We rely upon a water heater day after day. Because they are usually installed in the garage or basement, we do not think too much about it until we do not have any hot water or we discover water leaking on the floor.
A water heater is an expensive part of the plumbing system. If it isn’t working, it can make life miserable for you unless you like cold showers. What should you do? Having installed a water heater and no hot water is coming out, indicates a problem. If you can’t say with confidence that you can fix it, then call a plumber to analyze the problem and fix it.
You Can Do It!
You do not require technical skills to know how to troubleshoot water heaters. Basic knowledge will enable you to do that. First, what type of storage water heater are you using? Below are tips in steps that show what you should do, if your water heater is having problems.
Troubleshooting a Gas water heater
Step 1. Check if there is gas or not. If there is, check whether it is off or on. If switched off, turn it on.
Step 2. Check if the pilot light is on, if it is off, try and burn it.
Step 3. If the pilot light won’t stay lit or won’t lit. The thermocouple may have the problem. It looks like a copper wire, and its enlarged tip is usually at the pilot end. It functions to regulate gas flow when there is heat. It can be changed with a subtly adjustable wrench but make sure the bulb end is securely positioned in the flame when changing it. This corrects the pilot light problem.
Step 4. Check Gas control valve if replacing thermocouple does not fix the problem.
Troubleshooting Electric Water Heaters
Step 1. Check the fuse box or breaker. If the power is on, probably thermostats or heating elements have the problem.
Step 2.Check the heating elements but make sure the switch serving them is off, then remove the cover on the water heater to access them and check for continuity. You might luckily find the easy way to fix this.
Step 3. You have set the heating elements, or probably they had no problem and still no hot water. Find the reset button by carefully removing insulation covering it. Check whether it has tripped, if that is the case, you should hear a click when it’s pushed back to its normal position.
Learning to fix water heater issues is easy but first, ensure that you have the knowledge to do so. If following the above steps still doesn’t solve the hot water issue, then it is time for you to call a licensed plumber who should be able to fix the problem.