No hot water
Ignition, flame rod, gas or propane supply, venting, or a safety lockout.
★ 4.8 Stars · 8,500+ Google Reviews · Noritz-Certified
Tankless Water Heater Repair & Maintenance in Northern California
No hot water? Hot-cold-hot showers? An error code blinking at you? Or just due for the annual descale? Earl's Plumbing repairs and maintains gas and propane tankless water heaters, and fixes the unit you have before anyone talks about replacing it.
Call or text (530) 343-0330 — a real person answers, day or night.
Earl's Plumbing repairs and maintains tankless water heaters throughout Northern California, from Shasta County to Placer County, family-owned since 1998.
We fix no hot water, temperature swings, error codes, flame rods, blower fans, sensors, and leaks, and we descale and service Rinnai, Noritz, Navien, and other natural gas and propane units, with no service call fee.
Call or text (530) 343-0330 or schedule online.
Repair-first approach
$0 service call fee
Gas & propane
Annual descaling
Same-day when available
CSLB #772565
Web-only offer
$25 OFF
Tankless Repair or Maintenance
Mention this page when you call or text, or add "$25 web offer" when you book online.
📞 Claim by Phone 📅 Claim OnlineOffer ends this month. One per household.
Tankless Problems We Fix
Tankless units are smart, efficient, and a little dramatic when something's off. Here's what we see most.
Hot-cold-hot showers
Scale, low flow, or a dirty flame rod dropping the burner mid-shower.
Error codes
Ignition, flame, venting, flow, and overheat codes diagnosed and fixed at the source.
Scale buildup
Hard water coats the heat exchanger, cutting flow and heat. A descale clears it.
Dirty or failing blower fan
Dust and debris choke combustion air and trigger errors.
Weak hot water flow
Clogged inlet filter screen, scale, or a restricted line.
Leaks or dripping
Fittings, valves, pressure relief, or condensate line problems.
Sensors & circuit boards
Failed sensors or controls on aging units, quoted against replacement.
Repair Visit or Maintenance Visit? We Do Both.
Something's wrong right now, or you want to keep it from going wrong. Either way, it's one call.
🔧 Repair visit
- Read the error code and error history
- Check ignition, flame rod, burner, and blower fan
- Verify gas or propane supply, venting, and water flow
- Find the failed part and quote the fix before we start
- Repair, test hot water, and check for leaks
🧰 Annual maintenance
- Flush and descale the heat exchanger
- Clean the inlet water filter screen
- Inspect flame rod, burner, blower fan, and venting
- Check for leaks and review error history
- Plain-English report on your unit's condition
Hard Water Is a Tankless Unit's Worst Enemy
A tankless heater pushes water through narrow passages in the heat exchanger. Minerals settle there as scale, which cuts flow, lowers efficiency, and sets off error codes.
Chico city water averages about 122 ppm hardness, which Cal Water rates as moderately hard, and many wells around here are harder. That's why we recommend a descale at least once a year, and more often on hard well water.
- Annual flush and descale on Rinnai, Noritz, Navien, and more
- A water softener or scale-reduction system can stretch time between descales
- Maintenance costs less than the repairs it prevents
Real Tankless Repairs & Maintenance
The usual suspects, found and fixed on recent jobs.
Maintenance
Rinnai Descale — Redding
Annual flush to clear scale before it causes trouble.
Repair
Blower Fan Removal — Paradise
Pulling the fan to get at the combustion problem.
Found during repair
Dirty Blower Fan
Debris like this starves the burner of air and throws codes.
Repair
Flame Rod — Chico
A worn flame rod causes ignition failures and cold showers.
What Tankless Customers Say
Two recent 5-star Google reviews.
★★★★★
"Weeks ago... brrr cold showers. I called Earl's and requested Nate. Within 30 minutes he had diagnosed the problem to be a blown circuit board. He recommended replacing the whole unit as it is 20 years old. That was on a Friday. He was out Monday with the new unit and had it installed and functioning in 2.5 hours. He tested the hot water function, water pressure, and leaks. Nate is THE best."
— Alan · Tankless diagnosis & replacement · Technician: Nate
★★★★★
"We called Earl's Plumbing to service our tankless hot water heater. With the hard water in our area this is important! The person from Earl's was professional, told me what would be done, the cost, and asked if I wanted the service done today. He was efficient, a nice guy, and delivered as promised. I am very happy and will call back next year!"
— Donna · Tankless maintenance
Repair It or Replace It?
We fix first when it makes sense. When it doesn't, we'll tell you why.
Repair it when…
- The unit is newer or middle-aged
- It's been maintained
- The part is available and reasonably priced
- The heat exchanger is in good shape
Replace it when…
- It's around 15–20 years old
- The heat exchanger or circuit board failed
- Parts are discontinued or delayed
- Repairs keep adding up. See tankless installation
Why Homeowners Call Earl's for Tankless Service
Tankless repair is part plumbing, part gas, part electronics. We do all three.
Noritz-certified
Trained on the units we work on, and we service Rinnai, Navien, and others too.
Repair first
We don't walk in selling a new water heater. If a part fixes it, that's the quote.
Gas & propane
Natural gas and propane units, plus the gas lines that feed them.
No service call fee
Free quote before any work. You decide, no pressure.
Same-day when available
Calls answered 24/7. No hot water gets priority.
100% satisfaction guarantee
If it's not right, we make it right. 28 years and three local offices behind that.
Endless Hot Water Needs a Little Attention
Tankless water heaters are great, right up until somebody's standing in a cold shower with shampoo in their hair. And most of the time, that cold shower started months earlier as scale quietly building up inside the unit.
Here's my advice: have it descaled once a year, especially on hard water. It's a lot cheaper than the repairs it prevents. And if yours is already acting up, call us. We'll find what's actually wrong, fix the unit you have if it's worth fixing, and tell you straight if it isn't.
— Clinton EarlOwner, Earl's Plumbing · Your Friend in the Business
28
Years serving Northern CA
8,500+
Google reviews
$0
Service call fee
24/7
Calls answered
Chico 4.8 ★ · 5,039 reviews
Redding 4.8 ★ · 2,527 reviews
Yuba City 4.8 ★ · 1,002 reviews
Call or Text Your Nearest Earl's Office
Three local offices covering eight Northern California counties. Every line takes calls and texts.
Redding
Redding · Anderson · Cottonwood · Shasta Lake · Palo Cedro · Red Bluff · Corning
(530) 244-3275
Schedule Tankless Repair or Maintenance Online
Book in about a minute, right here on the page. Mention "$25 web offer" in your notes and we'll apply it.
1Pick your service
2Choose a time that works
3Get a confirmation — done
Rather talk to a person? Call or text (530) 343-0330 — we answer 24/7.
No hot water or a leaking unit? Call for the fastest scheduling: (530) 343-0330.
Tankless Repair & Maintenance Questions, Answered
Error codes, cold showers, descaling, and repair vs. replace. Straight answers here.
Why is my tankless water heater not producing hot water?
The most common causes are scale buildup in the heat exchanger, a dirty or worn flame rod, ignition failure, a gas or propane supply problem, a blocked vent or air intake, a clogged inlet filter, low water flow, or a failed sensor or circuit board. Note any error code on the display. It tells the technician where to start.
Why does my tankless water heater go cold during a shower?
Usually the flow drops below what the unit needs to stay lit, scale is restricting the heat exchanger, or a dirty flame rod is causing the burner to drop out. A short burst of cold water after turning the tap off and back on is normal. Repeated hot-cold swings in one shower usually mean the unit needs service.
How often should a tankless water heater be descaled?
Once a year is a good baseline, and homes with hard water may need it more often. Chico city water averages about 122 parts per million hardness, which Cal Water classifies as moderately hard, and many wells in the area are harder. A water softener or scale-reduction system can stretch the time between descaling.
What is included in tankless water heater maintenance?
Earl's Plumbing tankless maintenance includes flushing and descaling the heat exchanger, cleaning the inlet water filter screen, inspecting the flame rod, burner, blower fan, and venting, checking for leaks, reviewing error history, and testing hot water operation. You will also get a plain-English report on the unit's condition and anything to watch.
What does an error code on my tankless water heater mean?
An error code points to the part of the system that stopped the unit, such as ignition, flame detection, venting, water flow, or overheating. Write the code down and check the manual. If it returns after one reset, stop resetting it and call, because repeated resets can hide a gas, venting, or safety problem.
Should I repair or replace my tankless water heater?
Repair usually makes sense when the unit is newer, has been maintained, and the failed part is available at a reasonable cost. Replacement is often smarter when the unit is around 15 to 20 years old, the heat exchanger or circuit board has failed, parts are discontinued, or repairs keep adding up. We quote both.
What tankless water heater brands does Earl's Plumbing service?
Earl's Plumbing services Rinnai, Noritz, Navien, and most other major tankless brands, on both natural gas and propane. We are a Noritz-certified tankless contractor. Technicians check ignition, gas or propane supply, venting, water flow, scale buildup, and combustion parts before recommending any repair, so you only pay for what the unit actually needs.
How much does tankless water heater repair cost?
It depends on what failed. A descale and cleaning is a lot different from a circuit board. That's exactly why we don't charge a service call fee. We come out, diagnose the unit, and give you a free quote before we touch anything. If repair isn't worth it on an old unit, I want you to hear that from us.