensioner and there's a certain amount of water that government is giving me for free. I can not afford to pay for something I didn't use," he said, asking why no qualified plumber had been sent to test the geysers.
"All geysers here in Ghost Town are giving same problem, or maybe other residents can prove me otherwise, but I know how these geysers have been installed. I fixed my geyser by myself."
Gladys Nogqala, of Mkhombe street in Extension 9, said the valve of her solar geyser had been leaking for days, and this was having repercussions in other areas of her life. "This geyser thing takes a long time to fill a jug and that can be the cause of my arriving late at work," said Nogqala.
She said it would be good if the company responsible for installing the geysers could come and fix them before any more water was lost.
A resident in Currie Street in Ghost Town, who didn't want to provide her name, told Grocott's Mail that her geyser took too long to fill a bath, because the pipe was too thin and the water flowed too slowly.
"I don't depend on it in the morning, because it's very slow," said the resident, admitting that the geyser helped a lot. She also said there had been was no trouble in the beginning.
In March, Tame told Grocott's Mail that the project would not be without hiccups due to bad weather conditions. He also said that homes with roof-tiling would be a particular challenge when it came to installing the roof-based solar hot water system.
For this reason, Transit Camp residents would be the last to receive geysers. Concerning the recent problems, municipal officials had failed to comment at the time of going to print.
