Hot Water Problem...

[Bob Krygier]

OK, here is the problem. I have a gas water heater (American H2O Heater) 50 gallon. There are only 2 of us and over the past few months I have noticed a dramatic decrease of hot water.

It never runs totally cold, but a constant adjustment has to be made at the faucets to keep the water warm. This is consistent at both showers and both tubs.

The heater is 9 years old and had only a 5 year warranty. Is there any troubleshooting I can do? No routine maintenance has ever been done on the water heater (at lest over the past 3 years).

Any ideas would be great, and thanks ahead of time.

[Blackbeard]

First, start with some basic service. Drain the tank and get all that garbage out of the bottom of the tank. That layer of gunk on the bottom of your tank does not allow for the tank to heat properly.

[Jay A.]

If the tank is 9 years old that's a pretty good run for a tank. you will probably need to replace it within the next 1-3 years when it goes (you'll either see water on the floor around the tank or start to notice a brief rusty color to the hot water when you first turn on the faucet.) But if you don't feel like replacing your tank right now you should replace the dip tube/fill tube on the cold side of the H2O TANK. If that is faulty you will only get very hot water for a minute then you'll notice the water tempering down to luke warm after that. But in my professinal opinion, if you're going to go to the length of turning off the tank and taking it apart to replace the dip tube you might as well just put in a new tank, because it won't be long before you're going to need a new one anyway.

T and A Plumbing: "Our Crack staff get's paid to look at ypur can's" Jay A.

[D McCallum]

DIP TUBE< DIP TUBE OK, here is the problem. I have a gas water heater (American H2O Heater)

50