Repairing a tank heater
A faulty thermostat, element, gas control or valve can be replaced on its own. The plumber you hire looks at the heater and tells you whether a repair is worth doing at its age.
Water Heater Repair and Installation in Tacoma
Lukewarm showers, a pilot that will not stay lit, rumbling from the tank or water around its base are all signs a water heater needs attention. Call us and we connect you with a plumber who repairs or replaces it.
Read on for repair versus a new tank or tankless unit, the City permit for a replacement, and two of our tools that size a heater or date it.
Repair, a new tank or tankless
A replacement tank
A tank that leaks from its shell has reached the end. The new heater can stand in the old spot or a new one.
A tankless unit instead
A tankless heater has no storage tank. It fires up when a tap opens and heats the water on its way through, so sizing one means counting the showers and taps in use together and allowing for how cold the incoming water is in Tacoma.
Upkeep on a tankless heater
Tankless units have their own service needs. A plumber can look one over and tell you whether it needs a repair or routine maintenance.
Water heater permits in Tacoma
The City of Tacoma Planning and Development Services lists water heaters among the work that needs a residential plumbing permit. A water heater is also one of the over-the-counter permit requests on the City’s residential list.
In Washington, water heaters sit inside the plumbing trade that the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) certifies, so the plumber who fits one at your house needs an L&I plumber certificate.
Choosing the right size
Bathrooms are a poor guide to tank size; the busiest hour of hot water use in your home is the real measure. Go too small and whoever showers last gets cold water, too big and you heat more water than the household ever uses.
Enter the people in the house into the water heater size calculator for a first-hour rating and tank size. The tankless flow calculator, for its part, takes Tacoma’s winter weather into account when it estimates the temperature of incoming water.
Finding out how old your heater is
Hunting for a date on the heater? Manufacturers code it into the serial number on the label, each in their own way. Enter that code in our serial number decoder for the year of manufacture and a comparison with a typical service life.
Should the heater have leaked, check the leak detection page for water that may have gone where you cannot see it, and see repiping if the supply lines look worn. The homepage links everything else.
Call for a free plumbing estimate
Call us to discuss your current issue and how we can assist you. The call is free and you get a free, personalized estimate with no obligation. We're here to help.
Call (855) 321-3426