Licensed plumbers, written pricing, serving Yonkers
Space is tight in a lot of Yonkers homes, and a wall mounted tankless unit recovers the closet or basement corner a forty gallon tank used to occupy. Action Construction installs tankless water heaters and converts tank systems to tankless in Yonkers, NY, sizing the gas line, the venting, and the unit itself to your household and to the cold winter groundwater in this area. For tank models, see our water heater installation page.
Space is the reason tankless comes up so often here. Prewar homes, converted multifamily units, and apartments over storefronts frequently have no good place for a forty or fifty gallon tank, and a wall mounted unit the size of a carry on suitcase frees a closet or a basement corner. A tankless heater also removes standby loss, the energy spent keeping a full tank hot around the clock whether anyone uses it or not, and it delivers continuous hot water rather than a fixed volume that runs out. Sized and maintained properly, a tankless unit lasts about twice as long as a tank.
The trade is that the performance depends entirely on the install being done right. A tankless unit that was dropped onto an undersized gas line or specified for a mild climate disappoints every winter, which is why the survey before the quote matters more here than on a tank swap.
A tankless conversion is more involved than a tank swap. Most units need a larger gas supply line than a tank heater, often an upsize from half inch to three quarter inch back to the meter, and the meter itself has to have the capacity for a burner that can draw up to 199,000 BTU. They need a dedicated stainless steel or PVC vent run sized to the model and kept within the manufacturer’s length and elbow limits, a condensate drain with a neutralizer for high efficiency units because the condensate is acidic, isolation valves so the unit can be flushed, and often a dedicated electrical circuit. We confirm your gas meter and the line from it can carry the added load before quoting, so you are not surprised by a utility upgrade after the fact. Where a new circuit is needed we coordinate the electrical portion. Outdoor rated models are common in warmer regions but are a poor fit here, because a hard freeze with the power out can damage the heat exchanger, so we mount indoors and vent through the wall.
Sizing a tankless unit is done by flow rate and by the incoming water temperature. Winter groundwater in this area drops toward the low forties, which means the unit has to raise the water about seventy degrees to reach a comfortable shower temperature, and that cuts its usable flow well below the summer rating. We calculate the flow rate your household actually needs, based on how many fixtures run together, and size the unit, or a pair of units, to that winter condition rather than a mild day. Undersizing for the cold months is the single most common reason a tankless install disappoints.
If your existing heater just needs a fix rather than a conversion, see water heater repair, and the full list is on our Yonkers plumbing services hub.
A tankless unit delivers hot water for as long as you need it, so back to back showers and a long bath no longer drain a tank. There is a short delay at the tap while the unit fires and the cooled water in the line clears, a few seconds longer than a tank, and a recirculation loop with a dedicated return or a crossover valve can remove that where the run to the far bathroom is long. Very low flow draws, such as barely cracking a faucet, may not trigger the burner on some models, though newer units have largely solved that. Set correctly, the output temperature holds steady no matter how many fixtures are open, up to the unit’s rated flow for the season. For a large home where one unit cannot cover the winter demand, two units piped on a common manifold share the load and give you a backup if one needs service. We size that at the survey rather than after the fact, and we set the unit and any mixing valve so the delivered temperature is safe at the tap while the tank side runs hot enough to hold output during a cold snap.
A tankless conversion costs more than a tank replacement because of the gas line upsize, the dedicated vent, the condensate drain, and sometimes a new circuit. We quote the full installed price after checking your gas meter and line capacity, so there is one number with no add ons later.
A licensed plumber handles the installation: the gas line, the venting, the condensate, the water connections, and the mounting. A high efficiency model or a gas unit that needs a new circuit may bring an electrician in for that portion, coordinated by us so it is one project.
A properly sized unit can. In this area the winter groundwater is cold, so the unit has to be sized to that condition rather than the summer rating. We calculate the flow rate for your home and size the unit, or a pair of units, to match.
Higher upfront cost, sensitivity to hard water without treatment, a short delay before hot water reaches the tap, and a maximum flow rate that has to be sized correctly for simultaneous use in winter. Sized and maintained properly, a tankless unit lasts about twice as long as a tank.
Once a year in this area, mainly a descaling flush to clear mineral buildup off the heat exchanger, plus a check of the vent, the condensate neutralizer, and the inlet screen. On hard water without treatment it needs it more often, which is why we usually pair a conversion with a scale filter or a softener.
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