Hot Water Heater vs Tankless Hot Water Heater Maintenance

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At Apollo Home, we talk to homeowners everyday who are interested in a tankless hot water heater. Most ask about the difference in usage, efficiency, operation cost and maintenance. Let’s review some of these main points for those curious about a traditional water heater and a tankless hot water heater.

Tankless Hot Water Heater Review

More and more homeowners choose to install a tankless hot water heater these days. They are more efficient for several reasons. For example, they only heat water when you need it. This saves you from paying to heat water on standby for hours or even days, while on vacation.

Because the water is heated on-demand, there is no heat or energy loss from the standby tank. A tankless hot water heater takes up little room and can be installed in more flexible places.

The initial purchase and installation is more of an investment than the storage tank models. The useful life of the equipment, however, is much higher. A tankless hot water heater can last more than 20 years if maintained.

In some cases, homeowners with a large property opt to install two tankless heaters. Depending on usage, they may choose to install one upstairs to accommodate upstairs bathrooms or laundry and one downstairs to handle kitchen and bathroom needs.

Traditional Tank Hot Water Heater Review

The large tank of a traditional storage hot water heater takes up space and loses heat while it waits for the homeowner to summon the heated water. This makes them less efficient than a tankless model.

The initial purchase expense is lower than a tankless hot water heater but the lifespan is less. Compared to the 20 years or more one can get from a tankless model, a tank hot water heater lasts an average of 10 to 15 years.   

Hot Water Heater Maintenance

If you have a tank water heater, you may improve its efficiency with insulation. You can insulate the pipes and even the tank itself.

Regardless of your model, many articles will tell you it’s important to drain your water heater once a year. There is some debate about this. In general, if done early in the tank ownership, this is fine. It helps remove sediment from the tank.

If, however, you’ve had the tank for several years, the sediment is probably solidified. It may even be plugging tiny leaks or holes. To dislodge and drain it after a long period of time actually leaves you vulnerable to greater problems.

Another point of view is water heaters need less maintenance when you have soft water. In general, Cincinnati has relatively hard water. If you do not have a water softener, you are at risk for sediment buildup and should take appropriate steps.

The easiest thing to do is subscribe to a maintenance plan like the Apollo Care Plan. In addition to an annual plumbing evaluation, the Plan provides two heating and cooling tune-ups and an annual evaluation of your electrical systems. Plus, with installation, our friendly plumbers will teach you everything you need to know. We want you to get the most value from your investment!

Simplify Hot Water Heater Maintenance with an Apollo Care Plan

The Plan saves you time, money, and worry. It is designed to preserve your home’s mechanical systems and comes with benefits including a VIP priority service phone number. Regular service also protects most manufacturer warranties.  

Over the last 100 years, we’ve learned a lot at Apollo Home and can use it to help you. We’re eager to share our expertise to keep you and your family safe and more comfortable.

Our friendly plumbing professionals are licensed, industry-certified, and insured. They also pass rigorous background checks for your peace of mind. Also, as part of our commitment to professional development, they receive paid continuing education.

This helps them to stay current with all brands and emerging technologies. They are happy to answer questions about plumbing services and how to care for your hot water heater. Need an HVAC technician or an electrician? We can help there, too!

Don’t delay – call Apollo Home today!

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"We scheduled an estimate AND a tune-up. We knew something was wrong with our furnace, but hoped we could make it through the rest of the season. Upon telling Bill what our furnace was doing, he warned us immediately what the possible outcome was going to be; a cracked heat exchanger. He watched the flames roll backward, tested carbon monoxide levels, which were so high they meter’s last reading was 5,600 before saying “high”. He immediately shut it down, tagged it, and explained that with levels that high and children in our home he wanted off right away. He continued his inspection and showed us via a camera that not only was it cracked in multiple places, but had holes all over it. He gave us a few options for repairing it; his knowledge as well as genuine concern was beneficial and refreshing. Luckily we also scheduled an estimator, Micah, to come too and we were able to get costs between repairing and replacing (with several options). We decided to replace with a much higher efficiency furnace and one sized properly to our home. Hands down, not only did they both provide us great service and knowledge, but without sounding dramatic, they may have saved our lives. This was our first time calling Apollo, but it won’t be our last."
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