Water Heater Repair & Replacement Services in Lakeland, FL

Water heater repair and replacement in Lakeland

In 1882 Abraham Munn, a businessman from Kentucky, bought 80 acres in what was then open country in Polk County, and the town was platted on his land in 1884. Munn persuaded the South Florida Railroad to stop there, and Lakeland incorporated on January 1, 1885, named for the many lakes within and around it, with Lake Mirror at the heart of the early town. In 1938 Frank Lloyd Wright began designing the campus of Florida Southern College, now the largest single collection of his buildings and a National Historic Landmark. Today nine ZIP codes carry a Lakeland address, home to about 237,300 people.

The housing spans more than a century. Per Census figures, about 24% of homes in the 1980s, 18% in the 1970s, 17% in the 1990s and 18% in the 2000s, with 9% from the 1960s and around 14% older. Most are single-family houses, with the heater in an attached garage in subdivisions and in a utility room, laundry or carport closet in older neighborhoods around the lakes. Townhomes, condos and some manufactured homes keep it in a closet. You'll find an electric tank in almost every home.

The Census lists around 3.4% of homes as seasonal, leaving nearly every heater to work all year. Most homes are on the city's public water supply, drawn from the aquifer, whose minerals settle in a tank as sediment.

With so many homes from the 1970s and 1980s, a great many Lakeland heaters are now the second or third in the same spot, and households have often changed since the last one went in. That makes replacement the moment to size afresh rather than match the old label. It's also when old valves and connectors from earlier installations can be renewed, and a pan with a working outlet added if there never was one.

We connect callers in Lakeland with local water heater pros across ZIP codes 33801, 33803, 33805, 33809, 33810, 33811, 33812, 33813 and 33815.

Your busiest hour sets the size

The right size isn't set by bedrooms or the old tank's capacity. It's set by your household's busiest hour of hot water use, usually a weekday morning when showers run one after another, the kitchen tap runs and perhaps the dishwasher or washer too. Count how many showers happen back to back, whether anyone fills a large tub, and which appliances overlap. A household with teenagers may need much more than when the house was bought; one whose children have moved out may need less. If family fills the house at the holidays, decide whether to size for those mornings too. Read more at water heater sizing guide.

What to compare on a tank

For a tank, compare first-hour ratings, the label figure for how much hot water it can supply in one busy hour, starting full. Two tanks of the same capacity can differ, because one reheats faster. For a heat pump tank, the rating is lower in efficient mode than in its faster mode, so the installer checks both against your busiest hour. A taller or wider tank also needs floor space and headroom, and in an older house's utility room or closet the space may set the limit. A slimmer, taller tank sometimes fits where a wider one won't, so the installer measures before choosing. The label on your current heater gives its first-hour rating, which is a useful starting point for the comparison.

A technician inspecting and repairing a heating system in a workshop

Check What Size You Need

Tell us how many showers run in your busiest hour, and a pro will match the heater to it.

Why a Lakeland garage suits a heat pump

A heat pump water heater is a storage tank with a small heat pump on top. A fan draws garage air across a cold coil, a compressor concentrates the warmth it gathers, and that heat passes into the water, leaving the air a little cooler and drier. Because it moves heat instead of making it with elements, it uses far less electricity than a standard electric tank. In a Lakeland garage, warm for most of the year, it spends most of its time in its efficient mode, with built-in elements for cold mornings and heavy demand. It needs room around it, extra headroom and a route for its condensate, so the installer checks all three first. Its air filter needs cleaning now and then, and its condensate line needs to stay clear, or water ends up on the garage floor. Learn more about heat pump water heater installation.

What heat and humidity do to a garage heater

The same warm, humid garage is hard on metal. Fittings on top of the tank build up crust, steel nipples rust, and a tank set straight on the slab can rust at the base. A pan that has cracked, or whose outlet leads nowhere, gives no protection. At replacement, the installer checks the pan, the relief valve's discharge line and the space around the tank, and renews crusted valves and connectors instead of reconnecting to them. A new heater on a stand or in a pan with a working outlet, with a leak sensor beside it, is well set for the years ahead. If the relief valve has been dripping after each heating cycle, an expansion tank on the cold line is worth adding at the same time. Related: leaking water heater.

A word on tankless

A tankless heater is sized by flow rather than storage: how many gallons a minute it must heat at once, and by how much. It saves space, but an electric tankless unit needs a substantial electrical supply, which many panels can't provide without an upgrade, and on mineral-bearing water it needs regular descaling. The installer checks the panel, the flow and the space before recommending one. Hot water can also take a moment longer to reach distant taps, which some households notice more than others. Details are in tankless water heater installation.

A sulfur smell on the hot side

Hot water that smells of rotten eggs, while the cold is fine, is commonly associated with sulfate in the water reacting with the tank's anode rod, especially after water has stood. A few minutes at the hot taps usually clears it. Should it keep coming back, a technician can confirm why and generally swaps in a less reactive anode. Never remove the anode, since the tank then rusts through sooner. If the cold water smells as well, the cause lies in the supply rather than the heater. Related: rotten-egg smell in hot water.

A technician installing or repairing a heating system in a workshop

Water heater services in Lakeland

Talk About Your Heater's Age

Read out the serial number on the label and a pro will tell you whether it's time.

Lakeland water heater questions

What kinds of water heaters do you see most in Lakeland?

Mostly electric tanks, in garages in the subdivisions and in utility rooms and closets in older homes, townhomes and condos. Heat pump units are increasingly chosen at replacement, and some homes have tankless heaters. Local pros work with whatever you have.

In Lakeland, what is a first-hour rating?

The figure printed on a tank's label for the hot water it can deliver in one demanding hour from a full start, adding what it stores to what it reheats. When comparing heaters, set it against the busiest hour in your home rather than the tank's capacity.

In Lakeland, how noisy is a heat pump water heater?

It gives a steady hum from its fan and compressor, about the level of a dehumidifier. In a garage, it's rarely heard indoors. If a bedroom shares the garage wall, say so, and the installer can place the unit on the far side.

In Lakeland, is my garage suitable for a heat pump water heater?

Probably, if it's roomy, stays warm for most of the year and has a route for condensate. The unit needs space around it and more headroom than a standard tank. The installer checks the space, the drain route and the electrical supply first.

For a Lakeland home, what is an expansion tank, and do we need one?

A small tank on the cold line, with an air cushion behind a diaphragm, that gives heated water somewhere to expand. In homes with a closed plumbing system, it keeps pressure from climbing each cycle. A relief valve that drips after heating is the usual clue you need one.

For a Lakeland home, how does a heat pump water heater work?

A small heat pump on top of the tank pulls warmth from the surrounding air and moves it into the water, much like an air conditioner working in reverse. Because it moves heat rather than making it, it uses less electricity than elements alone, which are still there for busy spells.

Our 1980s house is on its second heater. Should the third be the same size?

Not necessarily. Count the showers in your busiest morning now and compare with the first-hour rating on the current label. If the household has grown or shrunk, the replacement should follow, and a heat pump unit is worth pricing for the garage.

Do you cover all nine Lakeland ZIP codes?

Yes. We cover every Lakeland ZIP code, from the neighborhoods around Lake Mirror and Lake Hollingsworth to the subdivisions north and south of town. Give us your address when you call, and we'll connect you with a local pro who works in Polk County.

Nearby communities

We also cover Auburndale, Plant City, Bartow and the rest of Central Florida.

Water Heater Repair and Replacement in Lakeland, FL