No hot water? Start here
Cold taps in New Britain: what to check first
Hot and cold, or hot only?
If the cold tap is fine and only the hot side has gone, the heater is the likely culprit.
Which heater is yours?
In a building with several units, find the heater that feeds your apartment before calling.
Look for wet patches
Note damp floor, rust streaks or drips near the tank, and keep your hands off the valves and controls.
Photograph the label
The plate on the tank shows the make, the fuel and a hint of its age.
Smell gas near the heater? Do not stay to investigate. Leave the building, and once outside call the gas utility and emergency services.
Carbon monoxide alarm sounding? Leave the home at once and call emergency services from outside.
New Britain's houses and where their heaters sit
New Britain is a city of more than 73,000 people in Hartford County, southwest of Hartford, with Newington, Berlin, Plainville, Farmington and Southington around it. Its older neighbourhoods have dense blocks of two-family and multi-family houses, many dating from the industrial era, with basements that were adapted again and again. Toward the edges, the housing turns to postwar capes, ranches and split-levels with more breathing room.
In the older core, a heater is likely to sit in a shared basement among other heaters, a boiler and a maze of pipework, often beside a chimney that serves more than one appliance. In the outer neighbourhoods it usually stands alone in a utility corner, sometimes next to a finished room.
Almost the whole city is on a public water supply, and natural gas reaches most streets, so gas tanks are what we are asked to repair most. Electric tanks are common in condominiums and smaller units.
Shared basements: which unit's heater has failed?
A basement under an older multi-family building can hold several heaters of different ages, installed by different people over decades. Pipes have been rerouted and rarely labelled, so the heater that looks like yours may feed the floor above, and the one behind the boiler may be yours after all.
The first job on such a call is working out which heater serves which unit. Tell us which apartment you are in, and arrange for someone to let the technician into both the basement and your unit if needed. Afterwards the technician can label the lines so the next call is quicker. See multi-family water heaters.
Name your unit and your street and we will start sorting it out.
Old chimneys and venting when equipment changes
In many older New Britain houses, the water heater shares a chimney with a boiler or furnace. If that boiler is replaced or taken out, the heater is left venting on its own, into a chimney sized for something larger. Venting needs to be reassessed whenever the equipment changes.
Newer heaters vent differently from the one they replace. Some can go out through a side wall or use sealed venting, and electric and heat pump models need no flue at all. The installer assesses how the new heater will vent; any work on the chimney itself is for a chimney professional. See venting and chimney assessment.
How to tell how old your water heater actually is
The rating plate on the side of the tank is the place to start. It carries the make, model and a serial number, and the serial number usually hides the manufacture date. Each maker codes it differently, so a letter and a few digits may mean a month and a year in one brand and something else in another.
If the plate is unreadable, send us a photo anyway; the technician often recognises the format. Other clues help, such as an installer's sticker, paperwork from a past job or a note left by a previous owner. In an older house the heater often came with it, and a clear picture of the plate is the quickest route to a sensible age.
Signs a tank is near the end, and which mean call today
Water seeping from the body of the tank, or rust at its base, points to a failing shell. Rusty water at the hot tap only, a loud rumble that will not go away and repairs that keep coming back are further signs.
Call today if water is spreading across the floor, if the relief valve is discharging, or if a household that cannot wait has no hot water. If you notice a gas smell, leave, then call the gas utility and emergency services from outside. If a carbon monoxide alarm goes off, leave the home and phone emergency services from outside.
Where we cover in New Britain
We connect households in all three New Britain ZIP codes, 06051, 06052 and 06053, with local installers, from the crowded streets of the older core to the quieter roads at the edge of the city.
Service area New Britain, CT · ZIP 06051, 06052 and 06053
Pick a day that suits the household and we will fit the visit around it.
Water heater repair and replacement services in New Britain
- Water heater repair for tanks that stop heating or begin to drip
- Multi-family water heaters in shared basements
- Gas water heater service, the most common type here
- Anode rod replacement to check a tank's condition
- Leaking water heater calls where water is spreading
- Emergency service at any hour
Nearby places we cover
The local installers also work in the towns that border New Britain.
Water heater repair and replacement questions in New Britain
In New Britain, can you replace a heater in a fieldstone cellar?
Usually, yes. Stone cellars bring low beams and uneven floors, so the route matters more than the heater. Describe the stairs and headroom, ideally with a photo, and the installer will arrive with a plan for getting the old tank out and the new one in.
Can a new tank be carried down steep cellar stairs?
In most cases it can. Steep or turning stairs mean more people and more care, and sometimes a smaller or narrower model. Tell us about the stairs and any turns when you call, so the technician can come prepared.
In New Britain, what if the only way into the cellar is a bulkhead?
A bulkhead can work well as a route for a tank, provided it opens freely and the steps are clear. Tell us if it is the only way in, and clear snow, leaves or stored items from around it before the visit.
In New Britain, what is an anode rod and does mine need checking?
It is a metal rod inside the tank that corrodes in place of the tank wall. Once it is used up, the tank itself starts to suffer. A technician can check it, and in a tank of unknown age, that is a sensible thing to ask about.
Can an anode be changed under a low cellar ceiling?
Often, yes, though a low ceiling can make the rod awkward to pull out of the top of the tank. Some installers use a segmented rod that bends in tight spaces. Tell us the headroom above the heater, and the technician will plan accordingly.
Can you quote without seeing the heater?
For a firm price, yes. A photo of the rating plate and a description of the route to the basement help us give a good idea over the phone. The technician confirms the price on site before starting any work.
Are repairs and installs backed by a warranty?
Yes. Completed work carries a workmanship guarantee from the installer, who explains what it covers before the job starts. Parts made by the manufacturer have their own terms, which the technician can point you to for the heater you have.
We live on the middle floor of a three-family house. Who do we call?
Call us, and tell us which floor you are on. We cover the whole of New Britain and work with shared basements all the time. The technician identifies which heater feeds your unit and, if you wish, can label the lines for future visits.
Do you cover the whole of New Britain?
Yes. The local installers work in all three ZIP codes, from the older streets around the centre to the outer neighbourhoods. Give us your address and we will connect you with an installer who regularly works in your part of the city.