Hot water tank replacement in North Vancouver
Leaking, rusty or simply out of hot water. We keep common sizes on hand, so a same-day or next-day swap is usually possible.
When a tank is telling you it's finished
Hot water tanks give reasonable notice. The signs worth acting on:
- Water pooling underneath. If it's coming from the tank body rather than a fitting, the tank is done — the inner lining has corroded through and it can't be repaired.
- Rusty or discoloured hot water, particularly if the cold runs clear. That's the tank corroding internally.
- Running out of hot water sooner than it used to, which usually means sediment has built up and is taking up volume the water used to occupy.
- Rumbling or popping while heating — sediment on the bottom, water boiling underneath it.
- Age. Most tanks run 8 to 12 years. Past 12, replacing on your schedule beats replacing on the tank's.
Close the valve on the cold water inlet at the top of the tank — that stops it refilling. For a gas tank, turn the control to "off" or "pilot". For electric, switch off the breaker so the elements can't run dry.
Then call us. Leaking tanks are treated as urgent, because they get worse.
Repair or replace
Some things on a tank are genuinely repairable, and we'll do that where it makes sense. A failed thermocouple, a gas control valve, a heating element or thermostat on an electric tank, a leaking temperature and pressure relief valve — all replaceable, all reasonable on a tank with life left in it.
What can't be repaired is the tank itself. Once the vessel is leaking, no amount of work will bring it back, and anyone who tells you otherwise is taking your money. The rule of thumb we work to: if the tank is under eight years old and the failure is a component, repair it. If it's over ten, or the vessel is leaking, replace it.
Sizing it properly
Most North Vancouver houses are on a 40 or 50 gallon tank, and most townhomes and apartments on 30 or 40. Bigger isn't automatically better — an oversized tank keeps a larger volume hot around the clock whether you use it or not.
What matters more than household size is how your peak demand clusters. Three people showering in the same half hour draw more than five people spread across the morning. If you consistently run out, moving up one size usually solves it. If you never run short, there's no reason to.
Tank or tankless?
Tankless units heat on demand, so they don't run out and they don't stand there losing heat all day. They take up less space, and they last longer — often 20 years against a tank's 8 to 12.
The honest counterpoints: they cost meaningfully more to buy and install, they often need a larger gas line and different venting, and in a hard-water area they need periodic descaling to keep the warranty valid. There's also a short delay before hot water arrives, and low-flow taps can sometimes fail to trigger the burner at all.
For a straight like-for-like replacement on a budget, a tank is usually the sensible call. If you're renovating anyway, short on space, or tired of running out, tankless earns its cost over time. We'll price both.
What a compliant installation includes
A replacement isn't just lifting one tank out and setting another down. Done to current BC code, it includes seismic strapping — two straps, upper and lower third, which is a requirement here and something we still find missing on older installs. It also includes a correctly rated temperature and pressure relief valve with its discharge piped to a safe termination, a drain pan with a drain where the tank sits above a finished space, and an expansion tank where the system is closed.
For gas tanks, venting has to be correct for the appliance and the chimney or vent it's connected to, and a permit is required. We pull it and handle the inspection. We also take the old tank away and recycle it rather than leaving it at the side of your house.
Leaking tank? Shut the inlet valve and call.
We stock common sizes and can usually swap it same day or next.