Hot Water Tank Replacement in Duncan, BC
Scheduled hot water tank replacement for Duncan and North Cowichan. The municipal water is soft, so we look at age and the dip tube before we blame scale.
Local plumbing context for Duncan
Inside the City of Duncan and the connected North Cowichan neighbourhoods, homes are on municipal water and sewer, and sewage goes to the Joint Utilities Board treatment lagoons shared by Duncan and North Cowichan. Duncan's municipal water is soft (about 25 mg/L hardness in the City's 2022 report), so tank failures here are rarely scale-driven; age and the dip tube are the usual suspects.
Why tanks fail here
The City of Duncan's 2022 water report lists hardness around 25 mg/L. That is soft. Scale on the elements is rarely the reason a tank quits in town. What we find instead is a tank that has passed its working life, a split dip tube that dumps cold water into the top of the tank, or a gas valve and thermocouple that no longer hold a flame. The housing stock explains the rest: 30% of Duncan homes were built before 1961 and another 32% between 1961 and 1980, so many mechanical rooms are on their second or third tank.
Newer North Cowichan houses, including Bell McKinnon, often still have the original tank from construction. We read the data plate. A manufacture date is more useful than a guess about how long a tank should last.
Gas, electric, and the permit
We install gas and electric tanks and take the old unit away. A straight electric swap in the same spot is a different permit question from a gas tank that needs a vent or a gas-line change. The City of Duncan, the Municipality of North Cowichan, and the Cowichan Valley Regional District each handle permits on their own side of the boundary. We pull what that address requires.
If the supply lines at the tank are grey plastic, the tank job and a Poly B replacement should be talked about together so the new tank is not tied back into pipe that is due to come out. Request an appointment and send a photo of the data plate if you have one. This is a scheduled drive from Victoria. We do not run emergency dispatch to Duncan.
Other Duncan plumbing pages
- Plumber in Duncan — scheduled Cowichan Valley visits
- Drain cleaning
- Hydro jetting
- Sewer line repair
- Water main repair
- Hot water tank replacement
- Perimeter drains
- Poly B replacement
- Emergency plumbing
Yes, on a scheduled visit. If the tank is actively leaking, shut the cold inlet at the tank or the house shutoff, and call a Cowichan Valley plumber if water is spreading. We can schedule the replacement.
No. The City's 2022 report lists hardness around 25 mg/L, which is soft. We look at the tank's age and the dip tube.
Yes. Removal of the old tank is part of the replacement visit.
Hot Water Tank Replacement in Duncan
Scheduled replacements. Soft municipal water, so the diagnosis starts with age and the dip tube.
Call (778) 265-6446