Water heater question

[Pepsi90919]

by 'tub' do you mean 'tank' ?

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
by 'tub' do you mean 'tank' ?

I am referring to the big white cylindrical thing. I assume a tank is inside all that insulation. I just refer to the whole thing as the tub.

MotionMan

 

[Squisher]

I'm not sure from your posts. Did you pull the dip tube out?

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: Squisher
I'm not sure from your posts. Did you pull the dip tube out?

No, but I did shine some light in its general direction

MotionMan

 

[Squisher]

Originally posted by: MotionMan

Originally posted by: Squisher
I'm not sure from your posts. Did you pull the dip tube out?

No, but I did shine some light in its general direction

MotionMan

The dip tube that gave me a problem became brittle and a small piece a little smaller than a dime broke out right at the top of the tube. It wasn't until I removed the tube that it fractured into three pieces and I had to lay the tank on its side to fish them out.

You might not be able to see it if you're looking through a hole in the side like where the thermostat is mounted.

EDIT - my hot water tank was only 5 years old when this happened.

 

[sswingle]

At 10 years old that thing has gotta be full of lime and would explain it going cold in the middle of your shower.

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: QED
It would only be hot if hot water were actively flowing through your pipes (i.e. you had a hot water tap open somehwere). Otherwise, it would only be warm-- and how warm would depend on how recently you had hot water flowing.

Is the heater gas or electric? Electric heaters usually have two heat coils-- it's possible one might have died, which would explain the sudden drop in performance.

thats what happened to mine, replaced the whole thing instead of just the element tho... got me a huge 100 gal sucker.

but he did say pilot light, so im assuming its gas. i know nothing about how the gas ones work, so im afraid anything i say about it may be wrong.

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy

Originally posted by: QED
It would only be hot if hot water were actively flowing through your pipes (i.e. you had a hot water tap open somehwere). Otherwise, it would only be warm-- and how warm would depend on how recently you had hot water flowing.

Is the heater gas or electric? Electric heaters usually have two heat coils-- it's possible one might have died, which would explain the sudden drop in performance.

:thumbsup:

Had to change one or both a couple of times over the years.

Changing out a coils isn't hard it's just a PITA because you have to turn off the water and drain the hot water heater with a hose, remove a plate, remove a couple of bolts and they come right out. Make sure to get a coil with the correct wattage

don't forget to unplug the H20 heater.

 

[MotionMan]

The plumber came out.

He says the water heater is 16 years old. He checked a few things and thinks that it needs to be cleaned out. He is going to empty it out and see if our situation improves. If not, he is recommending replacing it.

I wonder if that will be enough for the home warranty people (probably not )

MotionMan

 

[Scarpozzi]

Originally posted by: MotionMan
The plumber came out.

He says the water heater is 16 years old. He checked a few things and thinks that it needs to be cleaned out. He is going to empty it out and see if our situation improves. If not, he is recommending replacing it.

I wonder if that will be enough for the home warranty people (probably not )

MotionMan

I just now read the thread or I would have commented sooner....

If you have hard water, you likely have lime buildup in your heater. You can run some chemicals thorugh it to clean it out, flush it with a water hose, or replace it. Honestly, technology hasn't gotten that much better on the gas units in the last 16 years. The ony real advances are the insulation, but that's only on high-end units.

I recommend seeing if he can fix it to keep you running for another year or two. Beyond that, price out the tankless systems and save your receipt for a rebate from uncle sam.

Finally, remember that low-flow shower heads can often reduce the pressure, but save you a ton of hot water. If you have a tank capacity problem due to many people showering in a short period of time (IE, kids getting ready for school), try installing a low-flow system. It sucks in comparison when it comes to pressure, but it can save you 25-50% of your hot water supply.

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
Finally, remember that low-flow shower heads can often reduce the pressure, but save you a ton of hot water. If you have a tank capacity problem due to many people showering in a short period of time (IE, kids getting ready for school), try installing a low-flow system. It sucks in comparison when it comes to pressure, but it can save you 25-50% of your hot water supply.

The hot water actually runs out during the first shower of the morning. Luckily, we have another shower (and water heater) on the other side of the house, so we both get in a shower. The kids bathe at night.

MotionMan

 

[KK]

have you taken off any of your aerators yet?

 

[Capt Caveman]

16 years is a long long time for a water heater and not worth spending any money to repair it. Replacing it should cost you $300-400.

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: KK
have you taken off any of your aerators yet?

Yes. No shrapnel found.

MotionMan

 

[NoShangriLa]

Does anyone know what to look for in a tankless water heater?

Tankless save a bit of energy, however the initial cost is higher than traditional HWT.

Stay away from electric tankless because most do not have high enough gpm delivery rates, and the higher rating ones required very high amperage which may entail running new electrical service from the pole to your house & a new panel.

Gas tankless is the way to go because gas can deliver very high Btu burn rates, therefore it can deliver much higher flow rate than electrical tankless system.

IMHO, get a slightly higher gpm rating than the suggestive fixture/s demand so that you have hot water when using multiple services at the same time.

He checked a few things and thinks that it needs to be cleaned out.

It could be scale built up due to hard water, and you can try to clean it out yourself (16 years old is quite old for a HWT).

try installing a low-flow system

You can say it sucks again for low flow system. Many people and myself get discount from the city for buying low flow shower head (can't buy non low flow shower head in my town), and then remove the low flow (restrictive) disk to get full flow.