Hey,

My hot water heater (gas) is finally letting go.

Who does the hive mind recommend for replacement?

FYI: I don't want to go tank-less, just a regular water heater.

My gas company (blossom) is doing a promotional now where you get the water heater at cost and installation is free.
I went with tankless because I have lots of people in the house and long times when we don't need to keep a ton of hot water on hand.
There's also some big tax credits for tankless heater.

We used Michael and Sons and they were great.

We called a few companies(only 2 called us back) to come look at our tank as it was just starting to die. They showed up to do the assessment and had a gas and an electric tank on there truck so when my fiancée said we would like to replace the tank, they were ready and took care of it on the spot. Everything was done quickly and without mess and I was told the tech that did it was a very nice guy.

I used the large company with the image of the owner waving on the back of their truck. I had a house full of guests and the hot water heater went to hell so I needed a replacement ASAP.  Excellent job but way, way overpriced.  I suggest looking for a smaller local company with good ratings.  I wish I'd had the time to shop around but five women/girls needed functioning bathrooms.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. Much appreciated.

Its actually not a hard DIY

All Pipes and Lines are already there, just trun off valves, swap fittings, and go

Ours died about a week before the new 2015 Government regulations
kicked in.  Our installer, Michael's and Son, determined our 10-15 year old propane heater was installed correctly at that time, but now we needed a drip pan, larger 4" exhaust, etc, etc, etc.  Newer regulations which weren't around when we had our old hot water heater installed.  They also said we needed vents in the walls near our heater.    We said ok but didn't install them and when the inspector came by, the inspector said we should be fine without them.  



Good luck.