Hot water heater question

Factual Questions
1

For the past several days, the amount of hot water in our heater seems to have diminished. I am usually the first person up in the morning, so I should have plenty of hot water to take a shower. However, I have been finding that I run out of hot water after just a few minutes, barely enough time for me to soap up, shampoo, and rinse off. Shaving is a race against the cold water.

Ivylad doesn’t think it’s the element, because if it were blown we would have no hot water at all. Do we need a new heater, or is this something that can be repaired?

2

Your tank may be different but mine has two elements, an upper and a lower. They’re very easy to replace if that is the problem.

3

I’ve had this happen to me a number of times. I bet you do have two elements and the lower one is blown (that’s where the sediment collects)

4

Oh, good. So is this something we can do ourselves by popping over to Home Depot, or do we have to hire someone to fix it?

5

Its a long shot, but you might try flushing out the tank. Thats the part that has the waterhose hookup on the front bottom of it. Hook up a hose to it and run it out in the yard (preferably on an ant mound or your neighbors flowers) and drain the sediment out of it.

Its probably the bottom element though.

6

You can replace an element easily if your tank is not horribly corroded or full of sediment. Be prepared for it to be more than a simple fix.

7

Hot water doesn’t need heating.*

*Thank you George Carlin for all the laughter.

8

Only if you like to let things cool down.

9

It could also be the dip tube. Sometimes these break, and then instead of the heater placing the cold water into the bottom of the tank (which forces the hot water out the top), the cold water comes in very close to the uptake for the hot water, and thus you don’t get very much hot water before it starts picking up cold water.

10

I’d shut off the water intake prior to doing this, as the inrushing cold water will stir up any sediment and reduce the effectiveness of the flush.

11

turn the electric off as well as the cold water intake when you drain the water heater.

12

And if it is an element that needs replaced, make sure to leave the power off until the tank is full of water again. Also, you may need a large socket to remove and replace the element. You should be able to pick that um when you get the element. Mine is just a cheapo stamped steel job.

13

I’m in the UK, but I recently changed to a combination boiler and have found I get instant hot water, need no large water tanks and save some money on heating bills.
Here’s a source of information:

http://www.britishgasboilers.co.uk/boiler-types.htm

14

Ivylad found out that no one carries this model of hot water heater anymore (it’s nine years old) so whether or not we can get someone out to service it is up in the air. He’s going to call the original installers and see what they recommend.

glee, we have electricity, not natural gas, so from what I can gather from your link I don’t think it will work for us (although it sounds like a tremendous idea.)

15

Ivy, check into the dip tube thing first…they are super cheap, maybe 5 bucks, and very easy to install, much easier than removing and replacing an element.

16

Update:

Due to Ivylad’s bad back, him doing any sort of home repair is out of the question. We called a couple of guys and one came out today. The thermostat was gone and the element was going. He replaced both for about $90, using a refurbished thermostat. The heater is about nine years old, and he said it will be time to replace it in the next few years or so, and told us he could install it for $275 if we bought the heater ourselves.

I look forward to a nice hot shower tomorrow morning!

17

Off topic – we now have a western fix o the “needs Xed” dialectalism, noted from Pittsburgh into the Midwest. If you don’t mind saying, enipla, are you originally from The State Where It Snows a Lot, or did you move there from Back East, and if the latter, where?