Tankless Water Heater Installation in Tulsa, OK
By Colossal Plumbing | Tulsa, OK
If you’ve ever run out of hot water mid-shower, waited 20 minutes for the tank to recover after back-to-back showers, or looked at your monthly energy bill and wondered where all that money is going — a tankless water heater might be exactly what your home needs.
Colossal Plumbing installs tankless water heaters throughout the Tulsa metro area. We’ve helped hundreds of homeowners make the switch and we know what it takes to do the job right — from selecting the correct unit for your household’s demand to ensuring your gas line, venting, and electrical supply are all up to the task.
What Is a Tankless Water Heater?
A tankless water heater — also called an on-demand or instantaneous water heater — heats water directly as it flows through the unit rather than storing a pre-heated supply in a tank. When you turn on a hot water tap, cold water travels through the unit, passes over a high-powered burner or heating element, and arrives at your fixture hot within seconds.
When you turn the tap off, the unit shuts down entirely. No standing pilot flame. No continuously heated tank. No standby heat loss. Hot water on demand, and nothing wasted.
The Benefits of Going Tankless
Unlimited Hot Water
This is the headline benefit that most homeowners care about most. A properly sized tankless system never runs out of hot water. Whether your household has four people showering back to back on a busy school morning, a filled soaking tub followed by a load of laundry, or guests staying for a week — the hot water is there as long as you need it.
Significant Energy Savings
Traditional tank water heaters spend energy around the clock maintaining the temperature of 40 to 80 gallons of stored water — even at 2am when no one is using it. That continuous energy consumption accounts for a meaningful portion of your monthly utility bill.
Tankless units eliminate that waste entirely. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that homes using a typical amount of hot water can achieve 24 to 34 percent greater energy efficiency with a tankless system compared to a conventional tank. For high-usage households, those savings are even greater. Over the 20-plus year lifespan of a tankless unit, the energy savings can more than offset the higher upfront cost.
A Much Longer Lifespan
A conventional tank water heater typically lasts 10 to 12 years. A well-maintained tankless unit lasts 20 years or more — often significantly longer. That extended lifespan means you may replace a tank heater twice in the time a tankless unit keeps running.
Space Savings
A 50-gallon tank water heater is a large appliance. A tankless unit is roughly the size of a small suitcase and mounts directly on the wall, freeing up significant floor space in utility rooms, closets, and mechanical spaces. For Tulsa homes where mechanical space is limited, this is a meaningful practical advantage.
Reduced Risk of Water Damage
Tank water heaters hold dozens of gallons of water under pressure at all times. When a tank fails — and eventually every tank fails — the results can be catastrophic. A tankless unit has no storage tank to rupture or corrode through. While they’re not entirely immune to leaks, the risk profile is significantly lower than a traditional tank.
What’s Involved in a Tankless Installation
Switching from a tank to a tankless water heater isn’t as simple as swapping out one unit for another. A proper tankless installation requires careful assessment of your home’s existing infrastructure and, in many cases, some preparatory work to ensure the new system performs as intended.
Gas Line Sizing
Tankless gas water heaters fire at a much higher BTU rating than conventional tank heaters — often two to five times higher — in order to heat water instantly on demand. This means your existing gas line may not be large enough to supply adequate gas flow to the unit. A licensed plumber will assess your current gas line size and either confirm it’s adequate or recommend the necessary upgrade before installation. Getting this right is not optional — an undersized gas line results in a unit that can’t reach the flow rate you need, especially during peak demand.
Venting Requirements
Gas tankless units require proper venting to expel combustion gases safely. Depending on the unit you select, venting options include:
- Direct vent — draws combustion air from outside the home and exhausts through a concentric pipe system
- Power vent — uses indoor air for combustion and exhausts through a single pipe
- Non-condensing units — require metal flue pipe that can handle high exhaust temperatures
- Condensing units — run at higher efficiency and exhaust at lower temperatures, allowing the use of PVC venting
The right venting approach depends on where the unit will be installed, how close it is to an exterior wall, and which unit you’re installing. Our team assesses your space and ensures the venting is installed correctly and to code.
Electrical Requirements
Even gas-powered tankless units require electrical power to operate the control board, ignition system, and fans. Most units need a standard 120V outlet nearby. If you’re installing an electric tankless water heater — particularly a whole-home electric unit — your electrical panel may need to be upgraded to handle the load, as these units draw significant amperage. We assess your panel capacity as part of the pre-installation evaluation.
Water Quality Considerations
Tulsa’s water is moderately hard, which means mineral deposits build up inside the heat exchanger over time. Left unaddressed, this buildup reduces efficiency and can eventually damage the unit. We recommend annual descaling maintenance for all tankless installations in the Tulsa area, and for homes with particularly hard water, we may recommend installing a water softener or inline filter as part of the project.
Choosing the Right Tankless Unit
Not all tankless water heaters are created equal, and selecting the right unit for your household is one of the most important parts of the installation process. The key factor is flow rate — measured in gallons per minute (GPM) — which determines how much hot water the unit can produce at any given moment.
A unit that’s undersized for your household’s peak demand will struggle to keep up, delivering lukewarm water when multiple fixtures run simultaneously. A unit that’s oversized adds unnecessary upfront cost without benefit.
Sizing depends on:
- The number of bathrooms and fixtures in your home
- Household size and hot water usage patterns
- Peak simultaneous demand — how many fixtures are likely to run at the same time
- Incoming water temperature — colder groundwater in winter requires more heating power to reach the desired output temperature
At Colossal Plumbing, we size every tankless installation based on your specific household rather than applying a generic rule of thumb. We’d rather take the extra few minutes to get it right than install a unit that doesn’t perform the way you expected.
Brands We Install and Service
We install and service tankless water heaters from all major manufacturers, including Rinnai, Navien, Rheem, Bradford White, A.O. Smith, and others. We’ll recommend the unit that offers the best combination of performance, reliability, and value for your specific situation — not the one with the highest margin for us.
The Installation Process
Here’s what to expect when Colossal Plumbing installs your tankless water heater:
1. Pre-installation assessment. We evaluate your existing gas line, venting, electrical supply, and water quality to identify any preparatory work needed before the new unit goes in.
2. Removal of the old unit. We disconnect and remove your existing water heater and dispose of it properly.
3. Infrastructure preparation. If your gas line, venting, or electrical supply requires modification or upgrade, we complete that work before installing the new unit.
4. Unit installation. We mount the new tankless unit, make all gas, water, and electrical connections, and install the venting system.
5. Testing and commissioning. We run the unit through its full operating range, check all connections for leaks, verify proper ignition and combustion, and confirm flow rates at your fixtures.
6. Walkthrough. Before we leave, we walk you through how your new system operates, how to adjust the temperature settings, what the maintenance schedule looks like, and what to do if you ever have a question or issue.
The entire process typically takes four to eight hours for a straightforward swap, longer if infrastructure upgrades are needed. We give you a realistic timeline upfront so you can plan accordingly.
Tankless Water Heater Maintenance
Annual maintenance keeps your tankless water heater running efficiently and extends its lifespan significantly. For Tulsa homeowners, the most important annual task is descaling — flushing a food-safe descaling solution through the heat exchanger to dissolve mineral deposits before they build up enough to cause damage.
Colossal Plumbing offers tankless water heater maintenance service for all brands and models. If you’d like to schedule annual maintenance at the same time every year, ask our team about setting up a recurring service appointment.
Is a Tankless Water Heater Right for Your Home?
Tankless systems are an excellent choice for most Tulsa homeowners — but they’re not the right choice in every situation. If your home’s gas line would require significant upgrading, or if you’re on a tight budget and planning to move within a few years, a high-quality tank replacement may be the better financial decision.
The honest answer depends on your specific home and circumstances. Colossal Plumbing will give you a straight assessment of both options — including a realistic picture of what a tankless installation would actually cost in your home — so you can make the decision that’s right for you without any pressure.
Serving the Tulsa Metro for Tankless Water Heater Installation
Colossal Plumbing installs tankless water heaters throughout Tulsa and surrounding communities including Broken Arrow, Owasso, Bixby, Jenks, Sand Springs, Sapulpa, Claremore, Catoosa, Collinsville, Glenpool, Skiatook, Coweta, South Tulsa, Sperry, and Verdigris.
Call (918) 553-0138 to schedule a free tankless water heater consultation. We’ll assess your home, give you an honest recommendation, and provide a clear, upfront quote with no obligation.
Colossal Plumbing — Licensed, bonded, and insured for residential and commercial plumbing throughout Oklahoma. Serving the Tulsa metro since 2001.
