“Our heater quit on a Tuesday with five of us in the house. Yaa asked how many showers we take in a morning before she said a word about brands. The new one has not run out once.”
Kimberly H.Homeowner, south Fargo
Water heaters in Fargo
Hot water, sized to the house.
Six people and four baths need a different heater than two people and one. Tell us the house. We tell you the type, the fuel and why.
- Tank, tankless and heat pump
- Gas or electric
- Written price before work starts
Hot water, sized
How many people? How many baths?
Pick your household. It is where we start. Before we write a price we check your gas line, your vent and your January water.
40-gallon tank · gas or electric
2 people, 1 bath
Two showers, a dishwasher and a load of laundry in one morning fit in a 40-gallon tank. It is the simplest heater to install and the easiest to repair.
Fuel: keep the one the house has. A house with no gas line takes electric, which needs no vent.
Or: a heat-pump tank, if the basement has room to share its air.
Watch for: nothing unusual. This is the easy one.
50-gallon tank · gas
3 people, 2 baths
Two showers back to back is the test, and a 50-gallon gas tank passes it. Gas heats the next tankful faster than an electric element can.
Fuel: gas, if the house has a line. Electric works, and it refills more slowly.
Or: a heat-pump tank, if the basement is roomy and you can live with a slower refill in January.
Watch for: a tank that is too tall or too wide for its closet. We measure first.
Tankless · gas, sized for winter water
4 people, 2 or 3 baths
This is where a tankless starts to earn its place. It heats as you use it, so a long run of showers does not empty a tank. We size it for January, when the water coming in is coldest.
Fuel: gas. An electric tankless this size usually asks for more power than a panel has to spare.
Or: a 75-gallon gas tank, if you would rather keep a tank.
Watch for: the gas line and the vent. A tankless often needs a bigger line and its own vent through the wall.
Large tankless with a return line · gas
5 people, 3 baths
Five people want hot water in the same hour. A large tankless keeps up, and a return line sends hot water to the far bathroom without the long wait.
Fuel: gas.
Or: two tanks, one for each end of the house.
Watch for: the return line and the drain for the tankless's condensate. Both need to stay away from anything that freezes.
Two heaters, one for each end · gas
6 people, 4 baths
Instead of one very big heater and a very long pipe, two heaters shorten the wait at both ends of the house. If one stops on a January morning, the other still runs.
Fuel: gas, on both.
Mix: two tanks, two tankless, or one of each. The layout of your pipes decides.
Watch for: two vents, and a gas line that can feed both at once.
Tank or tankless
Two heaters, in a Fargo winter
Neither one wins. They are different in January, and the house picks.
| Tankless | Tank | |
|---|---|---|
| Hot water at once | TanklessNo tank to empty. The limit is how much water it can heat each minute. | TankA full tank, then a wait while it heats the next one. |
| January water | TanklessColder water in means less hot water out, so we size it for the cold month. | TankColder water in means a slower refill. |
| Space | TanklessA box on the wall, with a vent and sometimes a bigger gas line. | TankA cylinder that needs a closet-sized corner. |
| When it fails | TanklessOften a part or a flush. The unit can be repaired. | TankUsually a leak at the bottom. The tank is done. |
| Upkeep | TanklessFlush it for scale. Fargo-area water runs hard. | TankFlush it, and have the anode rod checked. |
What we do
Put in, looked after, kept running
Water heaters are all we do, so we do them every day.
The van
The common sizes ride in the van.
Our install van carries the tank sizes and fittings most Fargo houses use. When yours is on that list, the old heater can leave and the new one can go in on the same visit. When it isn't, we tell you what has to be ordered and when it will be here.
The old heater hauled away
New connectors and a new shutoff valve
The permit, where your city asks for one
A hot-water test before we leave
From people who were out of hot water
“I thought I wanted tankless. They explained what January water does to one and showed me where the vent would go. We put in a tank and I am glad we did.”
Calvin R.Homeowner, West Fargo
“They flushed our tankless and showed me the scale that came out of it. Now the next flush is on my calendar.”
Anita G.Homeowner, Horace
Sample reviews.
Questions before the call
Gas or electric?
Keep the fuel you have unless there is a reason to change. Gas heats faster. Electric needs no vent and no gas line. If you are thinking of switching, we write both prices on paper first.
How long does a replacement take?
A tank swap usually takes a morning when the new one is on the van. A tankless install or a change of fuel takes longer, since it can mean a new vent, gas line or circuit. We tell you before we start.
My heater is leaking. What now?
If you smell gas, leave the house, call your gas utility, then call us. Otherwise shut the cold water valve above the heater, turn off its power at the breaker or its gas control, and call. The services page has the steps.
Do you take the old heater away?
Yes. Hauling it away is part of the estimate unless the estimate says otherwise.
Does a heat-pump heater work in Fargo?
It can, in a basement with room to share its air. It pulls heat out of the room, so it cools the space a little, and in a cold January basement it leans on its electric elements. We look at the room before we say yes.
Do you pull permits?
Where your city asks for a permit, we pull it, and it is its own line on the estimate.
Where the van goes
Fargo and the towns around it
Cass County, North Dakota. If your town is close but not on the list, call and ask before you assume.
Cass County
- Fargo
- West Fargo
- Harwood
- Horace
- Mapleton
- Casselton
- Kindred
- Argusville
- Gardner
- Briarwood
- Reiles Acres
- Wheatland
We stay in Cass County, North Dakota. We don't take jobs on the Minnesota side of the river (Moorhead, Dilworth) or outside the county.
ZIP codes: 58102, 58103, 58104, 58078, 58047, 58042, 58059, 58012, 58051, 58005
Send the details
Tell us about your heater
The label on the side of a heater tells us its age, size and fuel. Send a photo of it with your street, and we call you back with questions or a plan.
Phone(701) 555-0100
Hours
- Monday – FridayToday
- 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- SaturdayToday
- 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.
- SundayToday
- Closed