I have had the water heater replaced 3 times and it now is acting up again.
I have a 6 year old home.
50 gallon gas hot water heater... Bradford White.
When the water heater is new, the upper floor master bath shower needs to be set to about half way for the right temperature.
As the months go by, the setting gets further and further to the left, and after only 10 minutes or so, you have to start making it hotter almost as if you are running out of hot water... but no one has used the hot water in several hours.
When you run the hot water, it takes in excess of 5 minutes for the TP valve to shut off and stop draining hot water from the water heater to the drain. There is a copper-colored drip stain on the side of the water heater from the TP valve, but this water heater was only installed 6 months ago or so.
We discovered that the setting for the temperature on the water heater was way up, but even after turning it down to 120 degrees, we still have the same problem.
There is a small amount of calcium buildup around all of the sinks in the house that have brass fittings.
The water heater is in the basement and the master bath is on the 2nd floor of a two story house.
We have city water. The pressure seems to be about right... not too high, not too low.
The hot and cold water lines are correct to the water heater.
The water heater is the correct unit for an indoor natural gas set up.
None of the other showers/faucets seem to have this issue.
There are only two people living in the 6000 square foot house… myself and my wife. My wife takes approximately a 15-20 minute shower and mine are usually about 10-12 minutes.
2007-02-21 20:31:26 · 6 answers · asked by CHRIS 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
Install a thermal expansion tank, I had to do this yesterday.
2007-02-23 15:40:48 · answer #1 · answered by HVAC Tech. 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hook up a hose to the valve near the bottom on the outside wall of your water heat. Put the other end of the hose into your sump or drain. Turn the valve and it will run the water out of your hot water tank (don't worry, it will not empty but rplace the water from the bottom). This removes sediments and yucks that can accumulate in your hot water tank. If the water coming our remains clear after a few minutes, chances are your problem is further up the line like in your pumbing somewhere btw the tank and your bathtub faucet. Is there any ohter faucet in your house that has this problem when you run the hot water? If so, then you know the problem is the tank. Call the dude who "fixed" your tank and explain the problem, insisting he come out and fix it if running the water from the bottom doesn't clear up the problem. To be honest, if you have had this problem for months and it hasn't cleared up, I would think you would have complained at him by now. Actually, if he comes in and says you have to replace all your pipes or something stupid like that, call for a second opinion. The long shot answer is maybe a break in your water line between your house and the water supply.
2016-05-23 22:27:48 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Threre are several possible causes for your problem. Since the tank is not that old, 3rd one in 6 years, and the temp control is working correctly, it could be the tube going down to the botom of the inside of your tank on the supply side may have disintegrated, allowing incoming water to mix with the outgoing water near the top of the tank. If you live in a colder climate now, the water temp coming in tempers the water and cools whats stored in your water tank, causing you to run out sooner. The T and P valve, however could be caused by thermal expansion and has become damaged by the continual opening during your high temp setting. These are several options to consider. Another is trouble with your shower valve. It has a pressure balancing cartridge and it could be obstructed with debris, possibly from the inlet tube disintegrating. You may want to consider a return line installed on your system so hot water doesn't have to travel so far to reach the shower upstairs. Unless you are well aquainted with the system, I would recommend calling a plumber.Good luck
2007-02-21 23:25:44 · answer #3 · answered by Tony G 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Don't know that the heater is bad, but you certainly have a bad T&P valve on it. Under normal circumstances, this valve should NOT OPEN. If it keeps lifting, it is costing you in water consumption, and hot water production. I would assume the T&P valve is lifting more often then just when you use the hot water. Also, the traces of calcium may indicate the possibility of getting build-up in the T&P valve and make it leak off even more hot water. So, have someone replace the valve and look into getting water conditioning to solve the calcium problem.
2007-02-22 01:38:51 · answer #4 · answered by Jeffrey S 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Check to see how hard the water is - over 10 grains per gallon will coat the inside of the water heater so it does not heat the water.
Check the pH of the water - a low (6.5 or less) pH is acidic and will rot out the water heater quickly. A high (above 7.5) will cause any hardness (even 3 or 4 grains) to scale up the inside of the water heater.
Check to make sure the plumbing anf heater are correctly grounded because improper grounding will also rot out a water heater.
2007-02-22 12:50:03 · answer #5 · answered by griffinpilot1965 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Hit your reset button on your fuse box in your house, turn off for 5 min and then turn back on.
this sometimes corrects the actions of hot water heaters.
2007-02-22 00:53:16 · answer #6 · answered by sunflare63 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋