Whats up with my water heater (house hold)

[bowtie]

Ok help me here cause I am stumped. I currently rent a small condo. It has a 38 gallon water heater. Seems sufficient cause I could take really long showers and never had a problem filling the tub up to bathe the kids. Well now the hot water runs out fast like really fast. I cant even fill my tub not even a quarter of the way. My land lord came out with a tech and tested it and said everything is fine. Well its not cause it runs out really fast now! So today I call him to tell him that its really annoying literally have to take a 2-3 min shower cause it runs out that fast and he told me to take the setting which is at 125 and kick it up to 160 and that should make it fine.

That doesnt make any sense cause the water is coming out hot already at 125 its just running out extremely fast. I'm not really house hold inclined here lol so if anybody has any ideas please share them.

Thanks

 

[Rookie]

Try flushing the tank. Dip tube could be broken too.

To flush the tank...

Turn off supply and gas. Hook water hose to drain and drain it.

To check dip tube...

Turn off supply. Remove supply line from tank. The dip tube is inside and should go almost the length of the tank.

 

[88GT]

Try flushing the tank. Dip tube could be broken too.

To flush the tank...

Turn off supply and gas. Hook water hose to drain and drain it.

To check dip tube...

Turn off supply. Remove supply line from tank. The dip tube is inside and should go almost the length of the tank.

As this is not the OP's property, it is better if the OP does NOT do these things himself. Unless he wants to be liable for any damages, however unlikely they may be.

Your options are limited. But your only realistic first step is to keep hounding the landlord. If that doesn't work, you have limited remedies, but they are not convenient. And, no, paying for it and deducting the total from rent is NOT one of them.

 

[SEIndSAM]

If it's electric, your bottom element is burnt out. It's a relatively easy fix.

 

[Whitsettd8]

Sounds like one of your elements is failing. Do you have a multi_meter

 

[RobbyMaQ]

...he told me to take the setting which is at 125 and kick it up to 160 and that should make it fine..

That's like 2nd degree burns in about half a second? nice.
Maybe a 2nd opinion is in order?

 

[bowtie]

Try flushing the tank. Dip tube could be broken too.

To flush the tank...

Turn off supply and gas. Hook water hose to drain and drain it.

To check dip tube...

Turn off supply. Remove supply line from tank. The dip tube is inside and should go almost the length of the tank.

What is the dip tube and what does it do?

 

[bowtie]

Sounds like one of your elements is failing. Do you have a multi_meter

There is 2 on the unit I would've bet money that one failed but they tested both of them and said they were fine

 

[Cameramonkey]

I'd invite your landlord over for a demonstration. show him how quick the water runs out. Cranking it up to scalding where it can seriously injure your kids is NOT a fix. If he insists ask him to sign a liability statement that makes him liable if your children are injured due to scalding water.

Have him show you that both elements on your heater are working as I think SeIndSAM nailed it. I too would bet its a bad element. (or sedement has built up above the lower unit rendering it useless like mine did)

 

[Rookie]

Dip tube runs the cold water to the bottom of the tank. If it's broken, you're mixing cold water right at the top.

 

[Cameramonkey]

There is 2 on the unit I would've bet money that one failed but they tested both of them and said they were fine

Maybe a bad thermostat? Sounds like it is cutting out before it heats the entire tank.

Then again, you still could be right. Tech may have told him "bottom unit is bad, its gonna cost you $xxx" and he said no thanks then went to see you and said "gee, tech said its fine".

 

[Cameramonkey]

which reminds me of a joke. The lone ranger got off his horse and went to take a squat. Just as he did a rattlesnake bit his manhood. He hollered for Tonto. "Tonto, ride into town and tell the doctor what happened. Have him tell you what to do!".

Tonto rode as quick as he could into town. He found the doctor and told him that his buddy got bit by a rattler. The doctor said "you are going to have to suck the poison out, or he will die! HURRY!"

So Tonto rode back to the lone ranger as fast as he could. He got off his horse and the lone ranger said "what did the doctor say?" Tonto looked at him and said "Doctor said you gonna die."

 

[remauto1187]

Was the "repairman" an actual plumber or "just a good ol boy" friend of the landlord? Could be a bad thermostat but most likely a bad element or the remote possibility of the broken dip tube which I have never seen happen (but anything is possible).

 

[ChristianPatriot]

Showers work by mixing hot water and cold water. What your landlord means by turning it up to 160 is: if your tank is set at 125, you have to have the "hot" side of your shower all the way open, with no cold water mixing in, to get "hot" water. If you were to go full "hot" with 160 degree water, you would burn yourself. So you back down the temperature at the shower faucet by mixing in cold water (turning the dial from red to blue, or hot to cold, however your shower looks). When you do this, you use less hot water and it lasts longer. If you want the complicated answer, there's a lot more BTU's (how we measure heat) in a tank full of 160 water than there is in a tank full of 125 degree water. It's the quickest (in his mind cheapest) fix. But it's also dangerous, if you (or wife, or kids, whomever applies) forgets that the water is so hot and just turns on the hot tap while washing your hands, you'll burn yourself. DON'T touch it if you don't know what you're doing. He's the landlord. He needs to fix it, or pay for someone to.

 

[Hop]

It's probably a scale buildup at the bottom of the tank. I bet the tank wont even flush. It's on it's last leg.

 

[Cameramonkey]

It's probably a scale buildup at the bottom of the tank. I bet the tank wont even flush. It's on it's last leg.

I mentioned mine had buildup above the lower element. I thought my element was blown based on lack of hot water. I decided it was cheaper to replace said element. I bought the wrench and started to remove it. Id get about a turn out of it and go to reposition the wrench, and as I let go, the element would reverse several degrees like it was spring loaded. I did this several more turns and it jsut didnt want to come out.

I finally got it out and the U shaped element looked like a peppermint stick... the scale was solidified so well that I was actually twisting the element as I unscrewed it due to the resistance of the deposits. I couldnt even take a dowel rod and break it up enough to flush it out. Ended up with a new unit.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Crank it. That's what I do. If you have the water down at 125 like they recommend, it's barely above the temperature where yeasts and bacteria thrive. By the time it gets to your faucet, it's actually dangerous. You don't want that.

 

[atvdave]

What is the dip tube and what does it do?

 

[CitiusFortius]

. I cant even fill my tub not even a quarter of the way. My land lord came out with a tech and tested it and said everything is fine. s

since it happens so fast, stand at the tub with your landlord and the tech and show them what is happening.

 

[bowtie]

since it happens so fast, stand at the tub with your landlord and the tech and show them what is happening.

Thanks for the replies everyone. Yes I did that and he came up with this lame excuse that I must have ran my washer or did a load with the dish washer. He told me all is good with it I have hot water end of discussion even though in roughly 3 min it will run out in the shower and that he insists I turn the temp up to 160 and that will fix it