Replace two water heaters with one?

[Atl_Rob]

Hi everyone,

I currently have two 50 gal gas water heaters supplying hot water to my home. It's a large home with 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms currently occupied by a family of four (myself, wife, and two kids). None of us has ever ran out of hot water. We will potentially be finishing the basement at some point, adding another 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.

Recently I found a new leak coming from the bottom of one of the water heaters. The heaters are 16 years old and I think it's probably time to replace. My question is, if I decide to replace both water heaters, should I replace them with two 50 gals again, or could I just replace them with a single bigger one? Would I gain anything by doing this?

Additional info:
From what I can tell, the water heaters seem to be independent of each other, meaning they have separate hot pipes servicing different portions of the house. They are, however, sitting side by side in the basement. They share a recirculating pump with the line connected to the bottom drains of the heaters. Only one of the tanks has an expansion tank (the one that's NOT leaking). The pressure release is pipes are directed into a sewer pvc, so I couldn't tell if pressure is being exceeded. I've replaced a water heater before but this setup looks really complicated to be honest.

 

[Terry]

At sixteen years you are due for new water heaters. You might as well change them both now. I would stick with what you have and just copy what has been done.
Personally, with that set up I would call in someone that is comfortable working with gas.

You can go to a single 75 gallon tank, but then the savings isn't all that much anyway.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Atl_Rob]

Thanks for the advice. I'll go with the same setup as you suggested. I got a hold of a local contractor through Home Depot and they quoted me $3,300 for everything. The heaters themselves are $615 each, so this seems like a total robbery. I'm comfortable doing the work myself, but not sure how to get around the permit issue without hiring someone.

 

[Reach4]

I'm comfortable doing the work myself, but not sure how to get around the permit issue without hiring someone.

There are two ways. One is to get the permit, and they will inspect. https://www.atlantaga.gov/governmen...t/office-of-buildings/permits/plumbing-permit The other way is to not.

 

[Dj2]

Personally, I prefer two units instead of one large unit.

 

[WorthFlorida]

By going to one unit the distant from the water heater to the furthest fixture can be quite long and you be wasting a lot of water waiting for it to get hot water.

 

[Jadnashua]

If the distances from the WH to the typical points of use are long, you may want to consider either a return line - if you're lucky, you might get it to work without a pump. But, if not, add a hot water recirculation system...with two tanks feeding separate areas, you'd need two of them. In my small condo, the difference between having the system on verses off is hot water is available in seconds verses nearly 2-minutes - worse in the winter when things get colder. Installing it on either a demand switch, occupancy switch, or a timer can minimize the energy losses. You do want your lines insulated, if they aren't already. The increase in energy use may actually not be significant, and when you include the water you're throwing away, including sewer costs, and the energy it costs to heat the gallons of water that gets displaced when you try to purge the lines without one, it can work out saving money, if not only wasted water (a big deal in some places!).