Coping with a Sudden Hot Water System Breakdown: Actions to Take

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This great article following next about How to Troubleshoot and Repair an Electric Water Heater is particularly compelling. Give it a try and make your own personal conclusions.


Hot Water Heater Repair
Several contemporary homes utilize an electrical hot water heater for their heating system, due to its ease and also ease of use. Nevertheless, similar to any other electric home appliances, troubles may occur with its use, suddenly. It can be actually discouraging to awaken to a chilly shower instead of a warm one or having your bath with water that isn't warm enough and even also hot. Whatever the instance may be, hot water heater problems can be rather aggravating. Luckily, we have actually made a list of feasible services to your hot water heater issues. There are a number of variables that might trigger a lot of these troubles, it could be a problem with the power supply, the electrical heating element, or the thermostat. Before doing anything, guarantee you turn off the primary power supply for safety. Whatever the trouble is, getting it repaired should not pose excessive of a problem if you comply with these steps:

 

Call A Specialist:


If after replacing all damaged parts and resetting your temperature, the hot water heater still isn't working, you may require to call a professional plumber for a specialist opinion. The trouble with your heating unit could be that the hot and cold taps have actually been switched or it might be undersized for the quantity of warm water required in your home. Whatever the situation may be, a specialist plumber would certainly aid fix the problem.

 

Examine Your Power Supply:


As standard as this might seem, it is extremely required. Without adequate power, your hot water heater will certainly not function. So the first thing to do when your water instantly retires is to validate that it isn't a power issue. Examine if the fuse is burnt out or the circuit breaker stumbled. If the breaker is the issue, merely transform it on and off once again. Change any kind of broken or damaged fuse. Examine the appliance with power after these adjustments to see if it's currently functioning.

 

Inspect Your Thermostat:


If your hot water heater still isn't working or the water appearing isn't warm sufficient, you may require to check the temperature settings on your upper thermostat. Guarantee the breaker is switched off before doing anything. Open the access panel and press the red button for temperature level reset over the thermostat. This should help heat the water. Turn the circuit breaker back on and inspect if the problem has actually been resolved.

 

Examine the Burner in the Water Heater:


If it's not a power issue, then attempt checking out your burner if it is still working. Examine each of your burner to make sure the trouble isn't with any one of them. If any of them is malfunctioning, change that component and then inspect whether the hot water is back on.

 

Verdict


Water heater issues are not always major. Many of them result from small problems like a blown fuse or damaged burner. Replacing the malfunctioning components should do the trick. Nonetheless, if you are still incapable to solve the trouble, give a call to your local plumber ahead to get it taken care of.

 

Common Reasons Why Your Hot Water Heater Isn’t Working

 

Water Gets Too Hot

 

Ouch! You wanted a hot shower, not boiling! If you have a newer model electric water heater, your water heater works with a thermostat (actually, two thermostats). If this thermostat has been jostled — or purposely reset — by someone in your home, the water flow will be much hotter than you expected.


FIX: Adjust the thermostat to a more moderate setting for producing hot water. Forty-nine degrees Celsius is recommended to prevent scalding.

 

Water Doesn’t Get Hot

 

This is the opposite of the previous problem, but it’s almost as bad. Your flow of hot water is merely lukewarm or even incoming cold water. Once again, an incorrect thermostat setting, or a faulty thermocouple in a gas water heater, could be to blame. Another explanation might be that there’s no power to the water heater (in the case of an electric heater) or the pilot light has gone out (if you have a gas unit).


FIX: Adjust your thermostat as necessary. If that doesn’t do the trick, check the power supply. Another possibility is the replacement of a damaged thermocouple in gas water heaters.

 

Leaking Water Heater

 

A leaking water heater (a sign may be low hot water pressure, or not enough hot water to shower) might be a reason to push the panic button… but first, take a few minutes to check where the leakage is coming from. Leaks near the top of the heater tend to indicate a problem with a valve, which won’t need a major repair. However, a leak from the water heater base is more serious.


FIX: You may need a qualified plumber to replace your drain valve or TPR (temperature pressure relief) valve. When your water heater is leaking from below, your plumber might be able to fix it if you call them soon enough. Otherwise, you will need to have a new water heater installed.

 

Noisy Water Heater

 

Sometimes your water heater might make some peculiar noises, loud enough to compete with your singing in the shower. Are these a cause for alarm? It depends on exactly what kind of sounds you are hearing. Sizzles and rumbles are both red flags, indicating a heavy sediment buildup in your hot water tank that might cause a breakdown in the near future. In addition, banging is a sign of a water hammer, which can lead to serious damage to your pipes.


FIX: To stop sizzling or rumbling, turn off the tank and have it flushed by a reliable plumbing company ASAP. Ask your plumber to install a water hammer arrestor to quiet down the banging and save the pipes.

 

Pilot Light Keeps Going Out

 

Many pilot lights go out once in a while, but when your water heater pilot light keeps going out continually, it’s a problem. And the chances are good that that problem stems from either a shortage of combustible air or a malfunctioning thermocouple.


FIX: Increase the air supply around your water heater by cleaning dust and lint off the appliance and clearing any clutter from the area around it. A bad thermocouple will require expert plumbing repair and is more than basic gas water heater troubleshooting.

 

Water Smells Bad

 

The water from your residential plumbing pipes should smell neutral. If it has a strong unpleasant odour, something’s wrong. To check whether your water heater is at fault, turn on a hot water faucet and let it run for a few minutes. And, yes, use your nose to determine exactly what you are smelling.


FIX: For a garlicky odour, relight the pilot light on your water tank. When you detect the scent of garbage, you’ll need a professional plumber to flush the hot water tank and possibly replace the anode rod. A strong smell of rotten eggs could signal a hazardous gas leak; turn off the gas supply if possible, get everyone out of your house, and make an emergency call to the gas company.

 

Water Looks Brown Or Rusted

 

The first thing to do is ask yourself, “Is the brown, rusty-looking water coming only from my hot water taps?” If the answer is yes, then most likely, either the anode rod or the water heater interior is starting to rust, especially if your hot water heater is nearing the end of its life expectancy. (A “no” answer means the issue does not originate from the hot water heater but rather from the water supply.)


FIX: Contact a plumber to inspect the water heater. If you catch the problem quickly enough, it might be fixable. Otherwise, you’ll need a water heater replacement. Consider installation of an efficient new tankless water heater.

https://www.huskyair.com/blog/hot-water-heater-isnt-working/


 

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