Water Heater Common Problems
• Running Out of Hot Water
This could be because your water heater's tank is too small and won't supply enough water for your house size. Another reason could possibly be a buildup of lime in the tank. This can be fixed by flushing or draining the tank. If it is an electrical water heater, you may have a bad heating element that isn't heating the water enough.
• Water is on the Floor by the Water Heater
The water heater tank is probably leaking. Take off the front panel and see if the water is coming from the tank. It may be coming from somewhere else nearby. If it is your water heater tank, there is no way to repair it. The only option to fix this problem is to replace your water heater.
• Noisy Water Heater
A noisy (banging/gurgling) water heater is most likely caused by lime or sediment buildup. A piece of your anode rod could have broken off and fallen to the bottom of the tank which would also cause the banging noise. Flushing or draining a water heater that is under 5 years old is a solution. For water heaters over 5 years old, your best option is replacing the water heater.
• Bad Smelling Water Heater (Rotten Egg Smell)
A water heater that is producing a rotten egg smell or other bad smell is commonly associated with your anode rod. An anode rod is designed to corrode in place of your water heater's tank. Replacing your anode rod with a zinc anode rod or a powered anode rod should combat any sulfur smell coming from the water heater.
• Leaky Drain Valve
A leaky drain valve is usually caused by the water in your tank becoming to cold causing it to drip out of the tank. It is usually a bad water heater element or something else in the tank causing the problem. A bad drain valve could also be the problem.
• T&P Valve Leaking
A T&P valve (temperature and pressure) is an emergency safety device on your water heater that allows water to leak out when a limit is reached. The limits for the T&P valve are 150PSI and 210°F. It could also be a defective T&P valve causing the leaking.
• No Hot Water (Electric Water Heater)
Red Reset Button Popped Out
The red reset button on your electrical water heater keeps popping out, this is probably because your water heater has gotten too hot. The reset button should not be pushed back in unless it has been fixed. This is probably caused by faulty controls on your water heater, the upper or lower thermostat has probably broken.
• Lukewarm Water (Electric Water Heater)
Bad Water Heater Elements
If your water heater elements keep going out, it is probably due to lime buildup in the tank. If the element becomes incased in lime, it has no way to cool off which results in overheating. The way to prevent this from happening is by draining the tank to get the lime buildup out of the way.
• No Hot Water (Gas Water Heater)
The Pilot Light is Out
If you have no hot water coming from your gas water heater, the pilot light has most likely gone out. You can relight it by holding down the red button and lighting it with a flame. After you have lit the pilot light hold the button down for a minute or so to heat the thermocouple. If you don't do this long enough, the thermocouple will cut off the gas again.
• The Pilot Light Won't Stay Lit
If a pilot light won't stay lit on a gas water heater it is usually a bad thermocouple. The thermocouple makes sure the pilot light is lit before it allows more gas to be let out into the water heater. Another cause of this could be a bad gas valve or not enough gas pressure.
