[Domo]

Can you hold your hand on the copper pipe (not the exhaust pipe) that comes out of the top of the tank when you have hot water running in the kitchen? If you can hardly keep your hand on the pipe then the water heater is working okay. If that pipe is just mildly hot and you've set the temperature up high and have seen it ignite (you can hear it also) then this is a water heater problem and due to age you should just have it replaced rather than chase down thermostat controls, etc.

Even Bradford White states that a water heater will last ten years WITH PROPER MAINTENANCE. (Which includes annual flush, burner and flue cleaning, flame adjustment, etc.)

 

[beenthere]

Post pic of dial, so we can see what it is set to.

Do you have any single lever faucets.

 

[Chris616]

You haven’t been asked the question that would allow us to diagnose the problem as a broken dip tube, so…

When the first person in the house gets up in the morning, does the very first use of a hot water faucet give some normal temperature hot water? The graphic below explains how a broken dip tube causes that.
From Troubleshoot and replace water heater dip tubes

Chris

 

[dj3]

86 degrees F is low.
If this is the highest temp the WH can reach, then you need a new WH.

 

[beenthere]

86 degrees F is low.
If this is the highest temp the WH can reach, then you need a new WH.

Some one may have set it to vacation mode.

 

[TankWater829]

Can you hold your hand on the copper pipe (not the exhaust pipe) that comes out of the top of the tank when you have hot water running in the kitchen? If you can hardly keep your hand on the pipe then the water heater is working okay. If that pipe is just mildly hot and you've set the temperature up high and have seen it ignite (you can hear it also) then this is a water heater problem and due to age you should just have it replaced rather than chase down thermostat controls, etc.

Even Bradford White states that a water heater will last ten years WITH PROPER MAINTENANCE. (Which includes annual flush, burner and flue cleaning, flame adjustment, etc.)



View attachment 644254

Ty. i will perform the touch test and let you know the results.

 

[TankWater829]

Post pic of dial, so we can see what it is set to.

Do you have any single lever faucets.

I dont have any single lever faucets.

 

[TankWater829]

You haven’t been asked the question that would allow us to diagnose the problem as a broken dip tube, so…

When the first person in the house gets up in the morning, does the very first use of a hot water faucet give some normal temperature hot water? The graphic below explains how a broken dip tube causes that.
From Troubleshoot and replace water heater dip tubes

Chris

View attachment 644255

The water is constantly on the high warmer side. I hope I answered your question.

 

[TankWater829]

UPDATE FROM OP:

I heard the WH fire up 12 hours ago. I am assuming it heated up all the water. IA few minutes ago, I opened the Pressure release valve and checked the Temp again. The Temp is around 86 F.

I live in a duplex. This WH was meant to spply water to the second floor. The "First floor" WH is the one that is mostly used by us ( for showers, dishwashing, etc )
Now, get this: Only the kitchen sink on the first floor some how ended up being connected to the second floor WH.

I had a plumber work the pipes in a way where even the second floor will get water from the first floor WH, while the second floor WH just sits dormant. I am using that setup now to have hot water in the first floor kitchen faucet. All I need to do is turn two ball cock valves.

To sumarize:
1) House has 2 WHs becuase it is a duplex.
2) First floor kitchen was hooked to get water from the second floor WH; possibly in error.
3) Have a system where only the first floor WH is used to supply the entire house.
4) Using that system right now for the entire house.

 

[AllanJ]

The behavior (symptoms) described so far suggest to me that the most likely reason is a broken dip tube under the water heater cold inlet.


Try this. First thing in the morning, turn the temperature dial slowly up a few notches or until the water heater kicks on. Then immediately and slowly turn it back to where it was. Wait for the heater to shut off before taking your shower. If the heater stays running for more than 15 minutes and also you get a nice hot shower then the thermostat dial and control box may be sluggish and perhaps need replacing.

 

[snic]

Ty. i will perform the touch test and let you know the results.

What were the results?

Run the hot water somewhere in your house for a couple of minutes, until it's as hot as it's going to get. If the hot water pipe exiting the water heater is comfortably warm but not hot, it's a problem with the water heater. If it's too hot to touch, it's NOT a problem with the water heater, and instead it's downstream of the heater.

What could the downstream problem be? Clearly it's not the faucet because it happens at different faucets. Here's an idea: Do you have any tubs or showers that have two water outlets (e.g., a shower head and a bathrub spout) AND a diverter with a handle that lets you select where the water will go? If so, imagine you turn both the hot and cold water on and let it run to the tub spout. Then you turn the water off by turning the diverter handle to the "off" position, so water is flowing to neither the tub spout nor the shower head. In this case, what you've done is create a "bridge" between the hot and cold water systems in your house. The hot and cold water faucets are still on, so cold water will flow into the hot water pipes and reduce the temperature of the hot water coming out of any other faucet in the house.

How do I know this is possible? Because this happened to me. It took me MONTHS to figure out that this was why my wife would keep complaining that her shower was cold when she took her shower before me. I'd then take a shower and it was nice and hot. The water bridge was present in another bathroom in both cases - but because my wife's shower got the water heater going, the temperature was acceptably warm for the second shower despite the bridge.

Having said all that - I doubt this is actually your problem, but the touch test will tell you if it might be. The most likely case is that your water heater is old and should be replaced.