ephas
27 May 2020
Many situations in life can be so awkward and uncomfortable. Few of them are depletion of water in the tank when one is bathing, drying out of gas when cooking, and much more. But, one can’t get the electrician whenever one desires, nor does one have that time, energy and money to afford an electrician, all the time. Thus, here are simple tips for hot water system repair.
Verifying the heater, and related problems
Conventional tank-style heaters are constituted by a storage tank that is insulated and can hold thirty to eighty gallons of water, round the clock. Heaters are always highly reliable, but they do pose problems, occasionally. Significant issues like minimal or no hot water, strange noises, leaks, and rusty or bad odoured water are bound to occur. For inspecting the heater, one must turn off the power supply, as the first step, that can be accomplished by switching off the supply or turning off the fuse of the water heater circuit fuse panel.
Meanwhile, the gas supply can be cut by turning off the valve of the gas pilot control to the “pilot” setting, found on the gas valve. As a next step, water supply to the heater must be cut off, if necessary, by the closure of the shutoff valve, seen on the cold water pipe, that is let in from the top of the heater tank. Then, the following steps are to be carried out, depending on the problem encountered.
No hot water
Nothing is so irritating as a shivering cold water bath. If the water is not up to the optimal temperature one requires, the water heater can be the reason for the problem. Gas water heater repairs for this problem involves checking of the pilot, valve of gas control, and the thermocouple. Or else, an electric heater requires monitoring of the thermostats as well as the heating elements.
Less hot water
Less hot water is yet another major problem where the bathing starts with warm water, but then, eventually, cold water is encountered. Thus, if the heater produces hot water, but in fewer quantities, there are possible reasons for this issue.
Therefore, the problem requires addressing the settings of temperature, the heating elements (in case of electric heaters), sedimentation found in the tank, and the dip tube, that can be damaged or disconnected.
Also Read: Hot Water Not Working | Gas & Solar Hot Water System Failure
Rusty or Bad odoured Water
Bath isn’t satisfying if the water isn’t clean, and it makes one worried to find discolored and unclean water or water with a pungent and nasty rotten egg smell. The major defaults could be pipe corrosion or even bacterial formation and sedimentation.
Strange Noises
Mysterious noises from one’s basement in the morning, probably due to the water heater, can be a bummer. A low rumbling or continuously popping noise is just the sound of the boiling water. But, large amounts of sediment buildup in the tank bottom causes overheating of the tank that causes the water to boil and produces sounds. The sediments can be removed by flushing the water heater.
Hissing sounds state that a leak in the tank that allows water to drip onto the burner. New or unused (for some time) heater has condensation in the tank bottom, dripping onto the burner. It gets ready once the tank heats up.
Water Leak in heater base
A leak in the heater base is due to faults in the relief valve of the temperature and pressure, or a leak in a nearby tank or plumbing connection. Leaks can be repaired, while the leaky tank cannot.
All the time, water system replacement, or hot water plumber service isn’t possible. Thus, these tips mentioned above help in understanding the nature of the problem and doing the needful.
