Does anyone know why on some mornings when I take a shower my hot water is hotter than hell, and on other mornings I put on only hot water and it is just luke warm? I need to fix this problem. I like taking hot showers in the morning, and it starts my day off on the wrong foot when the water isn’t hot.
Also, when I first moved in I went down and turned the hot water heater up because it wasn’t that warm, but water started leaking out of the overflow pipe so I had to turn it back down. It can still be hot sometimes, but as I said above, sometimes it just doesn’t cut the mustard.
On the mornings when it’s “hotter than hell”, have you flushed the toilet just before getting into the shower? In my house, I’ve found that you have to wait a good minute or so after flushing before the shower is safe.
Anybody else using water in the morning–other showers, dishwasher, washing machine, toilet, etc.? How old is the heater? From what I’ve gathered, after about 5-10 years, a water heater can go at any time.
Maybe we should trade water heaters. I can’t seem to find a happy medium on this thing. If you want McDonald’s-coffee-HOT water, this would make it for you.
You didn’t mention in your OP if your water heater serves only your dewling, or if other people draw from it as well. But I assume that would have explained away your question.
Most (all?) water heaters have some sort of thermostat to regulate temp. It’s pretty rare but these can go bad. Don’t know how “hands on” you might be but unless you find a more likely prpblem you might try replaceing this.
Thanks for the replies!
The tank is only for my apartment. It is just me and my girlfriend, and I get up first, so i am the first one to use it every morning.
Maybe it does need a new thermoststat. I am definitely not the one to replace it. I guess I will give my landlord a call…
It could be thermostat or heating element problems, or you might just have a thick deposit of crud on the bottom of the tank. A built up layer of carbonates or gunk can fool the thermostat and insulate the water from the heating elements. When did you last flush out the water heater ? In some areas it’s not important, in others you have to do it once a year or more.