Noritz Water Heater Review: The EZ Series and Tank Replacement

Noritz is tankless-only, and its EZ Series is built around one specific job: replacing a storage tank without rebuilding the room around it. That focus is the reason to look at the brand, and it is also the reason the interesting questions are about the installation rather than the unit. This review covers what the EZ Series is designed for, what the EZTR bundles actually contain, what the heat exchanger warranty does and does not cover, and one place where Noritz’s own published figures contradict each other.

The Quick Answer: Who Noritz Suits

Noritz suits a household replacing a storage tank with a tankless unit, where the existing space and connections are the constraint. Because Noritz makes tankless units only, there is no tank option to fall back on: the decision is whether going tankless works in the building at all. Where it does, the EZ Series is designed around that changeover, which is a narrower and more practical pitch than a brand slogan.

Being tankless-only cuts both ways, and it is worth understanding before a quote arrives. There is no in-brand compromise available: if the venting route or the gas supply turns out to be impractical, the answer is not a smaller Noritz but a different category of product altogether, from a different manufacturer. A contractor who leads with Noritz has, in effect, already decided the house suits tankless. That is a reasonable position where it holds, but it is the assumption worth testing first rather than last.

What The EZ Series Is Built Around

Noritz describes the EZ Series as high-efficiency condensing tankless water heaters designed for replacing storage tank-type units. The design detail Noritz highlights is top-mounted connections, intended to suit a range of installation scenarios — which matters in a retrofit, because the existing pipework usually arrives from above where a tank used to sit.

The EZTR models are the clearest expression of that idea. They are not different heaters but bundles: Noritz lists the EZTR50 and EZTR75 as including the heater, a flex vent conversion kit with 25 feet of 2-inch flex, an isolation valve kit and a startup guide, and the EZTR40 as including the heater, a vent kit and service valves. Buying the parts matched in advance removes a class of delay from a changeover, which is a practical benefit rather than a performance one.

The flex vent conversion kit is the part of that bundle worth understanding. Replacing a tank with a condensing tankless unit means the old vent is no longer suitable: a tank vents hot flue gases up a metal flue, while a condensing unit produces cooler exhaust and condensate and vents through a different material on a different route. Flexible vent that can be run through an existing chimney chase is one way of solving that without opening walls, which is why it is bundled. Whether it suits a given house is still a site question.

Noritz’s EZ Models

The listed EZ range is narrow, which suits its purpose. Per Noritz’s own listings:

Noritz EZ Series, per Noritz’s published listings

Model	What it is	Notes from Noritz’s listings
EZ71DV	Condensing tankless	Listed in the EZ Series range
EZ98DV	Condensing tankless	12,800 to 180,000 BTU/h input; listed indoor and outdoor; natural gas with LP field conversion included
EZ111DV	Condensing tankless	The largest of the three listed models
EZTR40 / EZTR50 / EZTR75	Retrofit bundles	Heater plus vent and valve kits, matched for a tank changeover

Where Noritz’s Own Figures Disagree

Noritz publishes two different efficiency ratings for the same unit, so this page does not state one. The EZ Series overview page lists a UEF of 0.95 for both the EZ98 and the EZ111. The EZ98DV product page lists 0.98 for that model. Both are Noritz’s own pages, and they cannot both describe the EZ98 correctly.

That is worth knowing beyond this one number. Efficiency ratings get quoted in sales conversations as though they are fixed properties of a brand, when they belong to a specific model and are published on a specific sheet. If a figure matters to your decision — because it feeds a rebate application, or a payback calculation — take it from the specification sheet for the exact model number on the quote, and be ready to find that a brochure and a product page disagree. We have not restated either figure here, because doing so would pass along a contradiction as though it were settled.

The Warranty, And What It Actually Covers

Noritz publishes a 25-year warranty on the heat exchanger, stated for the residential market and requiring registration. Both conditions do real work. A unit installed in a commercial setting is not covered on the same terms, and an unregistered unit may not be covered on those terms at all — registration is a step at handover that is easy to skip and awkward to fix later.

The scope is also narrower than a headline number suggests: 25 years attaches to the heat exchanger, which is the component least likely to need attention in the early years. Other parts — the igniter, flame sensor, flow sensor and control board — carry their own terms in the warranty document. Ask which parts a quote’s warranty claim actually refers to.

Which Noritz Components Get Serviced

A Noritz has the service profile of any condensing tankless unit.

• Heat exchanger — where scale builds in water carrying a heavy mineral load; descaling on the manufacturer’s schedule is the main preventative task.
• Condensate drain and trap — condensing units produce condensate, and a blocked path shuts down an otherwise healthy unit.
• Flow sensor — determines whether the unit fires; fouling produces intermittent or lukewarm output.
• Igniter and flame sensor — prove and sustain combustion, and failures surface as fault codes.
• Remote controller — reports fault codes, which is where diagnosis starts.
• Venting and air intake — a blocked or wrongly terminated vent is a safety fault, not a performance one.

Component-level detail sits on the tankless water heater repair page.

What To Check Before You Buy A Noritz

Because the EZ Series is a retrofit product, the checks are about the changeover. Confirm the gas supply and its run length; the venting route, and whether a flex conversion kit suits it; somewhere for condensate to drain; the fuel, since the EZ98DV is listed as natural gas with an LP conversion included rather than as a separate model; and whether an indoor or outdoor position is intended. Sizing follows flow rate and the temperature rise the unit has to deliver, which is largest in winter — so a maximum flow figure quoted without its temperature rise tells you little. The tankless water heater installation page covers that scope and the cost guide covers the published planning ranges.

Noritz Service In Lancaster County

Tankless-only brands reward a technician who reads their fault codes, because that is where a visit starts. Lancaster Water Heater Pros services Noritz tankless units across Lancaster City and Lancaster County, covering zip codes 17601, 17602 and 17603 along with the surrounding boroughs and townships. Where a fault sits in the heat exchanger, the condensate path or the controller, the Noritz water heater repair page covers what that service call involves.

Photographing the rating plate before a visit saves a return trip, since the model and serial number give the series, fuel and age. If you are comparing tankless brands, the Rinnai and Navien reviews cover the other two condensing ranges we service, and the Rheem, A.O. Smith and Bradford White reviews cover the tank-led alternatives if going tankless turns out not to suit the house.

Noritz Tankless FAQ