Water heater repair in Columbia, MO

Wells at McBaine and the Missouri River

Columbia does not take water straight from a river intake. Columbia Water and Light runs a field of wells in the sand and gravel of the Missouri River floodplain southwest of town near McBaine, close to the Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area. The river and the alluvial aquifer beneath it recharge those wells, and the water is pumped to the McBaine treatment plant, where lime softening takes out much of the hardness before it travels the miles of transmission main into the city.

Raw alluvial water in central Missouri is hard and carries iron and manganese, so the softening and filtration matter a great deal. What comes out of a Columbia faucet is moderately hard. Over several years it lays down a chalky blanket over the burner end of a gas tank, and heavy users of tankless heaters see scale build on the heat exchanger if no one descales it.

Student rentals, old neighborhoods and new subdivisions

Columbia's housing is shaped by the University of Missouri, Stephens College and Columbia College. Around campus, the East Campus, Benton-Stephens and North Central neighborhoods are packed with early twentieth century houses converted into student rentals, and many basements hold one or two aging tanks serving several bedrooms. Old Southwest, near Rollins Field and Fairview Road, has larger brick and stone homes with basement heaters that often share a chimney with the furnace.

Growth to the south and east has produced subdivisions such as Thornbrook, Old Hawthorne and the neighborhoods off Scott Boulevard, where heaters typically sit in an unfinished basement corner or a garage. Many newer homes and duplexes on the city's edges use electric tanks or heat pump units, depending on whether gas reached the street when they were built.

Mizzou rentals and the August rush

Every August, thousands of students move into Columbia rentals at once, and every shower in a five-bedroom house runs in the same hour before class. Tanks that sat almost unused over summer break suddenly show their age: pilots that went out in June, relief valves that stuck, and sediment that stirs up and clogs aerators. Landlords who schedule service in July avoid the late-August backlog, when plumbers are juggling move-in emergencies.

For a house with four or more tenants, a single 40-gallon tank is rarely enough. Owners near campus often move to a 75-gallon high-input gas heater, a pair of tanks, or a tankless system sized for several simultaneous showers. Separate heaters in duplexes and split houses also mean one failure does not leave every tenant calling at once.

Columbia's climate

Mid-Missouri has hot, humid summers and winters that bring several hard freezes and the occasional week near zero. Basement heaters rarely freeze, but supply lines in crawl spaces, garages and exterior walls can, and a tankless unit mounted outside or in an unheated garage needs freeze protection and power to keep its heating elements running.

Spring brings severe thunderstorms and, at times, tornado warnings across Boone County. Heavy rain overwhelms gutters and grading, and basements along Hinkson Creek and the city's other creeks can take on water. A heater whose burner or gas valve got wet should be checked before anyone relights it.

The problems plumbers see most in Columbia

• Exhausted tanks in student houses around East Campus and Benton-Stephens when several roommates shower back to back.
• Pilots out after summer vacancy in rentals that sat empty from May to August.
• Back-drafting chimney vents in Old Southwest basements after the furnace was swapped for a high-efficiency model.
• Sediment buildup from the fine mineral silt that softened McBaine water still leaves behind.
• Dripping relief valves where a tenant cranked the thermostat or the line has no working expansion tank.
• Wet burners after spring storms in basements near Hinkson Creek and other low spots.

Typical water heater prices in Columbia

Columbia prices are moderate for Missouri. Steep basement stairs in older campus-area houses, chimney liner work and late-August emergency calls in student rentals tend to raise the final bill.

Columbia plumbing licenses and permits

Missouri leaves plumber licensing to local governments, so Columbia runs its own program. The City of Columbia licenses master and journeyman plumbers and issues plumbing permits through its Community Development department's building and site development division. Replacing a water heater inside city limits requires a permit and an inspection of the venting, gas piping and relief valve setup.

A plumber licensed in Kansas City or St. Louis is not automatically licensed in Columbia, so ask to see the Columbia license before work starts. Homes outside city limits in Boone County follow county building rules, which differ from the city's.

Electric and gas providers

Columbia is one of the Missouri cities that owns its electric utility. Columbia Water and Light supplies electricity to most of the city, while some areas, including parts annexed over the years, are served by Boone Electric Cooperative or Ameren Missouri. Spire delivers natural gas, and most older homes near downtown heat water with gas.

Because the city utility has promoted efficiency programs, Columbia Water and Light has offered rebates for efficient water heaters at times. Ameren Missouri and Spire have run their own offers in their territories. Since three electric providers split the area, confirm whose territory you are in before shopping for a heat pump unit.

Repair or replace in Columbia

Fixing a failed igniter, element or thermocouple usually makes sense on a Columbia heater that has not yet reached about year seven. In a student rental where the tank is already struggling to keep up, a failure is often the right moment to size up instead of repairing an undersized heater. Rust at the bottom seam or water pooling under the tank means the tank is done.

Owner-occupied homes in Thornbrook or Old Hawthorne with heaters past ten years old in finished basements should consider planned replacement, especially before a long trip or the holidays. A failed tank on carpet costs far more than the heater itself.

Around Columbia

Towns around Columbia have separate water systems and permit rules. Ashland to the south and Hallsville and Centralia to the north run their own city programs. Rural Boone County homes may get water from Consolidated Public Water Supply District No. 1 or a private well and fall under county permits. Jefferson City, half an hour south, has its own licensing and draws from the Missouri River through a private water utility.

Water heater questions from Columbia