Tank, tankless and heat pump units for Aurora homes
Hot water that holds up to Aurora’s water.
A new water heater is a fifteen year decision, and the water out here is hard on them. Wes sizes and sets yours for the household you actually have, pulls the permit, and leaves it running the way it should.
Hard water is the short answer
Why heaters age faster on this side of the metro.
Front Range water carries a lot of dissolved mineral, and every gallon of it that gets heated leaves a little behind in the bottom of your tank.
That layer is why an eight year old heater in Aurora rumbles like a percolator when the burner fires. The flame has to push heat through a crust of sediment before it ever reaches the water, so recovery slows, the steel runs hotter than it was designed to, and the glass lining gives up sooner. In a soft water part of the country you can ignore the anode rod and the annual flush for years and get away with it. Here those two habits are most of what separates a heater that dies at eight from one that goes fifteen. We show you the drain valve and the rod port before we leave and tell you honestly how often to bother with each.
Sizing is the other half. We do not pick a heater by matching the number on the old one, because that number was chosen by whoever built the house for whoever lived in it first. We ask how many people shower, whether two of them go at once on a weekday morning, whether the laundry and the dishwasher overlap, and whether anyone fills a soaking tub. Aurora’s incoming water also runs genuinely cold in January, which means the heater has further to climb to reach the same tap temperature. Call (303) 883-9075 or reach out here, and have a look at recent jobs in the gallery.
- Gas and electric tanks
- Whole-home tankless
- Heat pump hybrids
- Expansion tanks
- Old unit haul-away
- Permit and inspection
Altitude, venting, and the garage question
What changes about a gas heater up here.
A gas burner makes less heat at a mile up than it does at sea level, roughly four percent less for every thousand feet, so a unit rated for a Gulf Coast bathroom count comes up a little short in Aurora. Some manufacturers publish derated numbers for high altitude and some expect a conversion kit. We check that before ordering rather than after, and we make sure the room has enough combustion air to feed the thing, which is where a lot of older utility closets fall down once somebody has added a furnace or a dryer to the same space.
Venting is where an install stops being a swap. An old atmospheric heater drafts up a flue with the furnace, and if you replace the furnace with a high efficiency unit that vents out the side wall, the heater is suddenly alone in a chimney sized for two appliances and it will not draft properly. Going to a power vent or a tankless changes the picture again, since both use a fan and go out through the wall in PVC or stainless. And if the heater lives in the garage, ignition source elevation and a bollard in front of it are not optional details, they are what keeps the install legal and safe.
- Altitude derate checked
- Combustion air verified
- Atmospheric to power vent
- Orphaned flue corrections
- Garage elevation and guard
- Sediment trap and shutoff
The honest version of tank versus tankless
Neither one is the right answer for every house.
Tankless gets sold hard, so here is the plain read. It gives you hot water that does not run out, it takes up wall space instead of floor space, and it tends to last longer than a tank. It also asks more of your house. A gas tankless fires at several times the input of a tank when it runs, which often means upsizing the gas line and sometimes the meter. A whole-home electric one can want more panel than a nineties Aurora subdivision has to give. And on hard water it needs descaling on a schedule or the heat exchanger scales up and the warranty gets thin.
A quality tank, sized right and flushed once a year, is still a perfectly good answer for a lot of Aurora households, and a heat pump hybrid is worth a look if the heater sits in a garage or basement with air to spare. What you get from us either way is the tradeoff laid out before you commit, including what the gas line and venting will actually take, so the number on the quote is the number at the end.
Catch it before the drip pan does
A failing heater usually warns you first.
Rust colored hot water, a puddle ring under the tank, popping through the whole burn cycle, or hot water that runs out sooner than it used to are all the same message. On a finished Aurora basement, a tank that lets go is a flooring and drywall problem on top of a plumbing one, so we would rather look at it early. Supply line trouble upstream of the heater is a different animal, and that lives on our Aurora pipe repair page. For everything else we handle across town, start at plumbing in Aurora or call (303) 883-9075.
How the day goes
Sized, set, tested, explained.
Sizing visit
We look at the space, the venting, the gas line and the panel, then talk through how your household actually uses hot water before anything gets ordered.
Install and permit
Old unit out and hauled off, new one set with fresh connections, expansion tank, relief valve and correct venting. Permit pulled, inspection scheduled.
Commission and walkthrough
Hot water confirmed at every fixture, temperature and pressure checked, and you get shown the shutoff, the drain valve and the flush routine.
Straight answers
Water heater questions we get around Aurora.
How long should a water heater last in Aurora?
Around eight to twelve years for a tank on our water, and closer to fifteen or more if it gets flushed yearly and the anode rod gets swapped before it is eaten through. Hard water is the deciding factor here far more than brand. Call (303) 883-9075 and we will tell you where yours stands.
Does altitude really change which unit I should buy?
Yes. A gas burner loses roughly four percent of its output per thousand feet of elevation, so a unit spec’d at sea level delivers less recovery in Aurora. Some models publish high altitude ratings, others need a conversion kit. We check that before the unit is ordered, not after it is hanging on the wall.
Can my house handle a gas tankless?
Sometimes as-is, often not without work. A gas tankless fires at several times the input of a tank, so the gas line and occasionally the meter need upsizing, and it vents through the wall with sealed combustion rather than up the old flue. All of that is doable and all of it is in the quote up front. Call (303) 883-9075 or send us the details.
Why does my water heater rumble and pop?
Sediment. Mineral from the water settles into the bottom of the tank and the burner has to heat through it, which makes that percolator sound and makes the unit work harder every year. Under about eight years old, a flush usually helps. Older than that and already popping, it is generally telling you the end is near.
Do I need an expansion tank in Aurora?
If your service has a pressure reducing valve or a backflow preventer, the plumbing is a closed system and yes, you need one. Without it the pressure from heating has nowhere to go and the relief valve starts weeping. We put one on as part of the install rather than treating it as an add-on.
Can the water heater go in the garage?
It can, and plenty of Aurora homes are built that way, but the ignition source has to sit at the required height off the slab and the unit needs protection from vehicle impact. Both get handled as part of the install so the inspection passes the first time.
Is a permit required to replace a water heater?
Yes, replacements and new installations both get permitted, and we pull it and schedule the inspection ourselves. A permitted install is also what keeps the manufacturer warranty and your homeowner’s policy on solid ground.
How do I know it is time to replace rather than repair?
Rusty hot water, moisture around the base, or a tank past ten years with a real problem generally points to replacement. A bad thermocouple, a failed element or a tired relief valve on an otherwise sound tank is worth fixing. Wes will tell you which one you have got, even when the answer is the cheaper one. Call (303) 883-9075.
Ready for hot water you can count on?
Tank, tankless or hybrid, sized for your household and set to code. Wes will walk the job with you and give you a straight quote.