Water heater repair in Hawthorne, CA

Three water providers in one small city

Hawthorne covers only about six square miles, but its water comes through more than one utility. The City of Hawthorne owns a water system serving part of town; for many years California Water Service operated it under a lease with the city, and the city has since moved toward running service and billing more directly. Golden State Water Company, whose Southwest district stretches across the South Bay, serves other Hawthorne neighborhoods, and Cal Water serves some addresses through its own system. Two houses on the same block can have different suppliers, so the name on the bill is what counts.

Whatever the provider, much of the supply is MWD water handed off through the West Basin Municipal Water District after treatment at MWD's regional filtration plants. Local wells draw from the West Coast Basin, an aquifer managed partly by injecting treated water along seawater barriers near the coast to keep the ocean from pushing inland.

The blend is moderately hard to hard. Colorado River water in particular carries a lot of dissolved calcium, and Hawthorne tanks collect a sandy layer on the bottom over the years. Tankless units in apartments often go years without service until they start shutting down on overheat codes.

Apartments, cottages and the heaters inside them

Hawthorne is a city of renters, with apartment buildings lining Prairie, Hawthorne and Inglewood avenues. Many of those buildings are two-story stucco complexes from the 1960s and 1970s. Some use a single large commercial heater or boiler in a ground-floor room feeding every unit; others put a 30 or 40 gallon tank in each apartment's closet or on a balcony enclosure. A failure in a central system can leave an entire building without hot water, and repairs often need to go through the property manager.

Single-family neighborhoods such as Holly Park, Hollyglen and Moneta Gardens have small houses from the 1940s and 1950s, many built for aircraft workers. In these, the heater usually sits in a detached or attached garage, in a laundry nook behind the kitchen, or in a little stucco closet on the side of the house. The original gas lines and venting are often still in place, and some exterior closets have doors that have warped or rusted through.

SpaceX, the airport and the aerospace corridor

Hawthorne's identity has been tied to aircraft since Northrop opened its plant here before World War II. The company's old Hawthorne facilities, along Crenshaw Boulevard and Jack Northrop Avenue near the municipal airport, became SpaceX's headquarters and rocket factory in the 2000s. The Beach Boys grew up a few blocks away, and a monument marks the site of the Wilson family home.

For homeowners, the aerospace corridor brings steady demand for rentals and quick turnover, which is part of why water heaters in Hawthorne apartments are often older and less maintained than in owner-occupied homes. A tenant who moves in may not know when the heater was last serviced, or even where the shutoff valve is. Owners of Hawthorne fourplexes can save themselves midnight calls by labeling each unit's valve and keeping a simple service log taped to the closet door.

Earthquake rules and Hawthorne heaters

The Newport-Inglewood fault runs just east of Hawthorne, and the 1933 Long Beach earthquake on that fault damaged buildings across the South Bay. State code makes seismic bracing mandatory on Hawthorne tanks, and the city's inspectors look for two straps anchored into studs and a flexible gas connector.

Apartment closets are a common trouble spot. Tanks are sometimes strapped to drywall alone, or the straps were removed during a past repair and never replaced. A loose tank in a second-floor unit is a hazard to the units below if a quake tips it.

The problems plumbers see most in Hawthorne

• Central boiler or commercial heater failures that leave a whole apartment building without hot water.
• Leaking closet tanks in upstairs apartments, often found when water drips through the ceiling below.
• Sediment buildup in tanks that have never been flushed on hard imported water.
• Rusted exterior closet doors and cabinets on cottages in Holly Park and Moneta Gardens.
• Improper strapping in apartment closets and balcony enclosures.
• Pilots that keep going out on worn-out tanks in Hawthorne fourplexes.

Hawthorne water heater costs

Hawthorne's single-family repairs run close to the rest of the South Bay. Apartment work varies more, since second-floor closets, tight access and commercial equipment take more time and parts.

Permits and plumber licensing in Hawthorne

Hawthorne's Building and Safety Division, housed within its planning and community development offices, permits every heater swap in town. Its inspectors walk through the straps, flue, relief line and gas fitting, and on apartment jobs may also look over the mechanical room and combustion air.

Hawthorne plumbers need a live C-36 from the CSLB, and landlords with multi-unit buildings may want to confirm that the contractor has experience with commercial heaters. Tenants who need a repair should contact the property manager first, since the owner is usually responsible for hiring the plumber.

Utilities and upgrades

SoCalGas supplies natural gas in Hawthorne, and Southern California Edison provides electricity. If you smell gas around a heater, get everyone out and call SoCalGas from outside. Heat pump and high-efficiency gas rebates have appeared at times through those two companies and through state programs.

Heat pump water heaters suit Hawthorne's mild climate, but apartment closets may be too small for the airflow they need. In single-family homes, a garage is usually the best location. Owners of multi-unit buildings considering an upgrade should consult a plumber familiar with central systems.

Around Hawthorne

Lawndale and Gardena border Hawthorne to the south and east, each issuing permits through City Hall and getting water from Golden State Water or Cal Water depending on the street. Inglewood, just north, operates a municipal water department. El Segundo and Manhattan Beach to the west have their own water and permit offices, and unincorporated Lennox is permitted through Los Angeles County.

Water heater questions from Hawthorne