Service area · 9 mi from the shop
Water Heater Installation & Repair in Hollis, NH
Hollis is well country — large homes, private wells, and hard water that is quietly hard on every water heater in town. That's exactly the problem we specialize in, from the newer subdivisions off Silver Lake Road to the old farmhouses along Route 122.
Call anytime — emergencies get answered, day or night.
(603) 440-8113 A real person answers · Not a call treeHollis's Water Heater Specialists
Hollis is one of the more rural, affluent towns we serve, and it comes with a very specific water-heater challenge: almost every home here runs on a private well. That well water is often hard and carries iron and sediment, and all three are rough on a water heater. We plan around that instead of ignoring it, which is the difference between a unit that lasts and one that fails early.
Hard water and sediment
Hard water and sediment are the story in Hollis. Minerals and iron settle to the bottom of a tank and cook into a scale layer over the burner or heating element, insulating the water from the heat and forcing the unit to work harder and rust out sooner. On Hollis wells we recommend annual flushing without exception, and we watch the anode rod closely — aggressive water sacrifices a rod fast, and a fresh rod is cheap insurance against a rotted tank.
On tankless installs
On tankless installs, water quality is a spec decision, not an afterthought. A tankless heat exchanger scales faster than a tank, so we choose units built to handle it — typically a Navien or Rinnai with a stainless exchanger — and we always add isolation service valves so descaling is a quick annual task. Where a Hollis well is genuinely hard or iron-heavy, we install a softener or pre-filter loop ahead of the unit. Treat the water and a tankless will run twenty years; skip it and you're inviting scale failure.
Hollis homes are big
Hollis homes are big, with multiple baths, soaking tubs, and real simultaneous demand. A single old 40- or 50-gallon tank often can't keep up. Depending on fuel and layout, we'll steer you toward a high-capacity 75- or 80-gallon tank or a correctly sized gas tankless that never runs out — sized to your actual peak demand, not a generic guess.
The older farmhouses
The older farmhouses along the town's back roads are a category of their own: original 40-gallon tanks, often never flushed, quietly scaled by years of well water and living on borrowed time. When we replace one, we right-size it and fix the aging shutoffs and undersized expansion tank that always come with a decades-old install. Every job is pulled to a Town of Hollis permit and inspected. We're licensed NH Master Plumbers (#3613), and we stand behind the work.
In Hollis with a dead water heater? Call (603) 440-8113 — same-day service, most days.
The work
What the shop does in Hollis
Tank at end of life? Right-sized replacement, installed to code, permit pulled — most days, same day.
RepairNo hot water this morning? Diagnosed straight — repaired if it'll hold, replaced only if it won't.
TanklessEndless hot water off the wall — Navien and Rinnai units sized for New Hampshire winters.
Heat pumpTwo to three times cheaper to run, with the NHSaves rebate paperwork handled start to finish.
MaintenanceThe annual flush and anode check that adds years to a tank — cheap insurance against a cold Saturday.
Fair questions
Hollis questions, answered straight
My Hollis home is on a private well with hard water — how much life is that costing my water heater?
More than most Hollis homeowners realize. Hard water and the iron and sediment common in Hollis wells settle to the bottom of a tank and bake into a hard scale layer over the burner or elements. That layer insulates the water from the heat source, so the unit runs longer, costs more, and rusts out years early. On a well-fed tank we recommend flushing at least once a year, and we'll check the anode rod while we're there — in aggressive Hollis water a rod can be sacrificed in three or four years instead of six or seven.
Should I put a tankless in a Hollis home with hard well water?
Yes, but only installed correctly. A tankless heat exchanger is more sensitive to scale than a tank, so on Hollis wells we spec a unit built for it — typically a Navien or Rinnai with a stainless heat exchanger — and we always install isolation service valves so annual descaling takes minutes. Where the water is truly hard or iron-heavy, we'll recommend a softener or a pre-filter loop ahead of the unit. A tankless without water treatment on a bad Hollis well is a warranty claim waiting to happen; done right, it lasts twenty years.
We have a big house in Hollis and run out of hot water — what do you recommend?
Hollis has a lot of large homes with multiple baths, soaking tubs, and high simultaneous demand that a single 40- or 50-gallon tank simply can't keep up with. The two right answers are usually a high-capacity 75- or 80-gallon unit, or a properly sized gas tankless that delivers endless hot water for the whole house. Which one depends on your fuel, your peak demand, and your mechanical room. We size to your actual household, not a rule of thumb.
There's an old 40-gallon tank in our Hollis farmhouse that hasn't been touched in years — should I be worried?
Worth a look. A lot of older Hollis farmhouses run original 40-gallon tanks well past their expected life, often on well water that's been quietly scaling them the whole time. A tank over ten to twelve years old, especially one that's never been flushed, is on borrowed time — and when it goes, it usually goes as a leak on a finished floor. We'll assess it honestly: if it has years left we'll say so, and if it's living on luck we'll right-size a replacement and address the aging shutoffs and expansion tank that always come with a decades-old install.
Nearby
Also twenty minutes out
Cold shower to hot water — one call.
(603) 440-8113You'll talk to the shop. Not a national installer program.
Emergencies · Answered day or night