By Bob Fink
Imagine this. You’re getting ready for your big night out. Friends will be arriving to pick you up soon. Your spouse has just taken a shower. Now it’s your turn. You head for the bathroom, turn on the hot water and wait. After 30 seconds the water is tepid. After another 30 seconds it could be described as warm. After 2 minutes it doesn’t get any hotter so you jump in and try to shower as quickly as you can, knowing what little hot water you have will soon be gone and you’ll be standing under a spray of icy cold water. What a way to start your evening!
Sometimes a shortage of hot water can be a minor inconvenience. Maybe it only happens when you have 2 or 3 people take showers in quick succession, run the washing machine and turn on the dishwasher. In those cases, you may be expecting too much. A residential water heater can only do so much.
A typical home water heater usually holds around 50-60 gallons of water. An average shower uses 20 gallons. If you shower for 10 minutes, it will probably use 40. Now add in the fact that your 50-gallon water heater is probably only producing about 40 gallons of true hot water (due to cold water being mixed in as hot water is used) and you can see why it might run out under the conditions outlined above.
Many homeowners experience problems that are a little more extreme. Perhaps the water heater is only capable of delivering two quick showers before going cold. That’s not uncommon and many people have learned to live with that typically minor inconvenience. They know they have to space out their usage to insure a comfortable shower for everyone. If that’s the case, it could be that the water heater capacity has been severely decreased due to age and calcium build-up inside the tank. What appears to be a 50-gallon tank from the outside may only hold 30 gallons on the inside. If your water heater has that problem there’s only one solution. Buy a new water heater.
Now what about a situation where your water just doesn’t get hot enough no matter what you do? Most likely you have only one option. It looks like it’s time for a visit from a plumber. Your water heater may not be entirely to blame. There may be other issues that are coming into play. Your piping and your fixtures could be causing part of the problem. That’s not to say that the water heater isn’t part of the problem. There are definitely other things to check and a competent, licensed plumber will know just what to do. Your insulation, gas pressure, burners, heating elements and more might need some attention.
If you’re experiencing a shortage of hot water, your best bet is to have your system checked by a pro. There’s always a solution, and sometimes it’s simple and inexpensive.
Bob Fink has over 25 years of experience in the home services field. He’s installed and serviced gas water heaters, electric water heaters and tankless water heaters. You can find more articles by Bob at http://www.waterheaterfacts.com
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