[TankWater829]

Hello All, Newbie here.

The hot water faucet in my kitchen faucet is sending out only warm water. It doesnt get hot like it is supposed to. Even after I run the water for 5 minutes, the water is still only warm.

I did increase the temperature on the hot water heater by turning up the temperature dial a noch but that doesn't seem to help.
Can you guys please tell me a few initial tests that I can perform so that I can isolate the problem?

Thank you

 

[dj3]

Is your problem only in the kitchen, or in every faucet around the house?

 

[Wm. Robert]

If hot water temp is an issue at all such taps, the problem lies with the h.w. tank. If it's only in th kitchen, the mixing valve is the culprit. OOPs...you didn't say whether you have separate taps for hot and cold in the kitchen. Mine has one tap for all water and you move it left/right to regulate temperature.

 

[SW Dweller]

What kind of water heater? Gas or electric?
You say that the temp was adjusted up, which one the top one or the bottom one? assuming electric.
Warm tells me you have lost the bottom element which does most of the heating of the tank.
You have verified that the breaker is on? right? Moved the breaker back and forth hearing a solid click in each position.
If it is the bottom element then a lot of decisions jump up. Time for a new one? or do you want ot drain the tank and replace the element? Not hard, but not a quick fix

 

[jmon]

Agree, more info needed. Thank you.

 

[TankWater829]

Is your problem only in the kitchen, or in every faucet around the house?

Thank you for your replies.

The water in another faucet is also warm after running it for a long time.

 

[TankWater829]

If hot water temp is an issue at all such taps, the problem lies with the h.w. tank. If it's only in th kitchen, the mixing valve is the culprit. OOPs...you didn't say whether you have separate taps for hot and cold in the kitchen. Mine has one tap for all water and you move it left/right to regulate temperature.

Thank you for your replies.

1) The water in another faucet is also warm after running it for a long time.
2) The kitchen faucet has a hot and a cold pipe going into it. It has a knob for hot and cold water.

 

[TankWater829]

What kind of water heater? Gas or electric?
You say that the temp was adjusted up, which one the top one or the bottom one? assuming electric.
Warm tells me you have lost the bottom element which does most of the heating of the tank.
You have verified that the breaker is on? right? Moved the breaker back and forth hearing a solid click in each position.
If it is the bottom element then a lot of decisions jump up. Time for a new one? or do you want ot drain the tank and replace the element? Not hard, but not a quick fix

Thank you for your reply.
1) It is a gas water heater.
2) I increased the temp by rotating the dial. there is only one dail, and it is located at the bottom of the tank.
3) I dont see any electrical wiring to begin with; nor a breaker.

 

[jmon]

So it's affecting other faucets. Could be a couple things;

Does the wh fire up? can you hear kick on? Pilot light on?

 

[Fish_Stick]

I'd fill a small cup with the "hot" water directly from the drain valve on the water heater and see what the temp is on that with a thermometer. Just open it slightly, you won't need a lot. That will at least narrow the problem down to the water heater or something else entirely. How old is the water heater?

 

[TankWater829]

So it's affecting other faucets. Could be a couple things;

Does the wh fire up? can you hear kick on? Pilot light on?

I didn't get a chance to hear the water heater fire up. I will put that on my to do list for this evening. I will update you in about 4 hours.
But, the gas meter was definetly running. By that I mean, the water heater is definetly consuming gas. I saw the gas meter dial begin to rotate after about 5 minutes worth of water flowed out of the hot water faucet.
The pilot light is definetly ON.

Ty for your reply.

 

[TankWater829]

I'd fill a small cup with the "hot" water directly from the drain valve on the water heater and see what the temp is on that with a thermometer. Just open it slightly, you won't need a lot. That will at least narrow the problem down to the water heater or something else entirely. How old is the water heater?

Thank you for your reply.
I will perform the Temperature test in 4 hours and post you an update.
It was installed exactly 10 years ago.

It is a "Bradford White" Defender.

 

[jmon]

Thank you for your reply.
I will perform the Temperature test in 4 hours and post you an update.
It was installed exactly 10 years ago.

It is a "Bradford White" Defender.

Any maintenance ever been performed on it, like flushing the tank, changing anode rod, or checking the dip tube, cleaning burner area and air filter, etc.? Anything ever been replaced on it?

Reason I ask is, an over 10 year old wh, even though it's not really that old, is nearing it's end if it has never been serviced. Especially if you have hard water.

It may not be a wh issue, just wanted to get a feel if it has ever been serviced.

Post a picture of it if you can. Thank you.

 

[dj3]

Well, I have a feeling it's the WH.
Possible problems: a defective gas valve or gas supply problem.
With a 10 year gas WH, it doesn't make much economic sense to start replacing expensive parts, like the gas valve (around $300 + labor), when a new WH starts at $400 + installation.

 

[HotRodx10]

The water heater may just need the sediment flushed out, or the dip tube may have broken or come off.

I would check the temperature of the water out of the T&P valve at the top, since it's much easier to pop that open for a second, than the drain valve, and much less likely to leak afterwards. I wouldn't advise attempting to open the drain valve to get a cup of water out. If there's sediment built up, it will get into the valve and you cause it to continue to leak until you completely flush it. If it hasn't been flushed out in the last couple of years, that should be done anyway.

 

[TinyFargo]

Well, I have a feeling it's the WH.
Possible problems: a defective gas valve or gas supply problem.
With a 10 year gas WH, it doesn't make much economic sense to start replacing expensive parts, like the gas valve (around $300 + labor), when a new WH starts at $400 + installation.

A caution that the "+ installation" on a new water heater can be quite a lot, depending on the circumstances.

The bigger thing is that your water heater's not like a 1995 Honda Civic where you fix whatever little thing broke and it will keep running forever. You change out that gas valve and something else is going to fail before you know it. At 10 years old, it is probably time to start researching and budgeting for a new water heater while we figure this out.


In the mean time, I would turn it all the way off and then follow the procedure to relight the pilot. Maybe it's because I work with computers all day, but the old "reboot" has helped me before with a flaky controller.

 

[TankWater829]

Any maintenance ever been performed on it, like flushing the tank, changing anode rod, or checking the dip tube, cleaning burner area and air filter, etc.? Anything ever been replaced on it?

Reason I ask is, an over 10 year old wh, even though it's not really that old, is nearing it's end if it has never been serviced. Especially if you have hard water.

It may not be a wh issue, just wanted to get a feel if it has ever been serviced.

Post a picture of it if you can. Thank you.

The WH came with the house, when I bought the house 7 years ago. There was zero maintenance done on it. Nothing was replaced in the past 7 years. I doubt anything was replaced before I bought the house, because it would have been only a few years old.

 

[TankWater829]

So it's affecting other faucets. Could be a couple things;

Does the wh fire up? can you hear kick on? Pilot light on?

Yes, it fires up about 5 minutes after I let the water flow in the sink. What does kick on mean? BTW, I was looking if the pilot was ON and it was at that exact moment it fired up. So, I can't tell if the pilot was ON before it fired up. I will let you know if the pilot is still ON.

 

[TankWater829]

I'd fill a small cup with the "hot" water directly from the drain valve on the water heater and see what the temp is on that with a thermometer. Just open it slightly, you won't need a lot. That will at least narrow the problem down to the water heater or something else entirely. How old is the water heater?

The temperatue was 86 F coming out of the pressure release valve. The WH fired up around the time I was testing the wate temp. I will let the water heat up and check the water temp in 45 minute and let you know.

 

[TankWater829]

In the mean time, I would turn it all the way off and then follow the procedure to relight the pilot. Maybe it's because I work with computers all day, but the old "reboot" has helped me before with a flaky controller.

LOL, Electrical Engineer here myself. Yes, I will try to reboot. Maybe I can flush out the bits stuck in its Flip Flop memory. LOL.