Ok,
Bradford White Water heater. 50 Gallons, Electric.
Gets plenty hot, almost too hot when you start a shower. But tapers off really fast. It’s almost impossible to get a decent shower out of it before it gets cold.
Heater is 10 Yrs old.
Three kids (Two girls) and two adults.
1. Where should I look for the problem?
2. Is it worth fixing?
3. Any recomendations for a bigger (80Gal) heater?
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Replies
An Element or Thermoswitch is dead... after 10 years, I'd replace all while you have the tank empty. If you find a bunch of rust exiting while draining, then decide whether to replace the whole shebang.
Troy Sprout
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Sounds like a classic bad dip tube to me. Fairly inexpensicve and easy to change. Even for military types.
(-:
But hopefully others with more experience will chime in, just to be sure.
Great minds think alike (we're a couple of dips I guess). But you beat me by 20 mins, so get credit for that one.
jt8
"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." -- Alexander Graham Bell
Yeah, should have remembered the bad dip tube. Kidneys!!A bad dip tube will produce pretty much the same symptoms as a burned out lower element (though the voltmeter tests I described will not turn up anything abnormal). $10-15 part and a minimum-length service call in most cases.
People never lie so much as before an election, during a war, or after a hunt. --Otto von Bismarck
Sounds like a bad dip tube. A few years back they had a problem with them breaking off. That means the incoming cold water is dumping in on top of the outbound hot water (or at the very least shortening the time for the cold water to hit the outlet).
[edit] like BossHog said, you should be able to buy a replacement dip tube for a few bucks.
Also, IIRC, one sign that your dip tube was having issues was if you took off the flow restrictors on faucets and found little bits of hard white stuff (PVC?). Basically bits of the dip tube which have been washed down stream
jt8
"When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." -- Alexander Graham Bell
Edited 12/7/2006 10:57 am by JohnT8
Get ready for language patrol.
Many will say "hot water heater" is inaccurate/redundant.
I say that in most cases (but, actually, not yours) it is really, at the least, a "warm water heater" and often really is a "hot water heater."
Start of the usual cycle: the water in the tank is hot. Some of that hot water is drawn off and cold water flows in and mixes with the hot water to produce water at a lower temp. (It may still be "hot" if not much has been drawn off, it will be warm is a lot has been drawn off.)
When the temp drops low enough( but while it is still in the "warm" state, the heat comes on and heats that warm water to hot!
It is only when all of the hot and warm water is drawn off that it becomes a"cold water heater"
And now, I probably should go and get a life <G>
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buy a new tank , 50 gals. should do it. when you go over 50 gals. they get a liittle bit pricey.
Yeah, probably the bottom element is burned out, though it could be a thermostat problem. (If the top element were burned out you likely would get no hot water at all.)
Diagnosing this for sure requires using a voltmeter to check the voltage across top and bottom elements. If there's no voltage (about 240V) across either element and the water's cold then the upper thermostat is bad (or the breaker is tripped). If there's voltage across the top element and the water's stone cold, the top element is bad.
If there's voltage across the top element and you have your situation (too little hot water), wait 15-30 minutes (without using hot water) and check again. Eventually the upper thermostat should turn off the top element and turn on the bottom one. If the voltage goes away on the top element but doesn't appear on the bottom one, check the voltage coming into the lower thermostat. If you have voltage there but not at the element itself then the lower thermostat's bad. If you never get voltage on the lower thermostat then the upper thermostat's bad. If you do get voltage on the bottom element, but no signs of heating, then the bottom element is bad. (It helps to have a clamp-on current meter to confirm the burned-out element, though.)
As was said, since you have to totally drain the tank, might as well replace both elements (if indeed an element has failed). Use the same wattage elements as you currently have, but pay a little more for the better quality ones. And the thermostats are relatively cheap, so replacing them at the same time may be wise, even if they appear OK -- they seem to fail with about the same frequency as the elements.
When operating properly, 50 gallons should be big enough for two or three showers if folks are reasonably quick.
Worth fixing? About $75 worth of parts if you DIY and replace everything, I'm guessing $150-200 if you hire it done (though you likely won't get all parts replaced). A new electric 50 gallon unit will run you in the neighborhood of $800 installed.
Supposedly the lifetime of electric water heaters is about 14 years, but ours is 30 years old. A lot has to do with water quality, I suspect.
First off, thanks for all the responses.
Second, Time is at a premium the next few weeks for a few reasons I can't really talk about.
Would it be worth it to just call a service compnay and have them do the Dip Tube, Upper and Lower elements and Thermostat all at one shot?
That way, all are new and I get hot with one service call rather than several over the next two years?
Got a plumber you trust? Might be worth calling them and describe your situation.At least the situation with the water heater...
I get enough exercise just pushing my luck.
At least the situation with the water heater...
Yeah, how about that. Around here, Plumbers get more per hour than the person I would have to see about my other "Situations"
You can do that. Or tell them you're not sure if it's a dip tube, thermostat, or element. A competent guy should be able to tell the difference, but tell them if they aren't sure to just replace all the parts, 'cause you need it fixed right away.(BTW, one sign -- often the first -- of a dip tube failure is bits of plastic in the hot water. The aerators in kitchen and bath faucets tend to clog up with the stuff, and sometimes it clogs inlet screens on dishwashers and clothes washers. If you've had this symptom then the dip tube is a slam dunk.)
People never lie so much as before an election, during a war, or after a hunt. --Otto von Bismarck
Yes, if I was unable to get to it myself. Or just get a newer more better heater.
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I have irriatable Vowel syndrome.
If the warranty period for the heater is past ( 10 yr old heater / 5 yr warranty for example) I would replace the entire unit. The major differance in warranty periods (and cost of the unit) is the thickness of the coating or liner inside the tank, longer warranty = thicker coating.
Mine started acting up (6 yr warranty , 9 yrs old.) and I replaced the diptube , which was bad, got another yr out of it then the tank started to leak. Not worth the effort to peel the skin off and fix.
New heater costs about $300.00 .
I don't think you can get much for $300 anymore.
People never lie so much as before an election, during a war, or after a hunt. --Otto von Bismarck
I don't know.Lowes has an electric water heater for $176.But it is only a 2.5 gal point of use heater..
.
Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Purchased 10/25/06 from Lowes. 50 gal Whirlpool "Energy Guard ", 9 yr warranty on tank, Price $299.00
Not with a Bradford White. The ONLY difference in warranty is a stupid little sticker and about $100 (wholesale) cost.I've got a 50-gallon power vent Bradford White. You get it in a 6-year and order a 10-year "warranty" uplift which is a sticker that gets installed on the tank.So, IMO, at least with Bradford white, just go with the "regular" one because if they'll warranty it for 10 years and it's just a sticker, than that would tell me the 6-year should last 10.At least IMO.
When I had the problem I replaced the drip tube myself. Turn off the water, undo the nut and disconnect the cold side pipe, pull out the old tube, slide in the new one, reconnect the pipe. Problem solved for $12. Far easier than changing the oil filter on my F150.If it was me, I'd try that first before I spent a bunch more for a plumber to stop by. Check your manufacturer's web site to confirm the tube location.Steve.
That's easy if the heater's plumbed with flex, a bit harder if it's hard copper.
People never lie so much as before an election, during a war, or after a hunt. --Otto von Bismarck
Ended up having today off. Didn't think I would.
Stopped by the big orange box. Not a dip tube in sight.
Stood around and thought about it for a few minutes. Water starts out pretty hot, then tapers of to warm pretty quick. Then starts to get chilly, but not like cold water out of the tap.
Found a kit with two elements and Thermostats. $28.50 and an hour worth of work and were back in business.
Thanks for all the help.
Thanks fer letting us know what happened. We often have no idea how things turn out.
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Congratulations!
And... good call on the kit.Troy Sprout
Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it."-- Thomas Sowell