Water Heater Repair and Replacement in Merritt Island, FL

Before the technician arrives

A few minutes of preparation make the visit quicker. Clear a path to the heater and a little space around it, moving stored boxes, bikes or garden tools away from a garage heater. Find the shutoff valve on the cold pipe above the tank and check that it turns; if water is leaking, close it now. Read the label on the side of the tank, or photograph it, so the technician knows the model, capacity and age before arriving. If the heater is in a condo or apartment closet, ask the building office how contractors sign in and where they can park. Put pets in another room, and let us know about any gate code or access instructions when you call. For a garage heater, leave room for a work van near the door, since a full-size tank is heavy to carry far.

Water heater repair and replacement in Merritt Island

Merritt Island is the long strip of land between the Indian River lagoon to the west and the Banana River lagoon to the east, about 40 miles long and up to 6 miles wide, with the Canaveral Barge Canal crossing its middle. It appears on an explorer's map as early as 1605. On its northern end, Douglas Dummitt tended native citrus groves, planted more and began shipping fruit north in 1828, earning a place as a founder of the Indian River citrus trade. In the early 1960s NASA began acquiring land on the northern part of the island for what became the Kennedy Space Center, and neighborhoods spread across the southern half for the families who followed. Merritt Island has never incorporated and remains an unincorporated community of Brevard County. Its two ZIP codes, 32952 and 32953, are home to about 42,600 people.

That history shows in the housing. Census figures put about 30% of homes in the 1960s, with 18% from the 1980s, 16% from the 1990s, 15% from the 1970s, 12% from the 2000s and around 8% older. Most are single-story block houses with the heater in an attached garage; some older homes keep it in a utility room or carport closet, and condos and apartments keep it in a closet. Electric is the standard, with very few gas units.

About 2.6% of homes are seasonal, according to Census data, so most heaters work every day. Homes are mostly on a public water supply, and with water on both sides, salt air reaches most garages.

For heater work, the 1960s homes matter most. Most are on at least their third or fourth heater, the spot was often sized for a smaller tank than households choose now, and the shutoff valves and pipes near the heater may be decades old. The neighborhoods of the 1990s and 2000s are reaching the end of their builder heaters, often street by street, so a replacement on one driveway is a fair prompt to read the label in the next garage.

Calls from Merritt Island are matched to installers covering 32952 and 32953.

What happens on replacement day

Checking the job. The technician confirms the size, type and location, looks at the shutoff valve, the pan and the relief valve line, and explains anything that needs changing before starting.

Removing the old heater. The power is isolated, the water shut off and the old tank drained through a hose to a suitable outlet. The connections are undone, and the tank is carried out whole, by elevator in a condo building.

Setting the new heater. The new tank goes into a pan with a working outlet, with new connectors, a new shutoff valve where the old one is crusted, and a relief valve line run to where it can discharge properly. On a closed system, an expansion tank may be added on the cold line.

Filling and testing. The tank is filled with the taps open until air stops spitting, and only then is the power restored. The technician checks every joint for drips, sets the temperature and explains the controls.

Clearing up. The old heater is taken away for disposal, and the area is left clean. For a standard like-for-like swap in a garage, the work usually takes a few hours, and longer where a pan, valve or expansion tank is added. Learn more about water heater removal and disposal.

Salt air from two lagoons

With the Indian River on one side and the Banana River on the other, few Merritt Island homes are far from open water, and breezes from either direction carry salt. On a heater, brass valves, copper fittings, braided connectors and the relief valve grow a green or white crust, and a joint underneath can weep for months before anyone notices the trail down the jacket. Homes along the canals and the river shores see it soonest, and so do heaters in carport closets or in garages whose doors stay open for long spells. A look at the top of the tank every few months, and renewing crusted parts rather than reusing them at replacement, stops most of these slow leaks. See leaking water heater.

Garage heaters in the heat

A Merritt Island garage is hot and humid for much of the year, which is hard on a heater's surroundings: steel fittings rust, a tank sitting straight on the slab can rust at its base, and a pan that has cracked or has no outlet gives no real protection. At replacement, the installer checks the pan and its drain, the discharge line and the space around the tank, and a leak sensor beside the new heater adds early warning, which matters most when the house is empty for a trip. The same warm garage suits a heat pump unit, which takes heat from the air and uses much less electricity than a standard tank, provided there's height, space around it and a route for condensate. Read more at heat pump water heater installation.

A rotten-egg smell in the hot water

When only the hot water smells of rotten eggs, the cause is commonly associated with sulfate in the water reacting with the tank's anode rod, and it's usually strongest after water has sat in the tank. Running the hot taps for a few minutes may clear it. If it keeps returning, a technician confirms the cause on site and usually fits a less reactive anode. Removing the anode isn't the answer, since the tank then rusts through much sooner. Related: rotten-egg smell in hot water.

Water heater services in Merritt Island

• Removal and Disposal
• Leaking Water Heater
• Water Heater Installation
• Heat Pump Water Heater Installation
• Rotten-Egg Smell in Hot Water

Nearby communities

We also cover Rockledge, Cocoa, Cocoa Beach and the rest of Central Florida.

• Rockledge
• Cape Canaveral
• Cocoa Beach
• Cocoa
• Satellite Beach

Merritt Island water heater questions

In Merritt Island, can a heat pump water heater go in a condo closet?

Not often. A heat pump unit needs a large volume of air around it and a drain for its condensate, and a small closet with a solid door provides neither. Louvered doors or ducting can sometimes solve it. The installer assesses the closet before suggesting one.

In Merritt Island, is a drain pan worth having under the heater?

Yes, particularly in a closet, above finished flooring or over another home. A pan catches a slow leak, but only if its outlet is piped to a drain or outside. Fitting one means lifting the heater, so the easiest time is at replacement.

In Merritt Island, how is an old heater taken out of an upper-floor condo?

The technician drains the tank completely inside the unit, which takes most of its weight away, then wheels it out on a hand truck by elevator or down the stairs, protecting floors and walls. Tell us the floor and any elevator booking when you call.

In Merritt Island, what kinds of water heaters do you see most in this area?

Electric tanks, overwhelmingly, most of them in garages and a few in utility rooms, carport closets or condo closets. Heat pump units are becoming a common choice at replacement in roomy garages, and a few homes have tankless heaters. The installer works with any of them.

In Merritt Island, why is there water around my heat pump water heater?

It may well be condensate. The unit produces water as it dries the air, and if its line blocks or its pump fails, that water ends up on the floor. A wet tank or wet fittings mean a leak instead. A technician can tell which and put it right.

In Merritt Island, what should I find out from the building before a condo replacement?

How contractors check in, the hours when work is permitted, whether the service elevator needs reserving and where a van can park. Many associations also have their own requirements for water heaters, so ask about those and share what you learn when you call.

Our 1960s house has its heater in a carport closet. Is that a problem?

Not in itself, but that spot takes more salt and damp than a closed garage. Check the fittings on top for crust, the base for rust and the closet floor for damp every few months, and make sure the pan has a working outlet.

Do you cover the whole of Merritt Island?

Yes. We cover both ZIP codes, 32952 and 32953, from the canal-front streets in the south to the neighborhoods near State Road 528 and the north end. Give us your address on the call, and we'll match you with a nearby pro.