Anyone know anything about water heaters?

[patooyee]

My shower has 2 heads in it. Until 2 days ago you could run both heads at the same time for 25-30 minutes before we ran out of hot water.

2 days ago something happened and now one head will only run for about 10 minutes before we're plum-out of hot water. Give the heater a bit to build back up and you get the hot water back for another 10 minutes.

When we do have hot water, it is just as hot as it always was.

It has been this way for every shower both days. I can hear the heater running, but even so I reset the breaker just in case to no avail. There are no leaks anywhere that I can see. My house is on a concrete pad, so no lines run beneath the floor, they're all in the walls. I would think a leak would present itself if it was in the wall pretty quick.

Talked to someone I kind of know who is a plumber, but he wouldn't listen to my symptoms, just kept interrupting me telling me I had a bad thermostat. He may be right, I know nothing about water heaters, but he wouldn't let me get to the part where the water is still hot. I would think we would have temperature issues if the thermostat is bad, not quantity issues?

Anyone got any ideas?

 

[natedawgxj]

either a bad element or thermostat mine was doing the same thing and it was the thermostat!!!

 

[Neal3000]

does anyone on here have a heat pump hot water heater?

 

[bad80cj]

element

 

[grcthird]

I'm guessing you have an electric water heater? You can ohm the elements and see if one is burned out.

 

[patooyee]

It is electric, but if an element was bad wouldn't the water just always be cold? Its still scalding hot if I want it to be, just only or 10 minutes instead of the usual 20-30 at double the flow.

 

[zjtrey]

sounds like one heating element has gone out so only half of the water is getting heated

 

[AW10]

Larger water heaters usually have 2 elements and 2 thermostats. It sounds like one of your lowers isn't working. Check all of them. Depending on the age of the heater, sediment will build up in the bottom of your tank and cause the lower element to burn up faster. Also there is a fill tube that :****: pipes cold water to the bottom of the tank to get heated and leave the top of the tank, on some occasions I've seen this tube get a hole in it close to the top of the tank causing cold water to be dumped into hot water.

 

[patooyee]

I did notice there are 2 access panels, one high, one low, on the front of the tank. I checked the high one, inside there was a t-stat that seemed to be working fine. I didn't have time to check the lower.

So you are saying I may have 2 separate tanks built into one heater with 2 separate t-stats? That would make more sense considering the symptoms, but why not just build one tank with one t-stat? I guess because its faster to heat two smaller quantities of water than one large one?

I'll check out the lower one tonight. What is an acceptable vs. unacceptable range of resistance for an element?

 

[bjeep]

You have two t-stats and two elements in one tank. One element is out most likely. :****:

Check the element just like a fuse.

 

[patooyee]

If an element is out do I replace the entire heater or just the element?

 

[bjeep]

Just the element. It will unscrew then screw the new one in. Do it fast and you will not have to drain the tank.

 

[zjtrey]

there will be cover plates on the side of the heater where the elements are… they are super easy to change...

 

[bad80cj]

Just the element. It will unscrew then screw the new one in. Do it fast and you will not have to drain the tank.

Or drain the tank and get all sediment out like an anal retentive J.J. would. :****:

 

[patooyee]

Or drain the tank and get all sediment out like an anal retentive J.J. would. :****:

Wouldn't I want to in order not to burn out the new element prematurely?

What is an acceptable vs. unacceptable range of resistance for an element to know if they are bad?

 

[patooyee]

Here we go, testing heater elements for dummies:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q34HJtH30Vs

Thanks for the help ya'll. I'll post back with results.

 

[bad80cj]

some people don't take the time to clean it. Hence why your hot water capacity slowly gets smaller and smaller with age.

 

[bjeep]

I did not need to clean it the water heater was less than a year old.

 

[patooyee]

some people don't take the time to clean it. Hence why your hot water capacity slowly gets smaller and smaller with age.

Exactly how much smaller per year?

No, I'm just kidding. I don't care.

Is there a cleaning procedure other than just blasting it out with a hose?

 

[BadRockOffroad]

A bad Dip Tube will cause this issue also.