Plumbing Supplies in Potchefstroom

A specialist counter, not a hardware aisle

Plumber's Depot at 42 Du Plooy St is the local plumbing supply specialist — from pipes to geysers, they stock it. The difference from a general hardware shop is the person behind the counter: describe the fitting you are staring at and you will usually leave with the right one.

The three parts that fail most

• Geyser element. The usual cause of no hot water. Cheap part, but it lives inside a pressurised tank — see the geyser element page below before you touch it.
• Ball float valve. The cause of a toilet cistern that runs all night. A perished valve can quietly waste more water in a month than the part costs to replace.
• PVC pressure pipe. Sold per metre. Pressure pipe is not the same as waste pipe — the wall thickness and the pressure rating are different, and using the wrong one on a supply line eventually bursts it, usually inside a wall.

Before you start

Find your mains stopcock and check it actually turns before you cut anything, and take the old part with you to the counter. South African plumbing runs on a mix of metric and older imperial sizes, and 15mm against half-inch is the kind of near-miss that leaks a fortnight later.

Geyser work is regulated in South Africa and a compliance certificate matters when you sell the house or claim from insurance. Replacing a washer is a Saturday job; re-plumbing a geyser is not.