Hot water heater problem..please help

[XcumminsX]

Hey guys i have a problem. At my grandfathers house the hot water heater keeps kicking on and off untill it gets up to the set temperature. It wont stay on untill it reaches the temperature set. Anyone know what is wrong with this thing. My grandma doesnt have hot water and i am very nervous to get this fixed.

Thanks

Nick

 

[jgillott]

Several questions for you:



1) Gas or electric



2) Brand and Model



3) Approximate age





Justin

 

[XcumminsX]

gas, not sure about anything else

 

[XcumminsX]

age is about 15 years old but everything has been updated 1 part at a time

 

[jgillott]

It sure sounds like a problem with the thermostat. It should operate within a set temperature range. When the water temp is below a certain temperature, it should begin heating. It should then shut down when the temp reaches a shut off point. The fact that the unit does heat, it tells me that it is receiving a false reading from the thermostat.

 

[ToolManTimTaylor]

If you have hard water you may have ALOT of sediment in the bottom of the tank. When was the last time it was drained down via the pettcock on the bottom? Sediment is a fantastic insulator and the burner will in fact light and begin the heating proccess , however what is happening is due to current flow within the tank the some of the heated water will trip the T-stat on/off without a full heat cycle.



If you are running out of wter quicly it sounds like you need a set of dip tubes (Perferated pipe within the tank) The are the connections in which the pipes connect thru the top (if its a single circuit tank) they often rot out and can shorten heat cycles as well.

 

[fkovalski]

15 years old? Rather than fixing it piecemeal where other items could go south (specifically a tank leak. ) I would consider replacing it with a high efficiency new one. Relatively reasonable one can be had at a Home Depot type store. If you are handy with tools they are pretty easy to install too. Just my opinion- I am of the mind to do maintenance on my terms rather than when I am forced to do more later when absolutely needed.

Another factor to think about in terms of deciding whether or not to replace-- What is the mineral content of your supply? If it is higher than most, then internal components of the water heater will be affected quicker than normal thus warranting a replacement at the age you state. Again- I would rather do it now rather than when there is water al over the basement (not to mention the clean up!)

 

[ToolManTimTaylor]

Whoah I Missed that one!!



Ditch it!



Most have ten years out of the tank you made 15 son!

 

[jgillott]

Yep... I've got to agree. With what a new one will cost you, it's not even worth trying to figure out what is wrong with it. Plus, you will probably pay for the thing just with the increased efficiency.

 

[fkovalski]

follow up to TMTT's first reply...

Regardless of age or mineral content, I would advise to drain and flush water heaters once a year.

Plus it's a good excuse to give the truck a WARM bath once a year

 

[Bigramguy]

While I would also recommend a new one,it could be as simple as a broken dip tube.



The dip tube is part of the inlet fitting,and is just a long plastic tube.



It prevents the incoming cold water from diluting the hot water in the tank,by sending it directly to the bottom.



Common symptoms are lack of hot water,slow warm up times,etc



They are cheap,a few bucks,and easy to install. Just unscrew the inlet fitting and pull the old one out,replace withe new.

 

[Sled Puller]

We had a propane unit still working fine at 25 years, changed it to switch to Natural gas.



Say, what is your take on a water softener? Do they help keep the minerals out of the hot water tank?

 

[B.G. Smith]

If the pilot light is going out, go to hdw. store and get new thermocouple, under ten bucks. bg