How to choose a water heater in India, without being sold one

Most geyser buying advice is written by people selling geysers, which is why it concentrates on the things that are easy to photograph. Here is what actually determines whether yours lasts three years or ten.

First, the things that do not matter much

Colour and finish. The shape of the front panel. Whether the indicator light is blue or amber. Star ratings, which in this category compress a narrow range of real performance into a marketing label.

None of this is dishonest exactly. It is simply not what fails.

1. Capacity — get this wrong and you notice daily

Two or three people using buckets: 15 litres. Four or five people: 25 litres. Anyone showering regularly: 25 litres, whatever the headcount, because a shower uses two to three times the hot water of a bucket.

Remember recovery time. An emptied tank takes roughly 30 minutes to reheat in normal winter, 40 to 45 in peak winter. If four people need hot water inside the same hour, size for that rather than for the household total.

2. Pressure rating — the one nobody asks about

Supply pressure rises with every floor of a building, and a booster pump raises it further. A tank rated to 4 bar is fine on normal municipal supply on a lower floor. On the twelfth floor of a society with a pressure pump, it is working at the edge of its design continuously.

Ask two questions: what is this tank rated for, and what does my building actually run at? If the answer is uncomfortable, you need either a pressure reducing valve or a tank rated for it.

3. Tank lining — the one that decides your maintenance bill

In hard water, this matters more than anything else on this page.

Scale grips a rough surface far more readily than a smooth one. A glass-lined tank presents a much smoother surface than bare steel, so deposits form more slowly.

Over three seasons that is a difference of several thousand rupees, which usually exceeds the price gap between the two models. In soft-water areas it is money you do not need to spend — which is exactly why you should find out about your water before deciding.

4. Insulation — invisible, and it sets your monthly bill

Insulation determines standing loss: how much heat escapes while the geyser sits idle. Poor insulation means reheating from cold every morning instead of topping up.

You cannot assess this in a shop, which is precisely why it is the easiest place to cut cost. Ask what the insulation is. High-density PUF foam is the answer you want.

5. Safety fittings — check there are two, not one

A thermostat controls normal temperature. A separate thermal cut-out trips if the thermostat fails. They must be independent, because a backup that shares a failure mode with the thing it backs up is not a backup.

Also confirm there is a pressure relief valve in the box, and insist the installer fits it.

6. The anode rod — cheap insurance, often absent

A sacrificial magnesium rod that corrodes so the tank does not. Not every geyser has one. On models that do, replacing it every year or two is the cheapest way to extend tank life.

Worth asking specifically, because its absence is never advertised.

7. Service reach — ask before you buy, not after

A warranty is only as good as the service network behind it. Ask which cities or states the brand actually services, and how long a visit typically takes.

Any brand that answers "all India" without hesitation is worth pressing on. We publish our seven states, and there is a PIN code checker on this site precisely so you can find out before you spend money.

What a fair price buys

At the bottom of the market, every part that could be cheaper is cheaper — thin insulation, bare steel tank, no anode rod, minimum-rated pressure. It works, for a while, and then it does not.

At the top, you pay a genuine premium for a genuinely good product and also for the brand name.

The middle is where the honest value sits: proper insulation, a lining suited to your water, two independent safety devices, a pressure rating matched to your building, and someone who will actually turn up. That is worth a few hundred rupees more, and it is roughly where we have tried to place ourselves.

Before you pay

• Confirm the model and capacity on the carton match what you agreed.
• Check the warranty period, and specifically what the tank is covered for.
• Get a proper invoice with the date on it. Not a slip of paper.
• Ask what descaling will cost in your area, and how often.
• Confirm someone services your PIN code.