DIY question

[Chocolate Lover]

Or rather, a question for those handier than me.....

I've started to notice a decrease in the amount of hot water I get out of my hot water heater. Not the temperature but the time it takes to run out of hot water has significantly decreased. When it was behaving, no one ever ran out of hot water during a shower, even if it was 30 or 40 minutes long. Now, you better move quick and be out in under 20. (Hey some of us are slow )

Any thoughts on what would be causing that?

[Chocolate Lover]

Nobody?

I have seen any leaks around it either or had any excessive use of it prior to showers.

[InsertCoolName]

Could be a heating element. I hear they are easy to replace but not sure as I have never tried nor do I know anyone who has.

[Chocolate Lover]

I'm so clueless it never occurred to me they'd have more than one. ;D

[kent]

Sounds like a heating element issue. Gas or electric unit? Age? It may be cheaper overall to just replace it.

[Chocolate Lover]

Electric. Not sure but 10 years or less. If it was a simple and easy fix, I was going to try to DIY it but if it's not, one more thing for the landlord to deal with.

[midjd]

Do you have hard water? My mom was having the same issues... turned out her water heater was half-filled with lime deposits. (Not sure how you'd DIY that, though... she ended up buying a new one. )

[Formerly SK]

Check to see if the pipe inside your water heater is still connected. There is a pipe that draws hot water (from the bottom near the heater) up out the unit into your house. If it is gone/dropped/etc you are just pulling water from anywhere inside the unit and you'll run out fast. I've had this happen twice to me and is an easy fix (although I had a plumber do it since I didn't know the actual problem at the time.

[Chocolate Lover]

Not that I know of Mid.

I do know it was replaced 10 or less years ago because my parents rented this same place while they built a house and I moved in after they left. (Bet no turn around time made the LL happy)

[Chocolate Lover]

Nov 1, 2012 14:35:16 GMT -5 Formerly SK said:

Check to see if the pipe inside your water heater is still connected. There is a pipe that draws hot water (from the bottom near the heater) up out the unit into your house. If it is gone/dropped/etc you are just pulling water from anywhere inside the unit and you'll run out fast. I've had this happen twice to me and is an easy fix (although I had a plumber do it since I didn't know the actual problem at the time.

I think I'm going to have to start a list of things to check. lol

[Deleted]

Nov 1, 2012 14:32:38 GMT -5 midjd said:

Do you have hard water? My mom was having the same issues... turned out her water heater was half-filled with lime deposits. (Not sure how you'd DIY that, though... she ended up buying a new one. )

This is probably the issue. The inside of hot water heaters get filled with sediment and hold less and less hot water over time.

10 years old is about the useful life of a hot water heater, so it may be time to start shopping.

[Chocolate Lover]

Dang it Archie! You're no help at all. It's like you volunteered to fix my dryer.

[kent]

Nov 1, 2012 14:30:29 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

Electric. Not sure but 10 years or less. If it was a simple and easy fix, I was going to try to DIY it but if it's not, one more thing for the landlord to deal with.

Therein lies the solution - let the landlord take care of it. That's his job in the first place.

[Chocolate Lover]

Yeah I know but I was about to hand him some other stuff to fix Kent. the infamous broken dryer and a rotting away porch roof. I don't want him getting all cranky and raising my rent.

[sunbee]

Has it been maintained properly? They need to be flushed out annually, or so I've heard. Need to do my folks one of these days.

[Chocolate Lover]

Nov 1, 2012 15:56:21 GMT -5 sunbee said:

Has it been maintained properly? They need to be flushed out annually, or so I've heard. Need to do my folks one of these days.

If it does need that, it hasn't had it. He's rather hands off and didn't mention it to us.

[Deleted]

"They need to be flushed out annually"

And this is generally one of those really easy fixes wherein you attach a hose to the drainage spout and let it drain into the garden or some other low spot.

But if it's been ten years with no maintenance, there's a high probability the unit is close to failure. I'd definitely let the LL know.

The other really easy thing that folks overlook is changing the furnance filter. Does the LL have you do that?

[Chocolate Lover]

I have a heat pump and do change the filters regularly.

I like my LL's hands off approach for the most part but if there was something he needed me to do or wanted access to take care of he could have said something. As it is, I'm not sure I'd recognize the man if I saw him.

[kent]

Nov 1, 2012 15:25:37 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

Yeah I know but I was about to hand him some other stuff to fix Kent. the infamous broken dryer and a rotting away porch roof. I don't want him getting all cranky and raising my rent.

It's certainly your call but keep in mind this is something a landlord should budget for AND he gets to write this stuff off.

The dryer is another issue. Given he provided it, he should fix that also but if you think your rent is SO cheap it's not worth mentioning it to him then maybe you should just bite the bullet and fix it or, buy a new one and take it with you when you do move.

The roof is HIS problem 100%

You might ask your parents what their opinion is given they have some history with the guy and can possibly provide tactical support.

[tskeeter]

Death, you've got an electric hot water heater. You get some hot water, but not enough for lengthy showers.

All of the electric water heaters I've seen have two heating elements. One toward the top of the water heater and one toward the bottom. I think one of the heating elements has failed. I'd guess the bottom element because the fill tube dumps the cold water at the bottom of the water heater tank (to prevent mixing cold water into the heated water that stratifies at the top of the tank), so the bottom heating element does most of the work. I'd also guess the lower element because this is the one that gets buried in sediment settling in the bottom of the tank and over heats, Heating elements aren't too expensive, about $20 - $40 each. Some require a heating element wrench to remove, others look like they are secured with screws or small bolts.

If you're in a rental, I'd pass this one along to the landlord to deal with. Threaded parts that are repeatedly heated and cooled, like on a water heater, can be very hard to remove. Best leave those to someone who knows what they are doing so you don't bugger stuff up and end up with a leaking hot water heater.

[Deleted]

You have an element out. I have replaced them, in very hard water, but it was NOT a simple job. I would not likely replace one in the future unless I absolutely have to. We had to purchase a $20 large socket, at the local Napa Auto Parts, to be able to get the bad one out.

If you have hard water, you need to be draining the thing every 6 months and getting out the gunk that grows in there.

Also, if you have an element problem, and it arcs, you can have a flood on your hands. BTDT...

[Bluerobin]

CL, there should be a spigot near the bottom. Put a bucket under it and open the valve. If only water comes out, great. If dirt or sediment comes out along with the water, that is the problem. Then just drain it off. Most water heaters only last about 10 years.

[Iggy aka IG]

Where is Arch when you actually need him? ;D

[Chocolate Lover]

Nov 1, 2012 16:37:41 GMT -5 kent said:

Nov 1, 2012 15:25:37 GMT -5 Chocolate Lover said:

Yeah I know but I was about to hand him some other stuff to fix Kent. the infamous broken dryer and a rotting away porch roof. I don't want him getting all cranky and raising my rent.

It's certainly your call but keep in mind this is something a landlord should budget for AND he gets to write this stuff off.

The dryer is another issue. Given he provided it, he should fix that also but if you think your rent is SO cheap it's not worth mentioning it to him then maybe you should just bite the bullet and fix it or, buy a new one and take it with you when you do move.

The roof is HIS problem 100%

You might ask your parents what their opinion is given they have some history with the guy and can possibly provide tactical support.

Kent, roof was going to be his problem 100% and given the helpful answers that came after yours it sounds like I'll let him have the water heater problem too. He probably can do it much easier than I can.

The dryer IS his and is part of a stackable set (whatever you call the old style not the new fancy ones that CAN stack on each other). When he came and looked at it last time, it sort of worked. Meaning it came on and got hot. And kept getting hot. I tried it a couple of times but didn't feel all that good about using it so just went back to hanging clothes. It doesn't work at all now.

[Chocolate Lover]

Nov 2, 2012 14:07:21 GMT -5 Iggy aka IG said:

Where is Arch when you actually need him? ;D

Being glad that it's my dryer and not his?