Printable kit · 9 worksheets
The Water Heater Replacement Planner
Size the replacement to your household's real peak hour instead of a guess, decide honestly between a tank, tankless or heat pump upgrade using this site's own calculators and today's catalog prices, compare installer quotes against the same code checklist every time, and run the operating-cost math on YOUR rates before committing to the more expensive option.
- 9 fill-in worksheets, 32 print pages
- 2 filled-in examples to copy the format from
- Companion Excel / Google Sheets tracker with a sizing and an operating-cost-and-payback calculator
- Online buyer guide with current prices, by type and by tier
Replaces the guess at what size tank to buy, the installer quote nobody checked against a code list, and the "tankless pays for itself" claim nobody ran the numbers on for their own rates.
30-day money-back guarantee. Use it all; if it doesn't help, every dollar back.
Look inside
Real pages from the PDF you download, including both filled-in examples. Swipe or scroll.
What's in it
See all 9 worksheet titles
- My Water Heater At A Glance
- Sizing Sheet
- Type Decision Sheet
- Operating Cost & Payback Worksheet
- Installer Quote Comparison
- Permit & Code Checklist
- Maintenance Log
- Warning Signs & When To Replace
- Budget Planner
Also included
- 2 filled-in example worksheets. Sizing Sheet and Operating Cost & Payback Worksheet, filled in for a hypothetical household, clearly marked as an example, so you can see a finished page before you start.
- 1 bonus printable. Quick Reference: Sizing Numbers & Code Basics: DOE worksheet gallons, common breaker and pipe sizes, and the safety rules, cut down to a fridge-magnet card
- 1 companion spreadsheet. An editable workbook: a sizing calculator and an operating-cost-and-payback calculator using this site's own formulas, a budget tracker with a running total, and a maintenance log. Tabs: Sizing calculator, Operating cost and payback, Budget planner, Maintenance log.
- 1 start-here page. The four sheets to fill in the first 20 minutes, and which sheet to reach for while shopping, at the permit stage, or on the next maintenance check.
Plus the online buyer guide
Six complete setups, three tiers each for a tank replacement and a tankless conversion, every item priced and linked, plus every product the kit names, kept current on this site. Your kit links straight to it, so the prices you plan with are today's, not the day the PDF was printed.
Who it's for
- Anyone replacing a failed or aging water heater who wants the first hour rating and tankless flow sized correctly, not guessed from the old tank's gallons
- Anyone choosing between a tank, tankless or heat pump upgrade who wants a real decision process using their own energy rates rather than a general claim
- Anyone comparing more than one installer quote who wants the same code checklist asked of each one
- Anyone who wants the permit, T&P valve, expansion tank, gas pipe, breaker and drain pan items checked in one place before work begins
- A household where more than one person needs to know the heater's real numbers and maintenance history
Who made this
Built by the WaterHeaterCalc team from the same first hour rating, tankless GPM, gas pipe, breaker and expansion tank formulas the free site's calculators run on, laid out as a workbook to fill in and compare quotes against rather than a page to read.
30-day money-back guarantee
Use the whole kit. If it doesn't help, fill in the refund form within 30 days and you get every dollar back. No questions asked. Refund form.
Questions
Does this replace the free site?
No. The free site has the calculators, reviews and buying guides; the kit is where your own heater's numbers, your installer quotes and your maintenance history get written down, dated and reused, plus the budget tracker and online buyer guide the free pages do not carry.
Does this tell me exactly what size to buy?
It gives you the same formulas the free calculators use, filled in with your own household's numbers: peak hour demand, first hour rating and, for a tankless unit, flow at your own temperature rise. It will not guess a number for you, and it will not invent a serial-number date code or a rebate amount that this kit cannot verify.
Does it cover gas line, flue or electrical work?
It covers what to check and record: the required pipe size, breaker size and expansion tank size from this site's own calculators, and a checklist of what a licensed installer's quote should include. It never tells you to do gas line, flue or electrical work yourself, because that is where a mistake becomes dangerous.
Is the payback math a promise of savings?
No. It is the same simple-payback formula the free calculator uses, run on the rates and use you enter. Results vary by your own fuel price, your own hot water use and the installed cost difference where you live, and the worksheet says so.
What if it does not help?
Use the whole kit for 30 days. If it does not help, the refund form on the contact page gets every dollar back, no questions asked. Refund form.
Printable or fillable on screen?
Both. Print it and write by hand, or open a worksheet PDF in a reader that supports typing and fill it on a tablet or phone.
The Water Heater Replacement Planner
9 worksheets · 32 pages · examples, workbook and online buyer guide