Water heater repair in Sunrise, FL

A city that runs its own water and gas

The City of Sunrise Utilities Department operates several wellfields and three water treatment plants. The Springtree plant in the eastern part of the city has long used lime softening and filtration. The Sawgrass plant in the west relies on membrane softening paired with an ion exchange process. The Southwest plant, which serves the area the city supplies toward Davie and Southwest Ranches, uses lime softening and has been through a major rehabilitation in recent years.

All three draw from the Biscayne Aquifer, a limestone formation that produces hard, slightly colored raw water. After softening, Sunrise water is gentle enough that scale is a secondary concern for most heaters, though eastern neighborhoods on lime-softened water may still see a light crust on elements after several years.

The city also owns the Sunrise Gas System, which sells natural gas to roughly 10,000 homes and businesses in Sunrise, Tamarac, Lauderhill and parts of Weston. It is the only city-owned gas utility in South Florida. If your bill shows a gas line item from the city rather than from TECO Peoples Gas, your gas heater is on the municipal system, and gas emergencies go to the Sunrise gas office.

Golf Village ranches, 55-plus condos and western subdivisions

Sunrise began in the early 1960s as Sunrise Golf Village, a planned development of modest single-story homes around a golf course west of State Road 7. Those houses, and the 1970s neighborhoods that followed around Nob Hill Road and Sunrise Boulevard, are concrete block with a carport or one-car garage. Their heaters sit in a closet opening onto the carport or beside the washer, and many of them are gas because the city's own mains ran through these streets early.

Sunrise Lakes and other 55-plus condominium communities in the city's middle hold thousands of garden-style units, each with a small electric tank in a closet. Ground-floor and upper units share walls and ceilings, so a failure rarely stays in one apartment. Associations in these communities often keep a list of approved contractors and ask owners to replace aging tanks before they fail.

West of University Drive, Springtree, Welleby and the subdivisions near Sawgrass Mills and the hockey arena date mostly to the 1980s and 1990s. These are larger block homes with two-car garages, where a 50-gallon tank stands in a corner of the garage. Newer townhomes and apartments near the Sawgrass Expressway add stacked electric units in interior closets.

Gas heaters on the municipal system

Because Sunrise sells gas directly, more homes here run gas water heaters than in most Broward cities. Atmospheric-vent gas tanks from the 1980s and 1990s are common in the eastern neighborhoods, and they need a clear flue, a working draft hood and enough combustion air in the closet. Plumbers find closets that were later sealed tight during a remodel, starving the burner and leaving soot on the top of the tank.

The city's gas utility has promoted natural gas appliances at times, including water heaters. Ask the gas office about any current programs before choosing between a gas tank, a gas tankless unit or an electric heater. Any gas odor around the heater closet means getting everyone outside and phoning the city's gas emergency number, not hunting for the source.

Weather and power in western Broward

Florida Power & Light supplies electricity across Sunrise. Western Sunrise borders the Everglades conservation areas, and afternoon storms that build over the sawgrass in summer drop heavy lightning on the neighborhoods near the expressway. Electric heaters there see more surge-damaged thermostats and elements than tanks closer to the coast.

Wilma in 2005 left parts of Sunrise without power for more than a week, and Irma in 2017 caused long outages across Broward. Since an ordinary pilot-lit tank burns gas without drawing on FPL at all, it kept showers hot through those blackouts, and that memory keeps many Sunrise households loyal to gas. Owners of electric tanks can flip the heater breaker off until FPL crews have the neighborhood stable again.

The problems plumbers see most in Sunrise

• Pilot and thermocouple failures on older gas tanks fed by the city gas system.
• Starved combustion air in carport closets sealed up during remodels.
• Shared-wall leaks in Sunrise Lakes and other garden condos.
• Light scale on elements in eastern areas served by lime-softened water.
• Lightning-damaged controls in western homes near the Everglades edge.
• Worn relief valves on 1980s and 1990s garage tanks near Sawgrass Mills.

For a gas heater whose flame keeps going out, see fixing a pilot that won't hold. Water around the base points to a dripping or weeping tank.

Typical water heater prices in Sunrise

Prices in Sunrise track the rest of central Broward. Gas jobs cost more than electric ones because the vent and gas connection must be checked and sometimes rebuilt, and condo work adds time for association approvals and tight closets.

Permits and licensing in Sunrise

The City of Sunrise Building Division permits water heater replacements, both gas and electric. Broward County's Board of Rules and Appeals adopts local amendments to the Florida Building Code, and Sunrise inspectors apply them. For a gas heater, expect the inspection to cover the vent, the gas connection and shutoff, and combustion air, as well as the pan and relief valve line.

Florida's DBPR licenses plumbing contractors statewide, and Broward also issues competency cards for some registered trades. Only a gas-licensed contractor should touch lines on the city system, and the Sunrise gas utility may need to be involved if a meter or service line is affected.

Gas or electric for a Sunrise replacement

If the house already has city gas, a new gas tank is usually the simplest swap and keeps hot water flowing during outages. A gas tankless unit saves space and provides continuous hot water, but it typically needs a larger gas line, a new stainless or PVC vent and a dedicated outlet.

Homes without gas, including most condos, stay electric. In a garage with room around it, a heat pump water heater uses far less electricity than a standard tank and handles Sunrise's warm air well. In a cramped condo closet, a standard electric tank of the same size is usually the only practical option.

Upkeep for Sunrise heaters

Gas tanks benefit from a yearly look at the burner, flue and draft. Dust and lint from a nearby dryer collect on the burner screen and cause a lazy yellow flame. Electric tanks need the relief valve tested and the drain valve opened briefly each year to clear sediment, especially in the eastern areas on lime-softened water.

Around Sunrise

Plantation to the south runs its own membrane-softening water plants and building department. Tamarac and Lauderhill to the north each permit separately, and parts of both buy gas from Sunrise. Weston to the southwest gets water from several providers, and its Bonaventure area is on Sunrise gas. Davie and Southwest Ranches receive Sunrise water in some neighborhoods but issue their own permits.

Water heater questions from Sunrise