Two Mojave quotes for the same size of heater can differ, and the property is usually the reason. This page sets out what moves the cost, so you can read a quote line by line. With water spreading, close the cold-water valve above the tank if it's safe to reach it. If you smell gas, leave the building, then call the gas utility (or propane supplier) and 911 from outside.
What moves the cost of a job here
- The route: distance from the road, steps or gates and how far the tank must be carried.
- The place: a garage, a compartment, an exterior closet or an outbuilding in the sun.
- The supply: the size of the fuel line, the state of the vent, circuit capacity or the propane tank.
- The water: a filter, a softener or a bypass if the supply calls for them.
- The extras: a pan, a leak alarm, an expansion tank, shade or a new stand.
Ask each pro to itemize these, so quotes can be compared on equal terms.
Mojave homes and heaters
Mojave is an unincorporated community in Kern County. It began in 1876 as a construction camp for the railroad, and its name comes from that of the Mojave people. This page covers ZIP code 93501.
Homes range from older houses to newer homes, manufactured homes and rural properties, some on private wells. In Mojave, heaters sit in garages, exterior closets, utility rooms and compartments, mostly gas or electric, with propane on outlying properties. Summers are hot and dry, and winter mornings are cold.
What upkeep looks like here
Upkeep is a short list, done on time: a yearly look at the relief valve, the pan and the straps, a flush at an interval the water sets and an anode rod check every few years. A tankless unit adds descaling, and a well adds a filter. These are jobs for a pro, with a dated note after each visit.
Fits a roomy garage well.
Tankless descaling as real maintenance
Descaling is to a tankless heater what an oil change is to an engine: routine, easy to skip and costly when skipped. Mineral crust forms inside the narrow heat exchanger and slowly chokes it. The flow thins, the water takes longer to heat and the unit starts throwing fault codes.
The job is simple for a pro. A pump and hoses are connected to the unit's service valves, a mild descaling solution is circulated through the exchanger and then flushed away, and the inlet screen is cleaned. A unit with no service valves is harder to treat, so ask about them at installation, and have the pro show you where they are. A unit with them fitted is far easier to look after for its whole life.
How often depends on the water, and on a well it may be more often. The signs that it is due are a weaker stream, a lukewarm shower and codes on the display.
Tank, tankless and heat pump models.
Expansion tanks and thermal expansion in Mojave
When water is heated, it expands, and in a closed plumbing system the extra has no way out. Pressure rises with every heating cycle until the relief valve opens, which looks like a drip. A closed system is one with a check valve or a pressure-reducing valve on the line, or a well with a pressure tank.
An expansion tank is the cure. It is a small tank with an air cushion, fitted on the cold line near the heater, and it takes the extra volume. Not every home needs one, and the installer decides after reading the pressure. An expansion tank that has lost its air cushion no longer helps and looks the same as no tank.
Never cap a dripping relief valve, and don't test it yourself. Tell the pro about any recent plumbing work, a new pressure valve or a pump change on a well. Ask them to read the pressure and check any existing expansion tank when the heater is replaced, since an old one may be worth replacing with it.
Extreme heat and sun-exposed installations
Mojave summers are hard on anything outdoors. A heater on a sunny wall, in a closet with no shade or in an outbuilding with a tin roof sits in heat that ages every plastic part, the insulation on wires and the seals on valves. Hot piping can also bake the air around it, and the controls feel it first.
Shade is the simplest protection: a cover, an overhang or a move to the shaded side of the house. Ventilation helps a closet or outbuilding shed heat, and insulation on exposed lines keeps the sun from heating them. A tankless unit rated for outdoor use is built for weather, but its connections still need shielding from the sun.
Ask the pro what your site needs, and have the fittings, the vent cap and the controls looked at once a year. Tell them which side of the building the heater is on and whether it gets afternoon sun. A heater that is protected from the worst of the heat will last longer, and will cause fewer faults along the way, so the visit is worth arranging before summer arrives.
Strapping in Mojave
For homes in Mojave, a water heater in California is held in place with straps or a bracing kit so it stays upright. For homes in Mojave, loaded with water, a tank is heavy and easy to tip, and its gas, water and vent connections are the first thing to go if it shifts. It's part of every Mojave replacement.
Around Mojave, straps fasten into wood studs on a garage wall and the job is routine, and masonry walls take anchors rated for them. An exterior closet is strapped to the framing behind its stucco, an outbuilding has framing of its own that the installer reads first and a manufactured-home compartment has its own. For homes in Mojave, larger new tanks need new straps, and flexible connectors complete the setup, and the installer points out where the new lines run.
An installed heater can be braced where it stands. Loose straps are tightened on a service call, and any that bite only into drywall or stucco are moved onto solid framing. A tankless unit hangs from its mounting bracket.
Mojave ZIP code
ZIP codes served: 93501
Nearby areas with their own pages include California City, Rosamond, Tehachapi, Lancaster and Palmdale. See every city on the Central Valley page.
Popular services in Mojave
Mojave water heater FAQs
Treat it as a warning that needs a prompt visit. Water at the base could come from a loose fitting, which is easy to fix, or from the tank, which cannot be repaired. The leak will not close up on its own.
The relief valve is the tank's last safeguard against excess heat or pressure. If its outlet is capped or blocked, it can't do its job. A dripping valve is a signal to call a pro, not a reason to plug it. Don't test or adjust it yourself.
An anode rod is a metal rod hung inside the tank that corrodes in place of the steel. It is there to be used up. When it is gone the tank corrodes next, so a pro checks it every few years and replaces it before that happens.
Often it can, but no pro can promise it in advance. A like-for-like swap, with the right tank available, is the quickest. A change of fuel, a new vent or a difficult route takes longer. Describe the setup, and the pro can say what is realistic.
Cold water entering a tankless unit gives it more temperature to add, and its output has a limit. When demand pushes past it, the flow slows or the water cools. A unit chosen for the coldest water of the year avoids the problem.
If other propane appliances have stopped as well, the supply is the likely cause, so call the propane supplier first. If only the water heater has stopped, a technician should look. If you smell gas, leave the building, then call the supplier and 911 from outside.
Water from a private well carries what the ground provides: sand, grit and minerals. These settle in the tank, scale the elements and clog filters and screens. A sediment filter, regular flushing and rod checks help, and the pro can say how often.
No. Mojave is an unincorporated community in Kern County. It began in 1876 as a construction camp for the railroad, and its name comes from that of the Mojave people. This page covers ZIP code 93501. Share the address, and we'll connect you with a pro.
Yes. We connect callers with independent pros across the 93501 ZIP code, from the older streets to newer homes and outlying properties. California City, Rosamond and Tehachapi each have their own pages on this site, as do Lancaster and Palmdale.