Water just warm, not hot

Users who are viewing this thread

Higgledy

Member
Messages
75
Reaction score
2
Points
8
Location
20166
quote; Here is a link to a water heater problem nearly exactly like mine. He's final solution was to replace the water heater.

A plumber bought a new heater to replace for a customer and then brought it back because it was not heating the water. I told him he had a broken pipe, but he refused to believe me. The supply house did NOT refund his money, but told him they would return the heater to the manufacturer and if they said it was defective and gave them an allowance then he would get his refund. HE came back later, after installing the second heater and said it was a leak.

As soon as you said the upper element was never satisfied, THAT made a leak the only possibility. As far a "high watt density" elements are concerned, they are cheap but almost useless. I have had them fail within weeks of installation. Plus, I never use 3800 watt elements, only 4500 watt ones. And they are either "low watt density" or "lifetime" Ni-Chrome elements. 3800 watt elements are advertised as "energy saving" that only means that they use less power per hour, however, that also means that they have to run longer to heat the water.

A "good" plumber would have detected that problem in a few minutes, WITHOUT replacing all the heater's components which were probably NOT defective.

Thanks. My wife does not think my plumber is good either. In the past, I've hired him to remodel a bathroom. His work is neat and I've had no problems with shady workmanship, etc. I guess he needs to beef-up his diagnostic skills. The other thing is that it is difficult to find a good plumber, especially when you really need a plumber. I assume a plumber is more likely to get to your house that day if you have history with that plumber. Is that illogical thinking?


BTW, the plumber replaced the 3800 Watt element with 4500 Watt element, it was a high watt density, but he did not know that we had hard water. He told me that water heaters he services on the other side of my county he always uses low watt density elements because that side of the county is know for hard water. I never knew my water is hard either till this experience. Now, I know.

I've learned in life that a good plumber, a good electrician, and a good lawyer are all worth the money they charge. Thanks for the advice.


Phil
 

hj

Master Plumber
Messages
33,602
Reaction score
1,040
Points
113
Location
Cave Creek, Arizona
Website
www.terrylove.com
If there is a "high watt density" for the upper element and a "low watt density" for the bottom, you will be OKAY. But, if the bottom one is HWD, then keep your old elements because you will need them.
 

LLigetfa

DIYer, not in the trades
Messages
7,497
Reaction score
575
Points
113
Location
NW Ontario, Canada

hj

Master Plumber
Messages
33,602
Reaction score
1,040
Points
113
Location
Cave Creek, Arizona
Website
www.terrylove.com
quote; Even the pro's sometimes get it wrong on the first try. Hopefully they go good for it.

I am glad you said "sometimes" because it should be a very rare occurance for a "good plumber", and usually happens when they have multiple problems and one of them is "masking" some of the others.
 
Top
Hey, wait a minute.

This is awkward, but...

It looks like you're using an ad blocker. We get it, but (1) terrylove.com can't live without ads, and (2) ad blockers can cause issues with videos and comments. If you'd like to support the site, please allow ads.

If any particular ad is your REASON for blocking ads, please let us know. We might be able to do something about it. Thanks.
I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks