water heater question--after all night, the water is ice cold. But an hour later, there is hot water?

Question

This morning, the water from the "hot" tap was ice cold. I got ready for work anyway (it is NOT fun washing your hair in icy water!!), and before I left, I went to brush my teeth, and lo and behold, there was hot water! I returned from work (I drive a school bus) did dishes, etc, with hot water. Then on my return from the afternoon shift, icy cold water again. I heated water up to use, and after running it awhile, again, there is hot water. Anyone have any clue what could be causing this?
I have an electric water heater that is probably around 10 years old.

I should add that today was the first time the water heater has ever done this.

I don't believe there is a timer on this water heater. Like I said, it's about 10 years old, and in that time span, there have been power outages before, and this never happened. I don't believe the electricity went out the last few nights either. I do think, however, that one of the elements may have gone bad in the past month. The hot water hasn't been lasting as long as it did when we shower. I'm thinking about just replacing both elements and seeing if that might help.

Answer 1

im not exactly sure on your question but the water heater runs on a timer and you can adjust what time it kicks the heating element on to make sure water is hot....just find the panel and open it up and set timer....hope this helps

Answer 2

replace the upper and lower thermostats, sounds like one or the other or both are not working correctly. Could also be a bad heating element, either upper or lower. For about $50-$75 you can replace all 4 of the above components if you can do the work yourself. Lowe's, HD, carry the parts, they are semi-universal. Check the wattage ratings on your elements and thermostats.

I'd guess your elements are 1500 - 2500 watts. The only reason you'd want to replace a water heater is if the tank fails, generally. A 10 year old water heater isn't that old.

A new 50 gallon electric water heater is about $200, just for the heater.

Answer 3

As you can see by the diversity of answers this one is a bit harder to pinpoint with the information provided.
One clue you have given is that when the water does heat it does not last as long as it used to. This tilts towards failing heating elements on your ten year old tank, probably the upper one as the reaction is the surface water nearest the pick up is colder, then after a short while as the flow of circulation is established you get the hot.

One item not mentioned is the location of the hot water tank. is it in a heated tempered area or in a cold or outdoors location (exterior rated if so?).
Are your pipes insulated? Or were they insulated but recently one or more sections of insulation have fallen off/ been removed?

This could account for inline water being cool to cold before the heated water gets to you, and heat loss could account for less hot water over all also.

But lastly, How have your electric bills been over the last few months? Can you compare the usage to same period last year? A lot of utility companies now post a cool little graph showing a years comparison.
Look at consumption in KWH, not in dollar amount.
What I am leading up to is you are getting towards the upper end of your tanks useful life expectancy, and newer more efficient models are out there now that can make for large savings. Cost of water heater saved in unused energy after about 1 1/2 years typically with a good EnergyStar labled brand.
Consider having the unit replaced.

Answer 4

Sounds like the old off peak water heater

Do you has 2 electric meters outside ?

THats your timer

Answer 5

does your H2o heater have a timer? & if so, did & lose electrical power last nite or 2 nites ago?

loss in power= the timer goes off, when the power is restored, timer comes back on thinking it's still 2 in the morning.
then--- doesn't kick on to heat the water, til later on in the day or evening.

pls check if timer. if timer is off, pls make sure the time on timer matches your waking & sleeping time.

if problem still persists, consult Home Depot or Lowes.

Answer 6

Some water heaters have timers on them. Maybe yours does too. Just like automatic lights that turn on in the evenings and turn off in the mornings.

Answer 7

Sounds like your water heater has very bad insulation. Try to cover the water heater with old blanket (but not completely), duck tape it, and see if it works any better. If so, buy the water heater insulator at the home depot.

Answer 8

Sounds like a bad tank thermostat. Electric tank? Most likely thermostat on tank.