Tankless Water Heater in Youngtown, AZ

Signs it's time to look at tankless

• An old tank is weeping at the base or the burner area is rusted
• The heater sits in a tight closet where a tank is hard to replace
• Your household has grown and hot water runs out
• A tankless unit already in place has weak flow or error codes
• Valves near the heater are stiff, corroded or leaking

Youngtown homes and water

Youngtown sits on the east bank of the Agua Fria River between El Mirage and Sun City. It was built from 1954 as the first planned retirement community in the country, dropped its age restrictions in 1999 and is now a mixed-age town. Many houses are from its early decades, which can mean original or patched piping, older shutoff valves and heaters in interior closets or carports. A gas tankless unit needs its own sealed vent and usually more gas than the tank it replaces, so older homes tend to need more prep than a new subdivision would.

The Town says it doesn't own its water and utilities; private companies provide them. EPCOR serves Youngtown from the same groundwater system as Sun City, drawn from the West Salt River Valley sub-basin and chlorinated, with hardness of 7 to 11 grains per gallon. That's moderate, so scale builds more slowly than in harder parts of the Valley. We didn't find an official page naming the gas utility, so use the one on your bill.

What affects the cost

• Gas supply. Older lines may need upsizing to feed a tankless burner.
• Vent route. Interior closets can make venting harder than a garage wall.
• Valve and connector updates. Worth doing while the heater is out.
• Electrical. An outlet for gas units; heavier circuits for electric models.
• Permit. Through the Town's Community Development Department if required.

What happens when you call

You'll be connected with an independent plumber who serves Youngtown. Describe where the heater sits, its fuel and age, and anything else you've noticed, such as low pressure or old valves. Plans and permit applications go to Community Development at Town Hall, 12030 North Clubhouse Square (623-933-8286); its page doesn't spell out water heater rules, so the plumber confirms. If you smell gas, leave the house and call 911 and your gas utility from outside; propane users call 911 and their supplier.