Water heaters are one of those things that often get overlooked in modern society. The constant supply of hot water has made our daily household chores easy. We use hot water while taking a shower, wash the dishes, and do our laundry. Decades ago, we relied on communal baths or heated hot water from the stove. In this modern era, several ways are there to supply domestic hot water, and an electric water heater is one of them. But despite their coherent functionality, electric water heaters are still vulnerable to occasional damage. When things go wrong, it can be intimidating to ascertain the source of the problem. Hence identifying its components and learning how the unit works are imperative to determine the exact cause of the problem.
We have compiled a comprehensive guide to help you troubleshoot electric water heater and find the problem quickly so that you can fix it. Let’s begin.
Troubleshooting Most Common Electric Water Heater Issues
1. Inadequate Hot Water
If you’re getting insufficient hot water from your electric water heater, perhaps your unit is too small to fulfill the household’s water demand. A viable solution to this issue is to ensure the demand doesn’t exceed the water heater’s average capacity.
• Solution:
Ideally, an electric water heater must have 75% hot water for its overall capacity. To avoid hot water insufficiency, confine the length of your showers, use low-flow showerheads, and create a schedule for dishwashing and laundry to spread the distribution to the different times of the day instead of doing all work at once. However, if your water heater provides less water than usual, its heating element may have failed. You might need to call professionals for water heater repair in Sacramento.
2. Stored Water Takes Too Long To Reheat
An electric water heater takes longer to reheat an entire water supply than a gas-fueled water heater. However, if the heating process takes longer than usual, there might be an accumulation of sediment. Perhaps, you need to drain the water heater’s tank to clear the sediment build-up. Another factor to consider is that the thermostat has worn out and couldn’t sense the tank’s temperature.
3. Water leaks
Leaking valves or plumbing pipes causes water leakage, indicating severe issues with the tank.
• Solution:
Tighten the heating parts using a wrench if they are loose. Additionally, if you see signs of corrosion inside the tank, it indicates the tank replacement. Turn off the power and water supply and drain the tank completely.
4. Bad Odor Or Rusted-Colored Water
If the running water from the heater is a yellowish or brownish tint, there could be corrosion on the pipe connection. In such instances, you need to purchase a new insulated tank.
However, if the water smells like rotten eggs, the water storage tank may be infected with bacteria. Call your plumber instantly to replace the anode rod in the tank.
When To Replace The Electric Water Heater
Your water heater indicates some telltale signs for its replacement. Electric water heaters have an average lifespan of over ten years, but you can prolong their lifespan by regular maintenance. While having water heater repair in Sacramento, some issues leave you no choice but to replace the water heater. Below we have enlisted a few of them.
- When the frequency of repairs increases in a short period, water heater replacement will be worthwhile. It’s a cost-effective option than occasionally scheduling repairs.
- If your water heater is over ten years old, you might need to replace it to avoid inconveniences.
- Corrosion inside the tank
- Leaking tank
- Limited tank sizewater heater
