Water Heater Installation in West Memphis, AR
Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Crittenden County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
West Memphis winters are mild, but the power isn't guaranteed
Winter nights here average 34°F from December through February, and homes only need heat from November through March, five months a year. That's a light freeze compared to what tanks further north sit through, and it asks less of the insulation and the vent.
The bigger risk is what happens when the power goes out from under it. Nearly a quarter of Arkansas households lost power for 24 hours or more in 2024, and the county has logged 15 winter storms and 27 damaging wind events over the past ten years. A gas water heater with a standing pilot keeps making hot water through an outage. One with electronic ignition won't relight itself once the power comes back. Worth deciding before installation, not during the next storm.
- 34°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 5 months
- November through March, the months homes here need heat
- 24%
- of Arkansas households lost power for a day or more in 2024, and a heater with an electric element or electric ignition stops without it
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- How do I know it's time to replace my water heater?
- The two clearest signs are age and rust. Most tank water heaters have a working life span, and once a unit is old, a repair is just delaying the next one. Rusty water from the hot side, a tank that's damp or wet at the base, or a pilot light that won't stay lit all point to a tank that's failing rather than a part that's failing. If your water heater is old and starting to act up, replacing it before it fails outright means you get to choose the timing instead of dealing with a flooded closet.
- Should I switch to a tankless water heater?
- It depends on what you want from your hot water, not on whether tankless is better in general. A tankless unit heats water as it flows through, so you don't run out partway through back-to-back showers, and it doesn't sit there keeping a tank of water hot all day. It costs more to buy and install than a like-for-like tank, and it needs a contractor familiar with the venting and gas or electric supply it requires. A licensed contractor can look at your house and tell you whether the switch makes sense for how your plumbing is set up.
- What changes when you install a tankless water heater?
- The biggest change is that you stop storing hot water and start heating it on demand, which means no more running out during a long shower but also no reserve if several things run at once without a unit sized for it. Tankless units mount on a wall instead of taking up floor space, so where it goes in the house usually changes too. The venting is different from a tank water heater, and the gas line or electrical circuit feeding it may need to be upsized, which is why this is an installation a licensed contractor needs to plan for the house, not just swap in.