Water heater repair in Downey, CA

Central Basin groundwater

Unlike many Los Angeles County cities that rely heavily on imported water, Downey runs its own water utility and pumps most of its supply from wells tapping the Central Basin, the large aquifer under the southeast part of the county. The basin is replenished partly by water spread into the Rio Hondo and San Gabriel River spreading grounds near Pico Rivera and Montebello, managed by the Water Replenishment District of Southern California. Imported water from the Metropolitan Water District fills gaps when needed.

Central Basin groundwater is hard, with dissolved calcium and magnesium that come out of solution when water is heated. A Downey gas tank builds a scale layer on its bottom that rumbles and pops as it thickens, and a tankless unit without regular descaling loses efficiency and throws error codes. Many homes here have water softeners or scale-reducing filters for that reason.

The inlet water is warm by national standards, in the low 60s in winter and mid 70s by late summer, so heaters recover quickly. That masks sediment problems for a while, until the tank starts making noise or the burner chamber overheats.

Mid-century homes and garage heaters

Downey grew fast in the 1940s and 1950s, and much of the city is single-story ranch homes on slab foundations from that era. In most of them, the water heater sits in the attached or detached garage, in a closet built onto the back of the house, or in an exterior closet opening onto a side yard. Larger homes in Northwest Downey and near Rio Hondo Country Club tend to put it beside the washer in a laundry room or along the garage's back wall.

Apartments and condos along Firestone Boulevard and Lakewood Boulevard often use shared or individual gas heaters in closets. Downey's famous oldest operating McDonald's, at Lakewood and Florence, dates from the same era as many of the surrounding homes.

The former North American Rockwell plant, where Apollo command modules and later shuttle parts were built, closed in 1999; the land now holds a shopping center, a hospital campus and the Columbia Memorial Space Center. Aerospace workers bought many of the three-bedroom ranches nearby, and a lot of those houses still have original gas piping running to a heater in the same garage corner it has occupied for decades.

Earthquakes and California's strapping rule

California requires every water heater to be braced or strapped against earthquakes. The 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake, centered just to the north, damaged homes and broke gas lines across this part of the county, and a tank that tips over can rupture its gas connector and start a fire. Inspectors in Downey check for two straps anchored into the wall studs and a flexible gas connector.

Older installations, especially in detached garages and outdoor closets, sometimes have plumber's tape instead of proper straps, or straps that have rusted. Correcting that is a quick job and worth doing whether or not the heater is replaced.

The problems plumbers see most in Downey

• Heavy scale in tank bottoms from hard Central Basin water, with popping and slow recovery.
• Tankless units clogged with scale in homes without softeners.
• Corroded outdoor closet installs where the cabinet door has rotted and lets in rain.
• Improper or missing seismic straps on older garage heaters.
• Dripping relief valves where strong street pressure meets a closed system lacking an expansion tank.
• Old gas connectors in 1950s homes that predate flexible stainless lines.

Downey water heater prices

Southeast LA County prices are a little below the Westside and coastal cities. Detached garage installs with long gas runs, a replacement of an outdoor closet, or new gas line sizing for tankless push a job up.

California licensing and Downey permits

California's Contractors State License Board licenses plumbing contractors under the C-36 classification, and any job over a modest threshold must be done by a licensed contractor. CSLB's online lookup shows a license's status, bond and any complaints. Water heater installations also need to meet the state's energy code, which has pushed homes toward more efficient models over the years.

Downey's Building and Safety Division issues plumbing permits for water heater replacements and inspects strapping, venting, relief valve discharge and gas connections. Bellflower, Norwalk, South Gate, Pico Rivera and Santa Fe Springs have their own building offices or contract with Los Angeles County.

Before hiring, look up the CSLB license number and ask whether the Downey permit and inspection are in the quote.

SoCalGas, SCE and efficient heaters

Southern California Gas Company serves Downey's gas heaters, and Southern California Edison provides electricity. If you smell gas, leave and call SoCalGas from outside. Both utilities and regional programs have offered rebates for high-efficiency gas heaters or heat pump water heaters at times, and California has been moving toward heat pump water heaters in its energy policy.

Downey's warm climate suits heat pump water heaters, which can sit in a garage year round with good efficiency. They need a 240-volt circuit, which may require an electrical upgrade in an older home's panel.

Living with hard water

On Downey's hard water, flush a tank once a year to keep scale from building. A tankless unit should be descaled annually with vinegar or a descaling solution, more often without a softener. Softening the whole house, or installing a scale-reduction cartridge, protects the heater, fixtures and appliances and can noticeably extend a tank's life.

Tanks on hard water here typically last 8 to 12 years. If yours is making loud noises and is past eight, replacement is usually the better investment.

Around Downey

Bellflower and Norwalk are served by a mix of city systems and private water companies, with their own permit offices. Pico Rivera and Santa Fe Springs run city water systems, also on Central Basin groundwater. South Gate and Paramount to the west have similar mid-century housing and hard water. Whittier to the northeast has older homes in the hills and its own city utility.

Water heater questions from Downey