Water heater repair in Lawton, OK

Lawtonka, Ellsworth and two treatment plants

Lawton draws all its drinking water from lakes. Lake Lawtonka, beside Medicine Park at the eastern edge of the Wichita Mountains, feeds the Medicine Park Water Treatment Plant by gravity pipeline. Lake Ellsworth, built by the city in the early 1960s on East Cache Creek north of town, can supply both the Southeast plant and, by pumping, Lake Lawtonka itself. In recent years Waurika Lake to the south has supplied much of the Southeast plant's raw water as well.

Both plants use enhanced coagulation, ozone, granular activated carbon filtration and chloramine disinfection, a treatment train designed to handle summer algae and taste or odor problems common in Oklahoma lakes. Lawton water is moderately hard, so sediment accumulates steadily but not dramatically. Annual flushing keeps most heaters healthy, while tankless units benefit from yearly descaling.

Fort Sill families and rental housing

Fort Sill is home to the Army's Field Artillery School and Air Defense Artillery School, and the post brings a constant flow of soldiers and families through Lawton. Many live off post in rentals across west and northwest Lawton, near Cache Road, Quanah Parker Trailway and the neighborhoods off Northwest 82nd Street. PCS season in summer means heaters change hands frequently, and some go years without maintenance.

Older central Lawton, including the neighborhoods near Elmer Thomas Park and Cameron University, has frame homes from the 1940s through 1960s with heaters in utility closets, laundry rooms or attached garages. Newer subdivisions on the west side are mostly brick slab homes with garage heaters, and some larger houses place them in the attic.

Tornadoes, hail and spring storms

Southwest Oklahoma sits squarely in tornado alley, and Comanche County sees severe thunderstorm warnings every spring. Hailstones, downburst winds and now and then a tornado batter roofs, vent caps and gas meters. After a severe storm, check the water heater vent cap on the roof and the vent connection in the garage. A bent or blocked flue can cause exhaust to spill back into the house.

Many Lawton homes have storm shelters, and some garage shelters sit near the water heater. If a storm damages your home, close the valve at the ONG meter and leave every pilot dark until a plumber has pressure-tested the lines. Oklahoma Natural Gas will respond to leaks; leave the house first and call from outside.

Ice storms, freezes and power outages

Ice storms are the winter hazard in Lawton. Freezing rain coats trees and power lines, bringing outages that can last days. The February 2021 cold wave pushed temperatures well below zero across Oklahoma, freezing pipes in garages, attics and crawl spaces and testing water heaters statewide.

During an outage, a conventional gas tank lit by a standing pilot needs no electricity and keeps heating, while electric tanks, power-vent gas units and tankless heaters stop. Pipes in exterior walls and attic heaters are most likely to freeze. Insulating exposed lines and keeping garage doors closed in cold snaps help a lot.

The problems plumbers see most in Lawton

• Neglected tanks in military rentals that have gone several PCS cycles without a flush or relief valve test.
• Storm-damaged vent caps after hail and high winds, causing backdrafting or water dripping into the heater.
• Frozen lines to attic and garage heaters during ice storms and hard freezes.
• Sediment buildup in gas tanks causing rumbling and slow recovery.
• Electric element failures in apartments and duplexes near Cameron University.
• Pilot outages caused by drafts in older utility closets in central Lawton.

Typical water heater prices in Lawton

Lawton prices run a bit below Oklahoma City for comparable work. Attic installs, storm-related roof repairs and emergency calls during ice storms push costs up.

Permits and Oklahoma licensing

Oklahoma's Construction Industries Board licenses plumbing contractors and journeyman plumbers statewide. Inside city limits, the City of Lawton's building development and inspection office issues plumbing permits for water heater replacement, with inspections covering venting, gas connections, relief valve discharge and attic pans.

Check the contractor's Construction Industries Board license online before work starts. Homes in Cache, Elgin, Medicine Park and unincorporated Comanche County follow their own local or county requirements.

PSO, ONG and fuel options

Public Service Company of Oklahoma, part of AEP, supplies electricity to most of Lawton, while Cotton Electric Cooperative serves some rural areas around the city. Oklahoma Natural Gas delivers natural gas. Gas tanks are the most common heaters in single-family homes, while apartments often use electric tanks. Rebate programs from PSO and ONG for efficient heaters have come and gone over the years.

In ice-storm country, many Lawton homeowners prefer a standard gas tank for its ability to work without power. If you choose tankless, consider a backup power plan.

Repair or replace in Lawton

Lawton tanks still short of their eighth birthday are worth saving when the trouble is a pilot sensor, control or pressure valve. Lawton tanks typically last 9 to 12 years on moderately hard lake water. Once a tank grumbles after every reheat, takes an hour to recover or leaves a rust stain on the garage floor, put the money into a new one. A weeping tank shell cannot be patched, and in a west Lawton attic that leak can bring down drywall.

Upkeep through a Lawton year

Late spring, after storm season settles, is a good time to drain the tank and look at the vent cap from the yard with binoculars. In late summer, when Lake Lawtonka water runs warm and the plants work hardest against algae, a faint earthy taste can show up at the tap; it does not harm the heater, but a rotten-egg smell only from the hot side points to the anode and deserves a call. Before the first ice storm of the season, wrap any garage or attic lines feeding the heater and show every adult in the family where the gas shutoff lives.

Around Lawton

Cache, a few miles west on Highway 62, runs separate town water and permits. Medicine Park, next to Lake Lawtonka, is a small resort town with its own utility. Elgin to the northeast and Fletcher further north each handle their own permitting. Geronimo to the south and rural Comanche County homes get water from rural districts or their own wells.

Water heater questions from Lawton