HOT WATER, TANK AND TANKLESS
Water heater repair and replacement in Springdale, Arkansas
Gas or electric tank, repaired or replaced, plus tankless installs sized to how many showers your house really runs at once.
Chapter 01
Cold showers, a rumbling tank and a puddle in the closet
A water heater rarely quits without a warning. The warning is just easy to talk yourself out of. The shower goes cold halfway through. The tank rumbles when it fires. The first draw in the morning runs rust colored. Or there is a damp ring on the closet floor that was not there last week. Each of those has a different cause, and only some of them mean the tank is finished.
Sediment settles on the bottom of a tank, and the burner or the elements have to heat through it. A dead element or a bad thermostat on an electric unit leaves you with lukewarm water. A failed gas control on a gas unit can leave the burner dark. A weeping fitting on top is a repair. A leak from the tank itself is not. From outside the closet you usually can't tell which one you have, and you shouldn't have to guess.
If water is pooling, shut the cold supply valve above the heater and call (479) 751-9691. Emergency service is available 24/7. Our own job photos show heaters set in closets, cabinets and utility rooms, so a tight spot in a Springdale house is not a surprise to us.
A wall-mounted tankless water heater installed by Stith with new gas and water piping
Gas or electric, tank or tankless, done on the heater itself
First we find out what you have and what actually failed: gas or electric, how old, and where it sits. Then we tell you plainly whether it's a repair or a replacement. A customer named Jen, who has used Stith for both plumbing and HVAC, wrote on Google: "Also, no upsells!" That's the standard when a tank still has life in it. We fix it and we leave.
A replacement is more than swapping a tank. The gas connection, the flue and venting, the water connections and the shutoff valves all get set up on purpose, and an expansion tank goes in where the system needs one. Stith holds Master Plumbing License MP4210, and owner Gary Stith is a Master Plumber, so the work on your pipes is done by licensed people.
Tankless is a sizing question before it's an install. Two showers and a dishwasher at once ask a lot more of a heater than one shower does, so we size it to how many fixtures run at the same time in your house. The gas supply piping and the venting get planned around that load, not squeezed in afterward.
Chapter 03
Sediment, relief valves and hard water
A tank heater lives or dies on what builds up inside it. Flushing the tank clears the sediment that otherwise bakes onto the bottom and makes the burner or the elements work harder. It's a small job done on a schedule, and it's one of the best ways to keep a good tank going longer.
Every water heater has a temperature and pressure relief valve. It's the part that lets go if something runs away. We test it during a service visit. If you ever see it dripping, don't cap it and don't ignore it. Call us, and we'll find out whether the valve is worn out or the pressure behind it is too high.
Tankless heaters have their own chore. Northwest Arkansas water carries minerals, and minerals scale up a tankless heat exchanger the way they scale up a kettle. Descaling keeps it heating the way it did on day one. If scale keeps coming back in your house, a softener or filter ahead of the heater is worth a look, and our water treatment page covers that.
When the tank is past saving
Some tanks are done. Rust at the base, water seeping from a seam in the tank, or a heater that has needed repair after repair all point the same way. Fixing a tank that's failing from the inside just buys a few weeks before the next puddle. We'll show you where the problem is and say so honestly, even when the answer is a new heater.
When a replacement can't wait, call the office Monday through Saturday, 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, and tell Leigh or Kathy what the heater is doing. After hours, the same number reaches emergency service. The work is backed by the company's own published guarantee: all of Stith's plumbing installation and services are 100% guaranteed.
Master Plumbing License MP4210. Family-owned since 1965. Call (479) 751-9691.