Commercial Water Heaters in La Vernia, East Bexar and San Antonio

Call (830) 475-2604 — 24/7 emergency service

Office hours 8 AM–11 PM daily · 24/7 emergency service

We size, replace and repair water heaters for restaurants, offices, salons, laundromats, churches and apartment buildings, matching each to its busiest hour, fuel, venting and code requirements. Our shop is on US-87 in La Vernia, serving La Vernia, St. Hedwig, Adkins and China Grove, Floresville, Seguin, Schertz and Cibolo and east San Antonio.

A heater leaking water you can't stop is an emergency: call at any hour and we send our on-call plumber right away. If you smell gas, get everyone out first (see the gas safety steps below). Replacements are booked around your business hours.

Tank, tankless or a boiler with storage

Commercial tanks: gas or electric, with bigger burners or elements than household units; stored water covers bursts like shampoo bowls running back to back.
Tankless units: heat water as it flows. Busy buildings mount several so one can be serviced while the rest run. They need far more gas and regular descaling.
Hot water supply boilers: a high-input heater feeding a separate storage tank, used in larger apartment buildings and some laundromats.

Locally, "boiler" often just means a water heater (see our boiler page). We work on domestic hot water only, not boilers that heat the building.

Federal rules: the U.S. Department of Energy's stricter commercial water heater standards, adopted in 2023, apply to models manufactured on and after October 6, 2026. In May 2026, citing a court challenge, it said it won't seek civil penalties over gas-fired storage, tankless and hot water supply boiler models made before October 6, 2027. The rule's status could still change, so check before ordering.

Sizing for your busiest hour

We note which users run together, such as a three-compartment sink filling while the dish machine cycles, a laundromat's Saturday rush or morning apartment showers. Then we work out the gallons that hour draws, the temperature needed and how far the heater must raise incoming water, which is colder in winter.

A church quiet all week suits a big tank with a modest burner; a restaurant busy from prep to close suits a high-input burner or a tankless bank. High-temperature dish machines usually get their own booster heater.

Gas supply and venting

Before a bigger gas heater goes in, we total the BTU load, measure the run from the meter and confirm the pipe can carry it. If not, a larger line goes in with a shutoff at the heater and must pass a gas pressure test. The utility (CPS Energy in San Antonio) may need to set a larger meter. See tankless water heater gas lines and restaurant gas lines.

Natural-draft heaters vent up a metal flue; condensing heaters use plastic vent pipe and a condensate drain, often with a neutralizer. Pulling a heater off a shared chimney can leave the other appliance drafting poorly, so we check it. Electric units need a large circuit, which an electrician runs.

Smell gas? Leave the building first and get everyone out. Don't flip switches, start equipment or light anything. Once outside, call 911 or your gas utility's emergency line (CPS Energy in San Antonio), or your propane supplier if you use propane. Then call us.

Code items that come up

San Antonio enforces the 2024 International Plumbing Code with local amendments.

Hand sink temperature: public restroom lavatories need tempered water, 85°F to 110°F, through an ASSE 1070 limiting device. Texas food safety guidance asks for handwashing water of at least 100°F, so restaurant mixing valves meet both.
Expansion tanks: if a storage heater's cold supply passes a check valve or pressure-reducing valve, the code requires a thermal expansion tank on that cold line, downstream of those valves.
Relief valves: San Antonio requires the relief valve drain to run full size and downhill, with no valves or tees, through an air gap in the same room to a floor sink or other waste receptor, or outdoors 6 to 12 inches above grade.

In San Antonio, most commercial heater replacements need a general plumbing permit and Development Services inspections. The city's Limited Service and Repair permit covers only small like-for-like swaps (same type and size, same spot, existing vent, gas or circuit) under the city's value cap, which most commercial jobs exceed. La Vernia, Seguin and county areas have their own rules. Either way, the plumber doing the work pulls the permit.

Hard water and scale

SAWS says the calcium carbonate behind hard water occurs naturally in Edwards and Trinity aquifer water. Many rural properties in Wilson and Guadalupe counties use private wells. Commercial heaters build scale sooner than household units: sediment piles up in a tank, making it rumble and run long, and scale lines a tankless heat exchanger until it throws error codes. Flush or descale on a schedule set by your water and volume, fit isolation valves on tankless units, and consider water softening after testing well water.

Planning a replacement with less downtime

Start before the old heater fails; a tank leaking from the bottom or slow to recover is the signal.

Survey: rating plate, the path in, gas, vent, drains and relief line.
Order: the new unit is on site before the old one comes out.
Swap: early morning, after closing or on your slowest day; with two heaters or a tankless bank, one at a time so part of the system keeps running.
Start-up: purge, fire, set the temperature and mixing valve, and check the vent.

Commercial water heater questions

Can a household water heater serve a small office or salon?

A small office with two restroom sinks often can. A salon with several shampoo bowls usually outruns one by midday. We compare your peak use with the heater's rating first.

Do the new federal rules mean replacing a working heater?

No. The federal standard covers new commercial models manufactured on and after October 6, 2026. A heater already in service can keep running and be repaired.

Do you handle apartment building water heaters?

Yes: central heaters, storage tanks, recirculation pumps and in-unit heaters. In San Antonio, staff under an owner's annual plumbing maintenance permit may replace existing electric heaters, but gas-fired installations need a licensed contractor.

What if the heater starts leaking during business hours?

Shut off its gas or power and the cold water valve, then call. If water won't stop, call at any hour and we send our on-call plumber right away. If you smell gas, leave the building first and, from outside, call 911, your gas utility (CPS Energy in San Antonio) or your propane supplier, then call us.

Plan your next water heater with us

Call (830) 475-2604 with a rating plate photo and the hours your building is quiet. We hold Texas plumbing license # M-27587. See also commercial plumbing and our coupons.