Water Heater Repair and Replacement in Wilton Manors, Oakland Park and Central Neighborhoods

What's in this district

This district takes in Wilton Manors, Oakland Park and the Cypress Creek area to the north, the neighborhoods north-west and south-west of downtown, and Riverland and the streets along the South Fork of the New River. It's largely single-family: concrete-block ranch homes from the postwar decades, with scattered duplexes, small apartment buildings and newer infill houses. Around Cypress Creek there are also office parks and newer apartment complexes.

The water heater questions here are mostly about age and space. Heaters sit in attached garages, carports, utility rooms and interior closets, and many homes have had several heaters in the same spot over the decades, each squeezed into a space sized for the first.

Local installers take Wilton Manors, Oakland Park and Central Neighborhoods calls from 33305, 33334, 33309, 33311, 33312 and 33315.

Finding out how old your heater is

In this district more than most, the first useful step is simply to find out how old the heater is. It's rarely obvious. Owners inherit heaters when they buy a house, landlords lose track across several properties, and a tank in a closet is easy to forget for fifteen years.

The rating label on the side of the tank holds the answer. Most manufacturers build the manufacture date into the serial number, usually as a year plus a month or week, though each brand uses its own format. Photograph the label or read the serial out when you call, and the technician can work it out. Some installers also write the install date on the tank. Nothing needs to be opened to find any of this.

Heaters in interior closets

Many homes here have the heater in a closet off a hallway, bathroom or kitchen rather than in a garage. That's fine while the heater is sound, but it changes what a failure costs. A leak in a garage runs across concrete; a leak in a closet soaks into flooring, baseboards and the wall behind. Three things make a real difference in a closet:

• A drain pan with a working outlet, so a slow leak is carried away rather than spreading. Older closets often have no pan, or a pan with nowhere for its outlet to go.
• A relief valve discharge line that ends somewhere sensible, not inside the closet or under the house.
• A leak detector on the closet floor that raises the alarm early.

Adding a pan under an existing heater means draining and lifting it, so it's often done at replacement time. See drain pan and overflow protection.

Signs a heater here is near the end

• Rusty or brown hot water, when the cold runs clear.
• Popping or rumbling as the heater runs, from sediment built up over years.
• Rust or moisture around the base or the bottom seam of the tank.
• Corrosion on the fittings at the top.
• Hot water running out sooner than it used to.

Water from the tank body or bottom seam means call today, because that can't be repaired. The others mean call soon. See leaking water heater if water is already showing.

Repair or replace in an older home

On a heater that's fairly young with a sound tank, a failed element, thermostat or valve is worth repairing. On a heater well past its tenth year, the calculation shifts: the repair may be modest, but the tank behind it is ageing, and in a closet the cost of a sudden failure is high. A good technician gives you both prices and explains the trade-off rather than pushing one.

Replacement in an older home can also mean a little more work: a model that fits the existing closet, new connectors, a proper drain pan and a corrected relief valve line. That's normally included in the price you're given before work starts. See replacement.

Duplexes and small apartment buildings

Scattered through the district are duplexes, triplexes and small apartment buildings, often with a separate compact heater for each unit. Owners and managers of these buildings deal with heaters of mixed ages across units and hear about problems secondhand from tenants. A simple record of each unit's heater age, and telling tenants where the shutoff valve is, saves time and water. We can connect a pro who coordinates access with the tenant and agrees the price with the owner. See rental service.

Tripped breakers and electric faults

Nearly all heaters here are electric. A heater that stops heating and has tripped its breaker usually has an electrical fault, often a shorted element; one that stops heating without tripping anything may have a failed element, a thermostat or a tripped high-limit cutoff. In older homes, the wiring to the heater and the connections at it are worth checking too. Report a tripped breaker rather than resetting it repeatedly. See electric water heater repair.

If the hot water smells

Homes here are on municipal water, so the rotten-egg smell common on private wells is less frequent. It does appear, usually in a heater that has sat unused, such as a unit between tenants, or where the anode rod has reacted with the water. When only the hot side smells, an anode change usually solves it. See the rotten-egg smell guide.

Other Fort Lauderdale districts

• Downtown, Las Olas and the Beaches

  Downtown towers, Las Olas and the Isles, Victoria Park, Coral Ridge, Galt Ocean Mile and Harbor BeachZIP codes 33301, 33394, 33304, 33306, 33308 and 33316

• Plantation, Sunrise, Lauderhill and Tamarac

  Plantation, Sunrise, Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes and TamaracZIP codes 33313, 33317, 33319, 33321, 33322, 33323, 33324 and 33351

• Davie, Weston and Southwest Ranches

  Davie, Weston and Southwest RanchesZIP codes 33314, 33325, 33326, 33327, 33328, 33330, 33331 and 33332

Or return to the Fort Lauderdale overview.

Services most used here

• Drain Pan and Overflow Protection
• Pressure Relief Valve Service
• Electric Water Heater Repair
• Commercial Water Heater Service

Wilton Manors, Oakland Park and central Fort Lauderdale questions

How can I find the age of the water heater in my Wilton Manors home?

Look at the rating label on the side of the tank. The manufacture date is usually coded into the serial number, often as a year plus a month or week, though formats vary by brand. Photograph it or read it out when you call, and the technician can decode it for you.

My Oakland Park home's heater is in a hallway closet. Should I worry?

Not if it's sound, but a closet heater deserves more attention than one in a garage, because a leak spreads into flooring and walls. Check its age, make sure there's a drain pan with a working outlet, and consider a leak detector. An older closet heater is a good candidate for planned replacement.

Will a new water heater fit in the closet of my 1950s house?

Often, but not always with much room to spare. Closets in older homes were built for smaller tanks. The installer measures the space and the door, then recommends a model that fits with room for connections and a drain pan. Occasionally a slightly different capacity is the practical choice.

Is it worth repairing a 15-year-old water heater in central Fort Lauderdale?

Usually only if the fault is small and the tank is clean and dry. At that age, particularly in a closet, the risk of a tank failure is the bigger concern. Ask the technician for both a repair and a replacement price so you can weigh them on the same visit.

I own a duplex near Wilton Manors. Can you deal with my tenants directly?

Yes. Give us the property, your details and the tenant's. The technician coordinates access with the tenant and agrees the price with you before starting. Keeping a note of each unit's heater age helps the technician prepare and helps you plan replacements.

My heater's relief valve pipe ends inside the closet. Is that a problem?

It's worth having looked at. The discharge line should carry released water to an appropriate place where it won't cause damage and could be noticed. The rules on routing depend on where you live, and a technician can check yours and correct it, often as part of a replacement.

Why does my water heater trip the breaker in my older Oakland Park house?

A breaker that trips usually means an electrical fault, most often a shorted heating element, sometimes wiring or connection damage. In older homes the wiring to the heater is worth checking too. Report it when you call rather than resetting it repeatedly, and the technician will trace the cause.

Can a drain pan be added under my existing closet water heater?

Yes, but the heater has to be drained, disconnected and lifted into the pan, then reconnected and refilled, and the pan's drain line needs somewhere to go. It's often simplest to add one at replacement time, unless the current heater is fairly new.