Utah's Most Commonly Replaced Water Heater
The 50-gallon natural gas water heater is what most Utah homes were built with, and for good reason. It covers a wide range of household sizes without being oversized for the space. A family of three or four people gets through a typical morning without anyone getting a cold shower, and there's enough buffer to run the dishwasher and throw in a load of laundry on the same afternoon.
For a household of five, the 50-gallon gas unit still works well as long as hot water usage is somewhat spread out. Back-to-back-to-back showers in a 30-minute window can challenge any 50-gallon tank, but the fast recovery rate on a gas unit means the tank is ready again quickly. If your household consistently runs out of hot water during morning rush, the 75-gallon is a better fit. But the 50-gallon handles the majority of Utah families without issue.
This is also the unit we install most frequently, which means our technicians know it extremely well. Common installation issues, local code requirements, typical venting configurations in Utah homes from different construction eras: all of it is familiar territory for our crews.
Gas vs Electric at 50 Gallons
At the 50-gallon size, the gap between gas and electric performance is clear. A 50-gallon gas unit with a 40,000 BTU burner has a first-hour rating around 80 to 90 gallons. The electric equivalent at 50 gallons, running dual 4,500-watt elements, comes in around 60 to 65 gallons for the first hour. That's a meaningful difference when you have a full household drawing hot water simultaneously.
Recovery time tells the same story. A gas unit can reheat a depleted 50-gallon tank in about an hour and ten minutes. An electric unit at the same size takes closer to two hours. For families with predictable morning demand peaks, gas gives you a more forgiving schedule.
The operating cost advantage for gas in Utah is real. Depending on utility rates at any given time, gas typically costs 30 to 40 percent less to operate per unit of heat delivered. Over 10 to 12 years, that difference adds up substantially.
Three 50-Gallon Gas Brands to Choose From
All major brands are built for residential reliability. The 50-gallon direct vent gas units we install use an atmospheric vent design, meaning it draws combustion air from the surrounding space and vents exhaust through an aluminum vent flue. We upgrade that flue to current Utah code during every installation.
The tank uses a glass lining to resist corrosion and a self-cleaning dip tube that keeps sediment from accumulating on the bottom, where it would otherwise reduce efficiency and shorten tank life. Utah's moderately hard water makes these features more relevant than they'd be in softer-water regions.
Our all-in price of $1,980 covers everything: A new water heater unit, licensed installation, properly sized expansion tank, drain pan, stainless flex connections, updated venting, seismic earthquake straps, and complete haul-away. No surprises at the door.