Water heater question

[GotOne]

I think my gas, water heater is going out-doesn't want to heat like it use to and runs out of hot water faster, even after turn temp up.

Questions:

Gas heaters don't have a heating elements like electric-right??

How much does it cost to install a new one?

How hard is it to install one myself? - with gas a little scared to do it myself, unless it's not too hard. It looks fairly easy, but, what can I screw up. Beside killing myself?

thanks,

[fastkaw]

Have you flushed out the tank? If it has a lot of lime/calcium on the bottom

of the tank it will heat the water the way you described.

How old is the water heater? if it's 7to10 yr.old I would think replacing it would

be a better choice.

No gas water heaters no not have elements, they use a gas burner.

They can be very easy to install. If you can get one that is the same size. (physically)

and the gas line is in the same spot. Otherwise you will need a assortment of 1/2"

pipe nip.

Most W-k are hard piped (copper) so you will need to cut and solder your old pipe

to new pipe off the top of you new W-k. Make sure you use new die-electric unions.

DISCLAIMER: i am in no way an expert, at anyting. anything i say is my own opinion and/or observation, and should never be regarded as fact, unless otherwise stated.

[GotOne]

Hooked up a drain hose and flushed it-no help. It's about 9yrs old, so might be time. Just worried about making sure the venting is correct-not to metion the gas lines not leaking.

[BobT]

There is a solution using dish soap that can be mixed up for testing connections but I don't recall the ratio of soap to water. I believe that if it's too thin it'll run off the pipe too fast and too thick may not work well either.

I think that if you're not real comfortable doing it yourself, it might be in your best interest to hire it done. Being able to sleep at night knowing that you don't have any leaks might be worth the expense by itself.

Bob

[GotOne]

Thanks guys. I'm pretty confident that I can get the gas lines hooked up correctly(including checking for leaks). My big concern is venting. If I get a comparable unit, things should match up. Could always call the gas company and tell them I smell gas-have them check it. Don't think they charge for that or do they? Bob, hows Osakis? I use to have a place on Miller Bay!

[fivebucks]

You would want to be 100% sure the carbon monoxide is being vented out properly. In Minnetonka I had to pull a permit to have one of the big box stores replace mine. The venting scared me away from it as a business associate has had 2 years of health issues because her husband did not get theirs vented properly. He passed away from other non related issues but she has had a tough time due to the slow steady carbon monoxide poisoning over several years.

[sparcebag]

If your smarter than some you should have a CO detecter in your home now,Installation if fairly simple,seeing your confident go for it,tbls of dish detergent in a spray bottle filled with water will detect gas leaks,by bubbling,My gas Co. checked my installation of new oven stove I couldn't soap.They have a tool snifter to detect gas and CO

[backlash 1]

Actually, when dealing with plumbing, a lot of times you're just gonna run into Murphys Law. The trick is when you do , you have to know what to do to get out of trouble. This is why plumbers make what they do. There is a lot of responsibility there, and a lot could go wrong.

If you are the DIY guy and not afraid to try it and live very close to a hardware store, go for it. Otherwise hire it done, there are ways to save money on the job such as having the new heater in the basement unboxed, the old heater drained and ready to remove, and dispose of the old heater yourself. Those things alone will almost cut installation time in half.

Before you give up on the old one though, check the burner compartment to see if it is clean and also remove the vent from the top of the heater and pull out the spiro vent from the inside of the heater and clean. If the heater snaps and pops when it heats up the tank probably has a lot of calcium build up inside and not much you can do other than replace. Good luck to you.

[BobT]

Unfortunately I haven't been out there since last summer.

Bob

[Redlantern]

Wallabee, a couple of tips. When working on the gas lines, don't use any teflon tape. Against code. Pieces of it could come loose and clog up your regulator. Also, once you've determined that your gasline is connected well without leaks using the soapy water method or a leak detector and you fired up the water heater, take a piece of paper, light it on fire, blow it out and hold it near the draft hood. If it's venting correctly, the smoke from the recently extinguished piece of paper should draft out of the vent. If not, you need to find out why it isn't before leaving the water heater in operation. If you have any doubts about what your doing, call a licensed plumber. Also, and this should really be at the top of the list. DO NOT re-use the temperature and pressure relief valve! These things only cost six to eight dollars new so taking it off of the old water heater and putting it on the new one is really not saving you much money but could possibly put your families life at stake. Not trying to scare you but I feel rather strongly about it. Most water heaters come with a new one but I have seen some that don't. Good luck with the install. It's really not that hard.

[Surface Tension]

It might take a few times of fill and flushing to get that sediment out.

If this happened suddenly then it could be the dip tube inside that tank broke off. Cold water is sent to the bottom of the tank by the dip tube. If that tube breaks, the cold water will be mixed with the hot. That tube will be on the cold water supply. You'll need to remove the nipple there and pull it straight up.

[Shawnny B]

I dont know Wallabee, I mean look what happened with changing the light bulb =-)

In all honesty its not that hard, did one at home myself, it was more difficult getting the unit down stairs and moved into my small room then it was to hook it up, as long as you have a water and Gas shut off valve at the tank, I had to install one. as far as the gas lines, make sure to use the soap water mixture. and make sure that you know how to sweat the pipes to connect to the new tank.

Shawn

[GotOne]

Hey Shawn,

Quiet, nobody knows our little secret. Kinda, scary thinking of me replacing a water heater, when I screw up changing a light- bulb!!!! At least the "flicker" on my new TV isn't from anything I did. They are sending someone out Tuesday to fix that problem. Tomorrow, my wife will get the info on the "lure charging light". I had a glow jug in the bag with the light, I should have charged it and showed you how long it glows!

Bill

[Shawnny B]

Thats great bill, and I wont tell anyone if you dont!!! lol Hey sorry to change the subject but did anyone call you or did your "free" movies work ?

[GotOne]

nobody called and not fixed yet!

[bucketmouth64]

I just had a new one installed (gas) last fall and I am having some issues of running low on hot water. Noticeable when I take showers. I need to turn the handle way over to hot to keep water hot. Would this be a temperature setting issue? I don't use a lot of water since there are only two in the household.

[Ryan Berger]

I just had a new one installed (gas) last fall and I am having some issues of running low on hot water. Noticeable when I take showers. I need to turn the handle way over to hot to keep water hot. Would this be a temperature setting issue? I don't use a lot of water since there are only two in the household.

turn the temperature up on the gas valve, should be a dial, turn it a little bit twards hotter, or whichever saying it uses