We just moved into our first house, and - annoyingly - the hot water seems to have some issues. It was hot enough to pass inspection, but now that we're trying to shower we realize things aren't quite right. Advice is very appreciated!
These are the details:
- Electric hot water heater, very new. I'll check the paperwork, but I think it's about 1 - 3 months old. 50 gallon tank, installed in the basement. It was installed 1 month ago. When we inspected the house the first water heater installed (a new gas heater) was leaking from the TP valve. We assumed the seller would just fix the valve or replace the malfunctioning heater with another one; they replaced it with this electric one. Not sure why.
- House has 3.5 bathrooms.
1) One bathroom in the basement, near the hot water heater. Water is hot in the sink, hot in the shower - but ran out in the middle of a second shower. There were only 2 showers taken that morning. There was a shower the night before that was fine.
2) Half bath on the main level + kitchen sink have consistently hot water (though we don't run them for more than usual, brief use).
3) Two full bathrooms on the 2nd floor. One bathroom has great water pressure in the shower but just lukewarm water (not cold). The sink in that bathroom has great cold water pressure and just a trickle of warm water. Never gets hot. Same situation in the 2nd bathroom on that level. We've let the water run in the shower for quite a while, and it never gets hot.
The house is old (80+ years), recently renovated (in October) with new plumbing. No apparent leaks, all work was permitted. We checked all the hot water valves we could find leading to the bathrooms, and they all seemed like they should be working. It's a row house in the DC area, and even if the pipes aren't insulated (they don't seem to be), there's no way they should be losing a lot of heat in their short trip up to the 2nd floor.
There are no cold water pressure problems.
I'm planning to check the heating elements in the hot water heater when I get home, but what could be the cause of these problems?
- malfunctioning water heater?
- problem with the installation of the water heater?
- pipe problems leading to the 2nd level? Maybe debris blockages from renovation? A valve we missed that isn't open?
- something else?
These are the details:
- Electric hot water heater, very new. I'll check the paperwork, but I think it's about 1 - 3 months old. 50 gallon tank, installed in the basement. It was installed 1 month ago. When we inspected the house the first water heater installed (a new gas heater) was leaking from the TP valve. We assumed the seller would just fix the valve or replace the malfunctioning heater with another one; they replaced it with this electric one. Not sure why.
- House has 3.5 bathrooms.
1) One bathroom in the basement, near the hot water heater. Water is hot in the sink, hot in the shower - but ran out in the middle of a second shower. There were only 2 showers taken that morning. There was a shower the night before that was fine.
2) Half bath on the main level + kitchen sink have consistently hot water (though we don't run them for more than usual, brief use).
3) Two full bathrooms on the 2nd floor. One bathroom has great water pressure in the shower but just lukewarm water (not cold). The sink in that bathroom has great cold water pressure and just a trickle of warm water. Never gets hot. Same situation in the 2nd bathroom on that level. We've let the water run in the shower for quite a while, and it never gets hot.
The house is old (80+ years), recently renovated (in October) with new plumbing. No apparent leaks, all work was permitted. We checked all the hot water valves we could find leading to the bathrooms, and they all seemed like they should be working. It's a row house in the DC area, and even if the pipes aren't insulated (they don't seem to be), there's no way they should be losing a lot of heat in their short trip up to the 2nd floor.
There are no cold water pressure problems.
I'm planning to check the heating elements in the hot water heater when I get home, but what could be the cause of these problems?
- malfunctioning water heater?
- problem with the installation of the water heater?
- pipe problems leading to the 2nd level? Maybe debris blockages from renovation? A valve we missed that isn't open?
- something else?