
No Hot Water
A tank that's leaking from the body rather than a fitting is failing, so shut its water and gas or breaker off and call rather than waiting for the next cycle.
When this becomes an emergency
- Hot water that lasts a few minutes and then runs cold at every tap.
- Rumbling or popping from the tank while it heats.
- Rusty water from the hot side only.
- A pilot that will not stay lit through a full cycle.
What a pro does
Diagnosis starts by separating a heating problem from a capacity problem. No hot water at all points at the burner, the thermostat or the elements. Hot water that quits early points at sediment, and in New Mexico sediment is the usual story. Hard groundwater drops its mineral load out of suspension every time the water gets hot, and that layer settles across the bottom of the tank where it insulates the burner from the water it's meant to heat. The rumbling people describe is steam forcing its way up through that bed. A plumber checks the anode rod as part of this, because a rod that's been consumed leaves the steel shell of the tank to corrode on its own. On an electric unit the elements come out for inspection, since scale builds directly on them here and a scaled element burns out early. Gas units get the burner, the thermocouple and the venting looked at. What gets found determines whether the answer is a service, a component swap, or a tank that's reached the end.
Frequently asked questions
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