Troubleshooting a Water Heater Emergency: What to Do When It Stops Working
Troubleshooting a Water Heater Emergency: What to Do When It Stops Working
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In this article down the page you'll find a good deal of helpful tips relating to How to Troubleshoot and Repair an Electric Water Heater.
Numerous modern residences take advantage of an electrical water heater for their furnace, due to its benefit and simplicity of use. Nevertheless, much like any other electrical devices, troubles might develop with its usage, unexpectedly. It can be actually discouraging to get up to a cold shower rather than a hot one or having your bath with water that isn't hot adequate and even too warm. Whatever the instance may be, hot water heater issues can be quite aggravating. Fortunately, we have actually made a listing of possible options to your water heater concerns. There are a variety of aspects that might cause a lot of these problems, it could be a concern with the power supply, the electric heating element, or the thermostat. Prior to doing anything, ensure you switch off the primary power supply for safety. Whatever the trouble is, getting it taken care of should not posture too much of a problem if you follow these actions:
Call A Professional:
If after changing all faulty components and resetting your temperature level, the water heater still isn't functioning, you might need to contact a professional plumber for a professional point of view. The issue with your heating system could be that the hot and cold faucets have actually been switched or it might be undersized for the quantity of hot water required in your house. Whatever the situation might be, a professional plumber would help fix the trouble.
Check Your Power Supply:
As fundamental as this might seem, it is extremely necessary. Without sufficient power, your hot water heater will not work. So the first thing to do when your water instantly retires is to validate that it isn't a power problem. Inspect if the fuse is burnt out or the breaker tripped. If the breaker is the issue, simply turn it off and on once more. Replace any type of broken or worn-out fuse. Evaluate the home appliance with power after these changes to see if it's currently functioning.
Check Your Thermostat:
If your water heater still isn't working or the water appearing isn't warm sufficient, you may require to examine the temperature settings on your upper thermostat. Make sure the breaker is turned off prior to doing anything. Open up the access panel as well as press the red switch for temperature level reset over the thermostat. This should help heat up the water. Turn the circuit breaker back on as well as inspect if the trouble has been solved.
Examine the Burner in the Hot Water Heater:
If it's not a power trouble, after that try having a look at your heating element if it is still working. Evaluate each of your burner to ensure the trouble isn't with any one of them. If any one of them is damaged, change that component and afterwards inspect whether the warm water is back on.
Conclusion
Water heater problems are not always significant. Many of them are due to small concerns like a blown fuse or damaged burner. Replacing the damaged components must suffice. Nevertheless, if you are still unable to address the problem, give a call to your nearest plumber ahead to get it repaired.
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.
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