Hot water heater not keeping up?

[leech~~]

My hot water heater seems to not be keeping up, some days it seems like there is hot water then some mornings there will not even be enough hot water for a bath? What do you think, temp probe, gas valve, it's about 5-6 years old. Sure hate to get a new one if it's just a temp probe issue. I have the heat valve set to almost as high as it will go. Please help get my wife off my back! I guess she hates taking cold showers!

[leech~~]

60 reads and not one Hot water heater guy out there? I need some help before the wife gets home tonight, or I will be taking cold showers for a while if you know what I mean!

[bearslayer]

Have you ever drained the hot water heater through the drain valve on the bottom? A lot of times they get sediment built up in the bottom of the tank and it effects the heating. Also, cleaning of the actual burner is a good idea, just don't do it when it's lit. They get lots of stuff built up on the top of them. These are a couple easy things to try to start and a cheap repair if it works.

[leech~~]

Thanks bearslayer, I was just laying on the floor looking at the burner and there is some crud on that so I'm letting it cool down a bit before I clean that out. A few times I have tried to do some draining on water heaters it seems like the little cheap valve never wants to stop leaking, but I guess I have to give that a try or replace the whole thing anyway.

[jwhjr]

How low do you have the temp set at? On ours, I had it turned down for my kids so it wouldn't be too hot. What ended up happening was that you needed to run a higher mix of hot to cold in order for it to keep temp, so it ran through the hot water faster. I had it that way for about a month before I figured it out. Now we can get through 3-4 showers on a 40 gallon tank where before you could barely get 1.5 or a full tub of hot water.

[fishing tech]

Someone in my house seams to bump the set once in a while and with me taking the first shower of the day, well lets just say I am not very happy when that happens.

[eurolarva]

Remove one of the aerators from one of your sinks and see if there are tiny chunks of white plastic in there. Gas heaters from the early to mid 90s used defective dip tubes which broke inside the tanks. The dip tube was suppose to add incoming cold water to the bottom of the tank leaving the hot water on top. When the dip tube breaks the cold water would mix with the hot water on top making it luke warm. Google dip tube problems in water heaters. Sounds like thousands of these problems out there.

[Archerysniper]

Sounds like eurolarva is right on, on a water heater the cold water goes through a plastic tube to the bottom of the tank and draws the hot from the top if the dip tube was defective or broken it causes the cold to dump into the top of the tank wich shortcircits and draws the cold right out of the hot side. shut off the power,gas and water to the heater cut the cold inlet to the heater below the valve if it is male threads or a galvanized nipple coming out of the heater remove this and the dip tube should be attched to it,if it is a copper male adapter going into the heater remove it and look into the water inlet and you should see a plastic tube stick your finger into it and pull up it should come out if you dont see one it fell off.

[Redlantern]

Heh, Heh, Heh, you said nipple.

[leech~~]

jwhjr, I had the setting just about as high as it would go, and still had issues. But Last night I tried the two things Bearslayer suggested, cleaning the crud off the burner, and flushing! And today very Hot water! Thanks all for the suggestions and a very hot and happy wife!!

[jwhjr]

Glad to hear it works now!

[BoxMN]

That is all I have to do to get a hot and happy wife? I may try it.... hehe

[leech~~]

I knew after I post that someone would ask this!! Lets just say a warm and clean wife then, not to lead anyone astray!