Water heating
Hot water sized for a hard water county, tank or tankless
From traditional tank models to energy efficient tankless systems, we install, maintain and repair water heaters to meet the actual hot water demand of your house, not a generic size chart.
Chapter 01
Tank or tankless, and what the water here decides
Grand Traverse Region water carries enough hardness to scale up a heating element over the years, and that changes how each type of water heater ages. A tank has a simpler job and a lower upfront cost, and it tends to suit larger households or houses where a soaking tub or a run of back to back loads is normal. A tankless unit costs more to install but heats on demand instead of storing, and it is far less forgiving of skipped maintenance in hard water conditions.
Both are real answers for real houses. Water heater installation covers whichever type actually fits the household, and we say so plainly rather than defaulting to whichever unit is easier to sell.
Navien tankless boiler with a radiant manifold, finished install
Navien venting and gas sizing, the two things that quietly fail a retrofit
Swapping a tank for a tankless unit is not a straight replacement. Tankless heaters need their own venting, usually a different diameter and routing than the old tank ever used, and they draw more gas on demand than a tank does, which means the existing gas line has to be checked, not assumed. Those two details are exactly where a tankless retrofit quietly fails when nobody checks them first.
We are a Navien service and installation specialist, and tankless water heater installation always starts with a look at the vent path and the gas meter before anything gets quoted. Getting it right the first time is the whole point of the certification.
Chapter 03
Recovery rate versus capacity, why a smaller tankless can outsupply a bigger tank
A forty gallon tank runs out at forty gallons, no matter how the day is going. A tankless unit does not store hot water at all, it heats it as it passes through, so what matters is recovery rate, how many gallons per minute it can produce, not a stored capacity number. A well sized tankless unit can keep up with back to back showers and a load of laundry running at the same time, which is where a similarly priced tank would run cold.
That is also why sizing a tankless unit off the old tank's gallon rating is the wrong comparison. We size to fixture count and simultaneous use, which is the number that actually predicts whether the house runs out of hot water.
When it is a repair call, not a replacement
No hot water, rust colored water, or a rumbling or popping sound from a tank are three different problems with three different fixes, and none of them automatically means a new unit. Sediment buildup on a tank, a failed ignition module on a tankless unit, and a bad thermostat are all repairable, and water heater repair starts with figuring out which one it actually is.
In winter a water heater failure does not wait for a convenient day, so we get to repair calls quickly and tell you honestly whether the unit is worth fixing again or has reached the end of it.
Free quotes on installation, and repair calls when the water will not wait. Call (231) 888-0293.
From our jobs
Two water heaters, two different houses
