Water Heaters in Smithville, ON

Most people find out their water heater has failed while they are standing in a cold shower.

This page is for you if that has just happened, if your tank is getting old, or if your rental bill keeps climbing.

We will tell you what is worth doing and what is not, including the things most companies in this trade would rather you did not know.

Renting Versus Owning Your Water Heater

Renting costs more than owning over the life of the tank. That is not our opinion. Natural Resources Canada names cost as the main drawback of renting: across the full life of the heater, renting works out more expensive than buying. (1)

Renting is far more common in Ontario than anywhere else in Canada. Research archived by the federal government in 2013 found Ontario has by far the largest water heater rental market in the country. (8) It became the normal choice decades ago, and most people have never sat down to compare.

Renting does have a real advantage. You never pay a repair bill, and you never pay to replace the tank. If an unexpected bill would be hard to cover, that is worth something.

What you pay for it is a monthly charge that never stops, on equipment you will never own.

Most people do not know this next part. Ontario law gives you 10 days to cancel a water heater contract you signed in your own home. Inside those 10 days you can cancel without giving a reason and without paying a penalty. (2)

Water heaters are also on the province’s restricted list, which means a salesperson cannot knock on your door uninvited to sell you one.

One more thing to check. If you bought a house in a newer Smithville subdivision, you may have taken on a rental contract that came with it. Most buyers never read that contract at closing. Read it now.

We do not rent tanks. We have nothing to gain from your answer either way.

Water Heater Installation

Replacing a tank is the same job as installing one. The difference is the first hour, which we spend taking the old tank out.

Sizing is the part that matters. It comes down to how many people live there, how many bathrooms run at once, and when everyone wants hot water. A tank that is too big costs more to buy and more to run. A tank that is too small leaves you cold partway through a shower.

Five things change the size of the job: the venting, the gas line, the electrical supply, the floor drain, and how easy your basement is to reach.

That last one matters here. Many older Smithville houses have low basement ceilings and narrow stairs, and carrying the old tank up those stairs often takes longer than fitting the new one.

We handle sizing and fitting a new tank for gas, propane and electric systems.

Water Heater Repair

Some water heater faults are worth fixing and some are not. You should know which one you have before anyone starts work.

Worth fixing: a failed thermostat, a burnt-out element, a bad thermocouple, a pilot light that will not stay lit, or a leaking valve. Those are parts, and parts get replaced.

Not worth fixing: a leaking tank. Once the steel has rusted through, no repair brings it back. Anyone who tells you otherwise is charging you to delay the replacement.

We tell you which one you have on the first visit, before you commit any money.

If you are on a well, this matters. On rural West Lincoln properties, a failing well pump can look like a failing water heater, because both give you weak flow and lukewarm water. We check which one it is before we quote.

More on the repairs that are worth doing and how we sort them from the ones that are not.

Water Heater Maintenance

A tank service is short and boring. It also adds years to the tank, which is why we keep recommending it.

We flush the sediment out of the bottom, check the anode rod, test the relief valve, and look over the venting while we are there.

The anode rod is the reason this matters. It is a metal rod inside the tank that rusts so the tank does not have to. Natural Resources Canada says how fast it dissolves depends on the mineral content and hardness of your water. (3)

So how fast that rod wears out depends on your water. A house on a well and a house on Region water can be on completely different schedules, which is why we check instead of assuming.

Replace the rod on time and the tank lasts longer. Leave it too long and the tank starts rusting from the inside.

Almost nobody who rents ever thinks about this, because it is not their tank.

Book us for flushing sediment and checking the anode once a year.

Tankless Water Heaters

A tankless unit heats the water as it flows through the pipe. Nothing is stored, so nothing sits in a tank staying warm all day.

The saving is real. An ENERGY STAR certified tankless unit uses 30% less energy on average than a storage tank type. (4)

The advertising leaves out the drawbacks.

It costs more to buy, and fitting one can mean gas line work, new venting or an electrical upgrade. It needs flushing once a year, and with hard water you cannot skip that. Taps far from the unit run cold for a few seconds before the hot water reaches them.

Who it suits: a busy household that keeps running out of hot water, a small basement where floor space matters, or someone planning to stay put.

Who it does not: two people in a house they expect to sell in a few years. You will not get the extra cost back.

Most tankless units need a gas supply, and much of rural West Lincoln has no gas line at the road.

If it fits your house, see what going tankless, and when it makes sense involves.

Heat Pump Water Heaters

A heat pump water heater moves heat instead of making it. It pulls warmth out of the air in your basement and puts that warmth into the tank.

It uses far less electricity than a normal electric tank. That is the reason to buy one. It also has a drawback, and we would rather tell you now than have you find out in January.

Natural Resources Canada explains the catch. These units take heat and moisture out of the room they sit in. In summer that helps, because your air conditioner has less work to do. In winter it works against you, because your furnace has to replace the heat the water heater took. (5)

In a dry basement that stays warm, this is an easy decision. In a cold basement, think it through first.

There is a rebate. Ontario’s Home Renovation Savings Program gives $500 back on a qualified ENERGY STAR heat pump water heater. It sits under bundled upgrades, so you need a home energy assessment first and two or more upgrades to qualify. (6)

Most people give up on the paperwork. We have filed over $1 million of it for customers, across 174 heat pump conversions.

It suits a house already off gas, running on electricity or propane, which describes a lot of West Lincoln.

Ask us about heat pump water heaters and the rebate paperwork.

How Long a Water Heater Lasts Around Here

There’s no single number to cover this, and anyone who gives you one is guessing.

Natural Resources Canada is direct about why. Water quality is the single most important factor affecting the life of a water heater. (3)

So the answer depends on where your water comes from. Smithville gets treated water from the Region of Niagara. (9) Out in rural West Lincoln many properties are on their own wells, and the Township hands out free well water testing kits at Town Hall.

Different water, different lifespan. Worth knowing before anyone quotes you a confident number.

Watch for four signs: rusty water from the hot tap, a rumbling sound when the tank heats, a damp patch on the floor beneath it, or hot water running out sooner than it used to.

When you see any of those, start planning. Choosing a tank with time to compare beats choosing one in an emergency, standing in a flooded basement.

What Hot Water Costs You

Hot water is the second largest share of home energy costs, behind heating the house itself. Natural Resources Canada puts it at 15 to 25 percent of a household energy bill. (7)

Five things change that number:

• Own the tank instead of renting it, over the long run
• Fix a dripping hot tap. It makes your water heater run when nobody is using hot water
• Flush the sediment and replace the anode rod on time
• Insulate the first stretch of hot pipe leaving the tank
• Size the tank to the house, not bigger

We can handle three of those five in a single visit. The other two take about ten minutes of your own time.

Water heaters are one part of the jobs we do. See the rest of what we look after in West Lincoln, from furnaces and heat pumps to gas lines and air quality.

References

1. Natural Resources Canada, Water Heater Guide, natural-resources.canada.ca
2. Government of Ontario, Rules for businesses entering contracts in consumers’ homes, ontario.ca
3. Natural Resources Canada, Water Heater Guide, natural-resources.canada.ca
4. Natural Resources Canada, ENERGY STAR certified tankless water heaters, natural-resources.canada.ca
5. Natural Resources Canada, Water Heater Guide, natural-resources.canada.ca
6. Save on Energy, Home Renovation Savings Program, saveonenergy.ca
7. Natural Resources Canada, Water Heater Guide, natural-resources.canada.ca
8. Allen, C. and Lio, M., Domestic hot water tanks and other equipment — a consumer perspective, Homeowner Protection Centre, 2013, via Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, ised-isde.canada.ca
9. Township of West Lincoln, Water Quality, westlincoln.ca