Water heaters
Water heaters
No hot water, or a puddle under the tank
Where the water is coming from decides whether this is a repair or a replacement, and you see it for yourself before you decide anything. Most repairs are done the same day. A replacement depends on whether your size and type is on the truck, which we can usually tell from the label on the side.
What it costs
What it costs
Replacement prices include haul-away of the old unit, a new expansion tank, and new flex connectors. Permit fees are passed through at cost.
Why they die early here
Why tanks in this county rarely reach fifteen years
Fairfax County water is moderately hard, and a fair number of houses west of Route 28 are on wells that are harder still. Minerals drop out of the water when it is heated and settle on the bottom of the tank.
On a gas tank that layer sits directly over the burner and insulates it from the water it is supposed to be heating, so the burner runs longer and the steel above it runs hotter than it was built for. On an electric tank there is no burner, but the sediment builds up around the lower element and eventually buries it. Either way the bottom of the tank is where the trouble starts, and it is what makes the popping you can hear from the next room.
What decides repair or replace
Water at a fitting or the relief line
A valve, a union, or house pressure coming in too high from the street. That is a repair, and often the pressure is the real problem.
Water seeping from the tank body
The steel has corroded through from the inside. No patch, weld or sealant fixes that, whatever you read online.
Twelve years or more
The rest of it is on the same clock. We will still repair it if you want the time, and we will tell you plainly what we would do in your position.
Questions
Water heaters questions
Under eight years old with a sound tank, repair. Over twelve, or leaking from the tank body rather than a fitting, replace. Between eight and twelve it depends on the fault. An element or a thermocouple is worth fixing. A failed dip tube on an eleven-year-old heater usually is not.
Ten to twelve years on a tank is normal for this water, and a yearly flush genuinely buys you a few more. Tankless goes longer if you keep up the descaling and a lot shorter if you do not.
If you are staying fifteen years or more, run out of hot water now, or want the floor space back, yes. If you might move inside seven years, a tank is the better trade. Most of the price difference is not the unit, it is upsizing the gas line and running new venting, and we tell you which of those your house needs before quoting rather than after.
Repairs, usually yes. Replacements depend on the size and fuel type. Tell us what is on the label and we will know before we come out.
Get a number before you decide
Tell us the age, the fuel and where the water is coming from. That is usually enough for a range over the phone.
VA Class A #XXXX-XXXXXXX. Licensed and insured, with a 2-year warranty on parts and workmanship.