TSBPE #M-43891
Tankless Water Heater Installation in Austin — Rinnai, Navien, & Noritz Certified
Going tankless in Austin has real benefits — endless hot water, recovered garage floor space, a cleaner mechanical setup — but the math is more nuanced than the marketing brochure says. Austin Plumbing Pros is certified to install Rinnai, Navien, and Noritz units, and we’ll quote both tank replacement and tankless conversion so you can make the call with real numbers. Most installs run $3,800-$5,200 turnkey.
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The reason annual descale is mandatory on Austin tankless installs: the same Edwards Aquifer hardness that destroys tank anodes precipitates as calcium scale on a tankless heat exchanger plate. Without descale, the heat exchanger fails at year 5-6 and that’s an $850-$1,200 part. With annual descale (or a whole-house softener upstream), the unit makes 15-20 years. Every Austin tankless install we do gets isolation/flush valves at install so descale is a 30-minute job, not a wall open.
The Honest Cost-Benefit Math For Austin
A standard 50-gallon gas tank uses about 240 therms/year on standby and reheat losses for a 4-person household. A condensing tankless uses 165 therms/year for the same hot water output. Texas Gas Service residential rate floats around $1.05/therm with the surcharges in 2026. Annual savings: ~$79. That number is honest, and it’s much less than the marketing claims. The reasons to go tankless in Austin are not energy savings — they’re (1) unlimited hot water for back-to-back showers in a busy household, (2) recovered garage or utility space, (3) longer life expectancy (15-20 years vs. 8-12 for a tank in our hard water), and (4) a clean mechanical install that adds resale appeal.
What’s Actually Included In The $3,800-$5,200 Range
The unit itself ($1,400-$2,400 depending on flow rate). PVC venting (concentric or two-pipe, $245-$485). Gas line resize from 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch if needed (about 70% of Austin retrofits, $345-$540). Isolation valves with flush ports ($165). Condensate neutralizer ($95). Permit and TRRC paperwork ($245). Day-of labor ($785). Removal and haul of the old tank ($85). For a Rinnai RU199i, condensing model, with all of that included, real all-in is around $4,400-$4,900 in a typical Austin install.
Sizing — The Difference Between A Happy Owner And A Cold Shower
Tankless sizing is by gallons-per-minute (GPM) at a 70°F rise (typical Austin winter). RU160i: 6.5 GPM — one shower plus a kitchen sink. RU199i: 9 GPM — two showers plus a sink. Larger Rinnai SE models: 11 GPM — two showers and the dishwasher. For a 3-bath, 4-person house with morning shower overlap, the RU199i is the sweet spot. Undersizing is the single most common installer mistake and the reason people complain about tankless. We size by actual fixture flow not by tank gallons.
Recirculation — Stop Wasting Water Waiting For Hot
An Austin master bath 50 feet of pipe from the tankless takes 35-50 seconds of cold-water dump before the hot arrives. Add a recirculation pump with a smart timer and the dump time drops to 5-8 seconds. Two options: a dedicated return line (best, requires a wall open for new pipe, $785-$1,200 added) or a comfort-valve under-sink crossover (cheaper, $345 added, slightly slower). Recirc also pays for itself in lower water bills — about $90/year on a typical Austin water/sewer rate.
Hard Water And Annual Descale — Don’t Skip This
Edwards Aquifer hardness (170-300 ppm) will scale the heat exchanger of any tankless within 18 months without descale. Skipping descale voids the manufacturer warranty. Annual descale is $165 with isolation valves installed (we install them on every job). A whole-house softener ($1,850 installed) eliminates the descale need and protects the rest of the plumbing — worth the math on a long-term hold.
Transparent Austin Plumbing Pricing
Service calls from $79 daytime · $189 after-hours (waived if you authorize the repair) · Free written quote on jobs over $500
Five Promises We Keep On Every Austin Job
Written estimate before we cut
Every Austin job gets a flat-rate quote texted to your phone before any drywall or pipe is touched. No surprise invoices, no nibble-charges. 📞 (512) 555-PLBR
Master plumber on every truck
TSBPE M-43891. The lead tech who arrives at your house is a Master or Journeyman, never apprentice-only. Verify any Austin plumber’s license at tsbpe.texas.gov. 📞 Verify license
Two-year parts-and-labor warranty
Repair fails inside 24 months? We come back free, parts and labor. That’s twice the typical Austin trade warranty and we mean it. 📞 Warranty claim
Every permit, pulled and closed
City of Austin, Travis County, Williamson County, Round Rock, Pflugerville, Cedar Park, Leander, Georgetown — we know every jurisdiction and pull every permit. 📞 Same-day permit
Honest repair-vs-replace math
If the cheaper fix is the right answer, we tell you. We don’t run mandatory membership clubs. We don’t manufacture urgency to upsell a whole-house repipe when a $145 cartridge swap is what you need. 📞 Get a quote
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does tankless installation cost in Austin?
$3,800-$5,200 turnkey for a Rinnai RU160i or RU199i with venting, gas resize, isolation valves, condensate management, permit, and old tank removal.
How long will my tankless last?
15-20 years with annual descale. The heat exchanger is the wear part; replacement at year 12-15 is about $850 vs. a full new unit at $1,500+.
Will I really get unlimited hot water?
Yes — within the GPM capacity of the unit. An RU199i delivers 9 GPM continuously. That’s two showers plus a sink, or one shower plus dishwasher, indefinitely.
Do I need a water softener too?
Recommended in Austin’s hardness range. Not required, but it doubles the heat exchanger life and eliminates annual descale. Pays back in 6-8 years.
Can I keep my old gas line?
About 70% of Austin homes need a 3/4-inch upsize. We’ll measure and quote. Adds $345-$540 to the install.
Will my electric bill change?
Tankless gas units have a small power draw (~50W) for ignition and controls. Electric tankless units exist but require massive amperage upgrades — almost never the right answer in an Austin retrofit.
Is the install permitted?
Yes — every tankless install is permitted with Austin One-Stop Shop and inspected. TRRC paperwork for the gas work is also filed.
More Austin Plumbing Services
Emergency Plumber Austin · Drain Cleaning · Water Heater Repair · Leak Detection
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About Austin Plumbing Pros
Austin Plumbing Pros is the city’s premium master-licensed plumbing operation, run out of three depots — South Slaughter Lane, Anderson Mill, and East Riverside — so a TSBPE-licensed plumber is on-site for most calls within 35-60 minutes of dispatch anywhere inside the 130 loop. Every emergency truck carries a Master or Journeyman as the lead tech (never apprentice-only), the standard inventory truck stocks Rheem, A.O. Smith, and Bradford White water heaters plus Moen, Delta, and Kohler cartridges and aerators, and we pull permits with the City of Austin, Travis County, Williamson County, Round Rock, Pflugerville, Cedar Park, Leander, Georgetown, and Manor jurisdictions every business day. We’ve spent enough hours pulling cast iron out of pre-1980 Hyde Park backyards and chasing slab leaks under 1990s North Austin builds that we know which symptom is the easy fix and which is buying time. When you call, a real Austin dispatcher picks up. When the truck arrives, the Master plumber writes you a flat-rate estimate before any drywall or pipe is touched. When the job’s done, you get a two-year parts-and-labor warranty. That’s the entire operation in three sentences.
📞 Same-day service in any Austin ZIP — (512) 555-PLBR · Master licensed TSBPE #M-43891 · TRRC #LP-2089 · $2M general liability · Two-year warranty · Free written quote on any job over $500.