Tankless Water Heater in Vinings, GA

Vinings in brief

Vinings is an affluent unincorporated community on the Chattahoochee, across from Buckhead's Paces area; its 30339 ZIP mails as Atlanta. The median home was built in 1996, and about 21% predate 1980. Cobb County Water System supplies water bought wholesale from the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority (Lake Allatoona and the Chattahoochee River), with a free chlorine residual, and reports no lead service lines identified in its area. Cobb County Community Development's Building Division handles permits and inspections.

What to do now

1. Smell gas? Leave first. From outside, call 911 and Atlanta Gas Light at 877.427.4321. AGL service to Vinings is assumed, so confirm on your gas bill.
2. Read the display. On an existing tankless unit, note any error code.
3. Check the vent cap. Leaves from wooded lots can block a sidewall termination.
4. Know your unit's location. Townhomes and condos often have tight closets, where venting is the main constraint.
5. Plan for the county permit. The Building Division is at (770) 528-2060.

Symptoms and likely causes

Cost factors

• Gas pipe size from the meter
• Vent route, which in a condo or townhome may be limited by shared walls and association rules
• Condensate drain for condensing units
• Unit capacity and recirculation in larger homes
• Cobb County permit and inspection

Cobb's report does not list hardness, so a water test helps set the flush interval. Residents can check their home's pipe material at cobbcounty.gov/WSLI.

Single-family homes on Vinings' wooded lots often keep the heater in a basement or garage, where a wall-hung unit and short sidewall vent fit well. In older houses, gas pipe sized for a tank and furnace may need upsizing, and the plumber will measure the run from the meter before quoting. Because Vinings mails as Atlanta, confirm with the plumber that the permit goes to Cobb County, not the City of Atlanta.