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Birmingham Plumbing - Hot Water Heater Repair.
Every home has a hot water
heater of some sort. Whether
its gas-fired, electric, or tankless, in your basement,
crawlspace, utility room or attic, single or multi-unit
setup, water heaters are essential to everyday comfort.
They come in a variety of sizes (capacities) and designs,
and have several applications. But they all perform the
same function, which is to efficiently provide you with
hot water for all of your plumbing needs. Like any other
plumbing fixturem hot water heaters don't last forever,
and will eventually need replaced.
Gas-fired
hot water heaters are the most common type found
in residential plumbing applications. They use a
small flow of natural gas to ignite a burner assembly
at the bottom of the heater inside a combustion
chamber, heating the water inside the tank above
it. Gas hot water heaters are popular because of
their relatively low price, high efficiency, and
good lifespan (about 8-14 years average).
They have a fairly fast recovery rate (the speed
at which the water inside the tank reheats itself
after being completely depleted), and can be set
to temperatures as high as 130 degrees Fahrenheit.
They divert the heat generated by the combustion
chamber through a flu, or vent pipe at the top of
the heater. This vent pipe usually joins into the
vent system for the home's heating and air unit.
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for gas hot water heaters range
from the standard 40 gallons, all the way up to large
residential and commercial size units exceeding 100 gallons.
We install and service them all, repairing the vent pipes,
gas control valve, burner assemblies, and gas lines. We
install several hot water heaters every week, and are
very familiar with service options pertaining to your
particular plumbing needs for hot water.
Electric hot water heaters use (you guessed it) electrical
current driven through one or more thermostats to heat
one or more elements, which are composed of a mixture
of conductive metals. These elements are controlled by
the thermostats, heating the water to a pre-specified
temperature. This temperature is adjustable, however we
recommend that you do not attempt to adjust it due to
the risk of electric shock. The hot water heaters come
with the thermostats pre-set to standard temperatures.
These thermostats and elements often fail, and that's
where we come in. We can replace individual components
of the heater, or install a complete new unit for you,
hooking up both the waterlines and the electrical components.
Electric hot water heaters have a slightly slower recovery
rate than gas-fired units, and as such are not quite as
popular. But in homes that have no gas appliances, it's
nice to know you can still have hot water at your leisure.
Electric hot water heaters come in sizes ranging from
30 gallons up to and exceeding 75 gallons, with a larger
variety of dimensional options than gas heaters (extra
short, tall skinny, etc. ).
Tankless water heaters are a relatively new in the U.S.,
having been very popular in Japan and Europe for years
due to the limited space in homes across the seas. They
are much smaller than standard water heaters, averaging
about the size of a small suitcase. Due to their smaller
dimensions, installation options are much more varied,
as the units can be installed nearly anywhere. And if
there is no convenient location in your home for a tankless
water heater, they can be mounted on an exterior wall.
Tankless water heaters differ from conventional units
in several ways, most notably being the absence of a storage
tank, hence the name. Tankless heater use a combination
of gas and electricity to ignite a small burner within
the unit and heat the water as it is passed through the
maze of piping inside the casing. Because there is no
supply of previously heated (a full tank) water ready
to feed the home, the time to get hot water to a faucet
is longer with a tankless setup. However, once the water
reaches the fixture, it is endless. Yes, ENDLESS. This
is the major benefit of tankless systems. You can fill
up a 100-gallon tub without ever running out of hot water,
or you can run several showers simultaneously, or even
run the dishwasher while washing a load of clothes...all
without ever losing hot water or water volume. Standard
water heaters have an output of roughly 2.5 gallons per
minute, or gpm, while tankless unit are as high as 8.5
gpm. There is even a digital keypad that comes with the
unit to adjust the temperature.
There are three issues to consider before having a tankless
system installed, however. First is price. Tankless systems
cost roughly 3 to 4 times as much as a conventional water
heater, and the installation costs run 3 to 4 times as
much also. Second, venting a tankless system can be a
tricky thing. Tankless units produce up to 199,000 BTUs
of heat, compared to a standard heater's 38,000. Because
of this fact, tankless systems have to be vented directly
outside, separate from the HVAC system. To avoid putting
a 6' hole in your wall (the vent size of a tankless unit),
an outdoor setup is available. The third issue is the
fact that tankless units must be fed with a larger supply
of gas than a standard water heater, requiring a 3/4"
gas line as opposed to 1/2" lines found on tank-type
units. This upgrade can be an expensive addition to the
already higher cost of the tankless installation if no
3/4" gas line is present or near the heater. All
things considered, tankless water heaters can be an excellent
upgrade to your home, enhancing your hot water supply
and increasing your home's resale value. We install both
types of systems (indoor and outdoor), and are familiar
with service requirements for each. |
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Save More Money
Take Advantage of This Special Offer When Fixing Your
Home Water Line
or Sewer Line.
Send Us Any
Written Estimate.
We can usually match or beat any written estimate. Send an estimate from any other plumbing services company and let us see what we can do for you.
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