LarryLeveen
Member
I have a tank gas water heater that was installed before we bought the house. I am guessing it is about 10+ years old. It has performed very well the past several years (lots of hot water for the two of us) even with the thermostat being turned down to a minimal amount to save energy.
Recently, though I noticed that my morning shower (the "second shower" of teh morning as I get up later) just wasn't as hot as usual. We have always been good at conserving water with shorter showers and a flow restrictor during "soap up", and I don't think it is a behavior change on our parts. No matter how the shower tap was adjusted, the temperature would not go up. I set the thermostat dial up higher in a couple of steps and that has helped, but I wonder if this unit is on its way out.
FYI, we have not done _any_ maintenance to the unit and are not aware if we need to.
I'm just trying to figure out if there is anything we can do to improve the performance of the water heater, or if I need to plan for replacing it. Any help or suggestions are appreciated.
Recently, though I noticed that my morning shower (the "second shower" of teh morning as I get up later) just wasn't as hot as usual. We have always been good at conserving water with shorter showers and a flow restrictor during "soap up", and I don't think it is a behavior change on our parts. No matter how the shower tap was adjusted, the temperature would not go up. I set the thermostat dial up higher in a couple of steps and that has helped, but I wonder if this unit is on its way out.
FYI, we have not done _any_ maintenance to the unit and are not aware if we need to.
I'm just trying to figure out if there is anything we can do to improve the performance of the water heater, or if I need to plan for replacing it. Any help or suggestions are appreciated.