Water heater repair in Pueblo, CO

Arkansas River water and what it leaves behind

Pueblo Water, governed by the Board of Water Works, takes its supply from the Arkansas River, with Pueblo Reservoir upstream of town storing native river flows and water brought across the Continental Divide through the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project. By the time the Arkansas reaches Pueblo it has picked up a load of dissolved minerals from the Upper Arkansas Valley, and treated city water ends up distinctly hard.

Inside a heater, Pueblo's river minerals turn into scale at a remarkable rate. A gas tank in a Belmont or Northside house can collect a layer of chalky deposits an inch or more deep if it goes years without being drained. Such a crust sits between flame and water, burns extra gas, overheats the tank bottom and makes the familiar popping and banging sound when the heater fires. Electric elements in Pueblo grow a stony coat and often fail years earlier than they would on soft water.

The warm summer inlet temperature is a mixed blessing. The heater does less work in July, but hot weather and hard water together speed up scaling on any tankless unit, and many plumbers in Pueblo recommend descaling every six to twelve months, plus a water softener for anyone serious about tankless.

Steel-town houses and where the heater lives

Pueblo's housing tells the story of the steel mill. The Bessemer neighborhood beside the old CF&I works, now operated by EVRAZ, is packed with small brick and frame homes built for mill families, many with shallow basements or crawlspaces and water heaters in a corner of the cellar or a back porch closet. The Eastside and Northside hold similar early 20th century homes, while Mesa Junction and the Union Avenue Historic District near downtown include larger Victorians and brick four-squares with full basements.

Neighborhoods such as Belmont near Colorado State University Pueblo, the Regency and El Camino areas and the streets around the Pueblo Country Club were mostly built from the 1950s through the 1970s, with ranch homes and heaters in utility rooms or garages. Newer houses on the north side and in the fast-growing parts of Pueblo West usually have a 50-gallon gas tank in an attached garage.

Older basements in Bessemer and the Eastside can be damp, and some still have heaters sitting directly on the concrete without a pan or stand. Rust spreads from the base up, so a heater in those spots is worth lifting onto a block or a stand during the next replacement.

Heat, wind and the occasional deep freeze

Pueblo is one of the warmer places in Colorado, with long summers that regularly push toward 100 degrees. A heater in an unvented garage can see surrounding air above 100 degrees on summer afternoons, which strains the controls and plastic parts on power-vent and electronic-ignition models. In winter, though, arctic fronts still dive south along the Front Range, and a few nights a year drop well below zero.

Strong canyon and plains winds sweep through, particularly in spring, and exterior vent terminations on garage or back-porch heaters can let gusts blow out a pilot. At roughly 4,700 feet, gas burners need correct high-altitude rating, though the adjustment is smaller than in Colorado Springs or the mountains. Replacement burner parts should still match the heater's altitude specification.

The problems plumbers see most in Pueblo

• Thick scale and banging in gas tanks on hard Arkansas River water. Flushing steps are in our sediment and noise guide.
• Burned-out electric elements coated in mineral crust, common in Pueblo West and older rentals. Our element replacement page explains testing.
• Rusted tank bottoms on heaters sitting on damp basement floors in Bessemer and the Eastside.
• Clogged tankless heat exchangers that were never descaled.
• Pilot outages on porch and garage heaters during spring wind storms.
• Leaking relief valves that stick from mineral buildup and then drip continuously.

Typical water heater prices in Pueblo

Pueblo labor rates are lower than in Denver or Colorado Springs. Bessemer and Eastside basements with tight stairs, heaters that need new gas piping, and Pueblo West homes far out on rural lots tend to push costs up a bit.

Regional permits and Colorado plumber licenses

Pueblo is unusual in that the Pueblo Regional Building Department handles permits and inspections for both the city and most of Pueblo County, including Pueblo West. A water heater replacement needs a permit through that department, and its inspector looks at the gas line and shutoff, the venting, clearances, the relief valve drain and whether a pan or expansion tank is needed.

Plumbers themselves are licensed by the state of Colorado. The Colorado State Plumbing Board, administered within DORA's Division of Professional and Occupational Regulation, issues individual licenses at residential, journeyman and master levels, and plumbing contractors register their businesses with the state as well. The state's online lookup lets a Pueblo homeowner check both the worker and the company before signing a quote.

Black Hills Energy and running costs

Black Hills Energy supplies electricity in Pueblo and natural gas to many homes in the area. Electric rates in Pueblo have been a frequent local topic, and some homeowners with electric water heaters notice the cost. Black Hills has offered efficiency rebates at times on qualifying equipment, so check current programs before replacing a heater.

In Pueblo's warm climate, a heat pump unit tends to do fine in a garage most of the year, since the surrounding air stays mild through much of spring, summer and fall. Pulling heat out of the air also takes the edge off a stuffy July garage. For a basement in the older neighborhoods, gas usually remains the simplest and cheapest option to run.

Softeners, flushing and the life of a Pueblo tank

Because Arkansas River water is so mineral-laden, a whole-house water softener is common in Pueblo and pays off in water heater life. Even with one, drain the tank thoroughly at least once a year; without one, twice a year is better, especially in older homes where heaters have gone untouched for years. If the first gallons out of the drain valve are milky with white flakes, the flush is overdue.

A tank that bangs loudly, leaks at the base or is past ten years old in Pueblo is usually headed for a new Pueblo install rather than repair. Younger tanks with a bad thermocouple, element or relief valve are worth fixing, and a thorough flush after the repair often restores much of the lost capacity.

Around Pueblo

Pueblo West is a large unincorporated community with its own metropolitan district water system, served by the regional building department. The St. Charles Mesa east of the city has its own water district, and some rural homes rely on wells with even harder water. Cañon City and Florence up the Arkansas, Colorado City and Rye to the south, and Avondale and Boone to the east each have their own water and permit arrangements.

Water heater questions from Pueblo