Water Heater Replacement and Repair in Oakland County

Tank or tankless water heater: the honest comparison

A tank water heater keeps a set amount of water hot all the time. It costs less to put in, it usually connects to what is already there, and it typically lasts 10 to 15 years. Its limit is the size of the tank: empty it and you wait for it to recover.

A tankless water heater heats water only as it flows, so it does not run out the way a tank does, and its expected life is about 20 years. It costs more to install, and it can need a larger gas line, different venting or heavier wiring. Its output is limited by flow rate, so two showers and a washing machine at once can be more than one unit can supply. And tankless does not mean instant: how long you wait at the tap depends on the length of pipe between the heater and you.

In a Michigan winter the water coming into the house is cold, so a tankless unit works harder for every gallon and has to be sized for it. We will tell you which type we would choose for your household, including when the right answer is simply another tank.

Repair or replace your water heater?

Age and the tank itself decide most of it. If the heater is in the first half of its life and the fault is a part, repair it. If the tank is leaking from its body, or the hot water runs rusty because the tank is corroding, replace it: the steel cannot be mended. In between sits the older heater that needs a costly part. When that repair comes to a large share of what a new heater would cost, replacement deserves a hard look.

There is also a case for replacing on your own schedule. A tank that fails by leaking may give little warning, and it keeps leaking until someone shuts the water off. If yours is well into the 10 to 15 years a tank typically lasts and sits beside finished space, replacing it before it lets go is a reasonable choice. So is keeping a dry, working heater. You get the price of the repair, the price of a new heater and what we would do in your place.

Sizing, the 120-degree setting and upkeep

The right size comes from how your household uses hot water, not from the label on the old heater. Tanks are chosen by first-hour rating, which is how much hot water the heater can deliver in a busy hour starting with a full tank. Tankless units are chosen by flow rate and temperature rise: how many fixtures run at once, and how far the water has to be heated from its incoming temperature.

For the setting, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission urges 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Water much hotter than that can scald in seconds, which matters most with children and older adults in the house. For upkeep, a tank benefits from having sediment flushed out and its anode rod checked. The anode is a sacrificial metal rod that corrodes so the tank does not, and once it is gone the tank is next. Tankless units need descaling instead. How often depends on how hard your water is.

What drives the cost of water heater replacement

We do not print prices here, because the honest answer changes from house to house. One item on the list below is easy to miss: the vent. A gas water heater that used to share a chimney with an old furnace can be left venting alone after a high-efficiency furnace installation, and the chimney may then be too large for it. We check that before we price the job.

• The type and size: tank or tankless, gas or electric
• How it vents, and whether the vent route has to change
• Changes to the gas line, wiring or water piping, most often when switching type
• How hard it is to get the old heater out and the new one in
• Parts the installation needs around the heater, such as an expansion tank or a new shutoff valve