Hutchins Plumbing & A/C, Inc. - Complete Plumbing Service, Repair, Sales & Installation. Master Plumber. Grayson & Collin County, Texas. Is it time to replace my water heater?

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Is it Time to Replace My Water Heater?

Replacing your water heater can be both stressful and a financial burden. You may be asking yourself, "How do I know when to replace my water heater? The page that follows will provide you with insight as you are considering your next water heater purchase.

Below are common signs that replacing your water heater may be in your best interest.

Age. How long have you had your current water heater? A gas hot water heater should last 8-12 years; while an electric water has a longer lifespan of 10-15 years. Tankless water heaters have a longer life expectancy but since they are so new replacing your tankless water heater as of 2010 should not be a consideration.

Rust colored hot water - If you are getting tinted water when you open up the hot water tap you need to change your water heater immediately!

Hot water is not as hot or you run out of hot water under normal circumstances. Servicing your water heater may resolve this problem. Please contact your plumbing experts at Hutchins Plumbing & A/C, Inc. so that we can resolve your hot water problem as soon as possible.

Moisture around the base may signal a slow leak.

An ice cold shower.

A flood in the area around the water heater.

Once you have determined that replacing your water heater is inevitable, selecting the perfect unit for your needs may seem confusing because there are so many types and sizes. For example - how many gallons do you need? Do you want a tankless water heater or conventional? Gas or electric? What about solar?

Sometimes the more research you do the worse it gets! First things first, how much hot water do you need? To effectively figure what size you need you have to figure what is called your family's peak usage. This means that you have to figure how much hot water your household will use at the most in any particular hour. This is accomplished by answering the following questions. (The number following the activities refer to the gallons used for each activity.):

How many times in the peak hour of your family's day do you?

Showering - 20

Bathing - 20

Shaving - 2

Washing hands and face - 2

Hand dishwashing - 4

Automatic dishwashing - 10

Preparing food - 5

Automatic clothes washing - 32

So if you use the most water at 6 p.m. when the dishwasher is running, there is a load of clothes in the wash, and two people will take showers then your peak water use is 82 gallons per hour. You need a tank with at least 82 gallon FHR, or first hour rating. This number does not account for low flow shower heads and faucet aerators. Many 40-50 gallon water heaters come close to this but you may need something a little bigger.

If you do need to replace your water heater, you have several decisions to make. The most basic decision is whether or not you want a tankless system. Not only do tankless systems last longer, they are more energy-efficient. They are often cheaper, depending on the size and number of water heating units you buy. We would like to invite you to tour the Rheem website to view your tankless water heater options.

We hope this page has answered some of your questions. If you have any questions or would like to schedule a consultation, please do not hesitate to call us at one of our phone numbers listed below. For your convenience, you may also request services from this site.

Thank you for your consideration and we look forward to serving you in the near future!

214-383-3136 Allen
903-465-3903 Denison
214-436-4725 Frisco

903-892-9925
Sherman

972-562-6292 McKinney
972-312-0703 Plano
972-479-9313 Richardson

Hutchins Plumbing & A/C Inc. proudly services Grayson County and Collin County including the cities of Allen, Bells, Collinsville, Denison, Fairview, Farmersville, Frisco, Gordonville, Gunter, Howe, Lowry Crossing, Lucas, McKinney, New Hope, Plano, Pottsboro, Princeton, Prosper, Richardson, Sachse, Sadler, Sherman, Southmayd, Tioga, Tom Bean, Van Alstyne, Whitesboro, Whitewright, and Wylie.