Water Heater Repair questions from Palm Beach County homeowners

The service call is $100 to $250. Replacing an element or a thermostat on an electric tank runs $100 to $350. A relief valve is $50 to $300, and an anode rod $150 to $350. Gas valve and control board jobs are priced by the part once the plumber has the model number.

Repair when the tank itself is dry and sound and the problem is a part: an element, a thermostat, a thermocouple, a relief valve. Replace when the tank leaks from the body or the bottom, when the water comes out rusty from the hot side only, or when the tank is past about ten years and the repair is a third of the price of a new one. A leaking tank cannot be patched.

A standard electric tank, 40 or 50 gallons, installed with the old one hauled off, is $600 to $2,200. A gas tank is $800 to $2,500. Tankless runs $2,500 to $4,500 installed, more when the gas line or the electrical service has to be upsized. A heat pump water heater is $2,000 to $4,600.

On electric, check the breaker and the red reset button behind the upper access panel. If the reset trips again, an element or the thermostat has failed. On gas, look through the sight glass for the pilot. A pilot that lights and goes out when you let go of the knob is usually a bad thermocouple or flame sensor.

Sediment and scale on the bottom of the tank. Water trapped under the layer boils when the burner or lower element fires, and the pops are steam bubbles breaking loose. A flush helps on a tank that is still young. On an old tank with years of buildup, flushing can stir up enough debris to clog the drain valve, and the plumber will tell you which you have.

The valve is doing its job: letting go when temperature or pressure gets too high. The cause is a thermostat set too hot, high street pressure, thermal expansion on a closed system, or a worn valve. Do not cap the discharge pipe. Call and have it checked; a new valve is $50 to $300 and an expansion tank may be the real fix.

In Florida, water heater replacement is plumbing work for a state-certified plumbing contractor (license numbers start with CFC) or one registered for the local jurisdiction, under Chapter 489 (LP gas licensees and gas utility employees are exempt when they replace an existing heater), and it usually needs a permit. This site passes your call to a licensed plumbing contractor, and you can check the license at myfloridalicense.com before anyone arrives.

In unincorporated Palm Beach County, an exact like-for-like water heater change-out goes through the county Building Division on its change-out form, which issues a self-issued permit, and a cord-connected heater adds an electrical sub-permit. Cities and towns with their own building departments, West Palm Beach included, issue their own permits, and a tankless or solar install can go to plan review. Replacing a heating element is the only water heater job on the county's no-permit list.

Florida's Condominium Act says the association's property insurance must exclude water heaters inside a unit and makes them the unit owner's responsibility, so the repair or replacement is yours to book. Your declaration and the building manager set any rules on access and timing.

A tank usually gets eight to twelve years. Hard water, a spent anode rod and a thermostat set high take years off that. A tankless unit can run twenty years when it is descaled on schedule. The date code is on the label on the side of the tank.

For a household that runs out of hot water, or one that wants the closet space back, yes. It costs more up front, it needs descaling, and a gas unit may need a bigger gas line and new venting. For a two-person home with a working tank, a new tank is the cheaper answer.