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For exceptional water heaters repair or installation in San Diego, choose Courtesy Plumbing Inc. Courtesy Plumbing installs and repairs traditional tank water heaters; whether it is natural gas, power vent, propane, electric and even Insta-hot water heaters. A functioning hot water heater is important and hot water helps to protect the sanitation of your plumbing system as the temperature keeps microbes at bay, in large part.

What Is a Tank Water Heater?

A tank style water heater is the water heater of old. It contains a central element, a thermostat, a burner underneath, and a tank for storing the hot water it makes. On demand, the hot water is pushed up and out through the pipes into the home to deliver the hot water as needed. This classic, traditional water heater should last for approximately 6 to 10 years before it will need replacement. Generally, the wear on the water heater occurs as a result of rust and other hard water mineral sediments from our Colorado River water here in San Diego; the minerals have a tendency to precipitate or “scale” out of the water with re-boiling and eventually they fill the bottom of the tank. This causes serious heating inefficiency that you may notice with continuous firing of the tank, even on hot days with no hot water use. This is why it is suggested that annual maintenance on traditional tank water heaters include draining them completely to remove the sediment buildup. This is otherwise known as “flushing”.

Repairs on traditional tanks are a rarity. In the last 10 years, the manufacturers have really worked hard on their designs to make their tanks disposable. They use cheaper elements, and in the end, all the money you put into the water heater you might as well spend a little more to replace it with a new one. In only the rarest circumstances will we see that a problem can be solved by replacing one or two typically broken parts, the two items that can be cost-effectively swapped as part of a “repair.”

We look forward to hearing from you and responding to your tank hot water heater needs. Call us at (858) 567-0544!

Water Heater Replacement — 4 Professional Tips

With the weather changing, it’s time to talk about the most beloved home appliance: The Water Heater. Water heaters are essential in this day and age and when a water heater goes out, it never happens in the most opportune moment.

“We get calls all the time,” stated Tony Misleh, owner of Courtesy Plumbing Inc. in San Diego, CA, “of people who tell us they were in the middle of the shower when their hot water turned to cold, fast! So, we end up getting out to service the water heater that day.”

“It happened to me!” exclaimed Christi, at Courtesy Plumbing Inc., “I was in the middle of a warm shower when suddenly the water got ice cold. I came out of the shower simply shivering!”

Tony shared some tips to let readers know when it’s time to consider water heater replacement.

If the water heater is 10 years old, it’s time to replace it. Water heaters normally have a 6-8 year lifespan and by that time, a water heater has taken a lot of damage due to hard water. The calcium buildup as well as the internal rust have made it inefficient and may be costing the consumer more to heat up the water.
Look out for rusty water. If you notice water looking brownish when you turn on the hot water, it’s most likely that the water heater has begun to rust on the inside and will begin to leak soon. It’s obviously time to replace it.
Listen for rumbling sounds and noise. Over time as water gets heated over and over, sediment builds at the bottom of the water heater. This sediment buildup also gets reheated and eventually hardens. That’s when people hear rumbling or thumping sounds coming from their water heater as it heats up water. That’s also a sign that the water heater is nearing the end of its life. That hardened sediment also translates to less efficiency and more damage — less efficiency in that the water heater has to use more electricity or more gas to heat up the water and more damage in that the extra time required to heat the water will cause more damage to the tank and therefore begin to crack it.
Keep a lookout for any water around the water heater. The outside and surrounding areas of a water heater should always be dry. If any moisture is detected, then it’s a sure sign that the water heater is beginning to leak.

A leaking water heater is a ticking time bomb. It doesn’t mean it will explode or anything, it simply means it’s about to fail… and it will happen when least expected. Contact us and have us come inspect it at (858) 567-0544 today or call for a quote over the phone! Most offer a free or low-cost inspection of your water heater.

FAQ:

When in need of a water heaters

Here at Courtesy Plumbing we are more than happy to provide you with information regarding water heater, installations, and what is required to bring it up to Plumbing Uniform Code.

What type of water heater are you getting?

Here at Courtesy Plumbing we will install a variety of water heaters. However, the water heater we most recommend is the Ultra Low NOx: Professional Classic Series water heaters. We recommend these over other brands because they are reliable, cost efficient, and it is rated number 1 on waterheatergeeks.com.

What’s the warranty on the water heater?

Warranties vary for each water heater. Typically for a 30-50 gallon water heater comes standard with a 6 year manufacture warranty. However, there are longer warranty’s available, such as 8 year, 10 year, or 12 year warranty with the purchase of a 4 year protection plus kit.

Expert Noritz Tankless Water Heater Installation

Courtesy Plumbing installs primarily Noritz brand gas tankless water heaters for home and industry. Other brands that are available at our customers’ preference include super-hot Bosch tankless water heaters, Takagi tankless water heaters, Rinnai tankless water heaters, and Navien tankless water heaters.

All tankless water heaters have the same basic capacity, profile, and installation requirements. The cost varies somewhat, and the reliability also varies. Over time we have established our preference as Noritz because they offer high-quality performance with low maintenance for an intermediate price that serves most of our clients very well.

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Is there a warranty on the labor or any additional parts?

Here at Courtesy Plumbing we warranty our parts and labor on water heaters for up to 1 year. So, what that means is, if there was a faulty part we will come back out and replace it with a functional part at no additional cost. Etiam non quam lacus suspendisse faucibus interdum posuere lorem ipsum. Sed velit dignissim sodales ut eu sem integer. Pulvinar elementum integer enim neque volutpat. Pretium aenean pharetra magna ac placerat vestibulum lectus mauris ultrices.

What is required to bring the water heater up to Plumbing Uniform Code?

To bring a water heater up to the new Plumbing Uniform Code you would need to have or upgrade to:

Flexible water lines for hot and cold leaving the tank, because it is no longer code to have hard ridged pipes.
Earthquake Straps in the proper section 1/3 from the top and 1/3 from the bottom.
New gas flex, by code you cannot re use the old one.
Expansion tank, this is code to help reduce too much pressure on the tank to cause less of a chance for a leak.
Sediment trap
A drain pan is required on most situations depending on the location of the water heater.
Gate valves are highly recommended to be replaced to a ball valve because the ball valve will last longer and are less likely to seize up in an emergency.

Here at Courtesy Plumbing we warranty our parts and labor on water heaters for up to 1 year. So, what that means is, if there was a faulty part we will come back out and replace it with a functional part at no additional cost. Etiam non quam lacus suspendisse faucibus interdum posuere lorem ipsum. Sed velit dignissim sodales ut eu sem integer. Pulvinar elementum integer enim neque volutpat. Pretium aenean pharetra magna ac placerat vestibulum lectus mauris ultrices.

What is a tankless water heater?

See the image for an example of how the heating works. It is a natural gas-powered heating mechanism that torches so many thousands of BTUs within its stainless steel baffled internal piping system that it efficiently transfers a huge percentage of the heat energy to the water. The outside exhaust gas, while as dangerous as any heated exhaust gas will be, has been described by some customers almost like a dryer vent outside the home! That is how efficient the heat transfer is. No wasted water in a tank. No wasted natural gas. No catastrophic tank spill threat in your home.

At Courtesy Plumbing, we provide a low fixed estimate for all work, including the Noritz tankless heater itself. Most Noritz systems can be installed in around a day to a day and a half for a few thousand dollars, depending on the tie-in locations for gas and the main water lines. We work very carefully and conservatively in your home, though generally there will be an amount of drywall cleanup afterward, and we can recommend services for that work. (Drywall service costs must be separate, we apologize.)

Almost invariably, our clients swear by the quality of the Noritz tankless systems, providing hot water on demand at speeds comparable to or sometimes faster and hotter than their former tank water heater systems did. The low profile of the Noritz tankless systems, about the size of a medium suitcase, frees up garage space like nothing else and gives a streamlined, modern appearance to any home. Often, we have heard that these are optimal selling points for real estate agents and home renovation specialists.

We look forward to helping you with your home upgrade to a Noritz tankless water heating system! Call (858) 567-0544 today!