Repairing the heater you have
A heater that still holds water without a drip may only need a part, such as a thermostat, an element, the gas valve or the relief valve, and a new part can bring the hot water back.
Water Heater Repair and Installation in Minneapolis
A water heater that leaks, runs out of hot water early or rumbles when it heats can be repaired or replaced. We put you in touch with a plumber who looks at the heater, explains your choices and does the work you pick.
Below you will find what can be fixed on an old heater, when a new tank or a tankless unit makes sense, the city permit for a new heater and a way to size one.
Repair, replace or switch to tankless
Putting in a new tank
Water seeping from the tank body itself means the heater has to be replaced, because a leaking shell cannot be patched. The plumber hooks up the new one to the water lines, plus the gas line and the vent on a gas unit.
Switching to tankless
A tankless heater keeps no stored water; it fires when a tap opens and heats the flow as it passes. Before you choose one, the plumber checks whether your gas supply, venting or electrical panel can support a wall-hung unit.
Moving the heater
Moving a heater to a new spot in the basement means new water piping, and on a gas model new gas piping and venting, so it is a bigger job than a swap in the same place.
The city permit for a new water heater
The City of Minneapolis lists replacing or installing a water heater among the jobs that need a plumbing permit, and connecting a gas appliance to gas piping is on the same list. The work follows the Minnesota Plumbing Code, and the repiping page explains how inspection works.
Sizing a heater for your household
Your busiest hour of hot water, say two showers back to back while the dishwasher runs, sets the tank size more than the bathroom count does. Put your household’s numbers into the water heater size calculator to see the tank it points to.
Minneapolis winters raise the bar for a tankless unit. An average January low of 10°F puts the city in the tankless flow calculator’s coldest band, where water is assumed to arrive at 42°F and has to climb 78°F to reach 120°F.
How old your heater is
Deciding between fixing and replacing starts with the heater’s age. The serial number decoder works that out from the brand and the serial number printed on the label, and if the answer points to a new heater, the permit section above applies.
If the leak is coming from a pipe and not the tank, go to leak detection, and for aging supply lines go to repiping; the home page has everything else we help with.
Call for a free plumbing estimate
Call us to discuss your current issue and how we can assist you. The call is free and you get a free, personalized estimate with no obligation. We're here to help.
Call (855) 321-3426