[SlowHotWater]

We just had our hot water heater replaced. We use to have a 55 gal unit mounted near the ceiling of our garage (12 ft ceilings) and now we have an 80 gal unit mounted on the floor.

Ever since the replacement we have noticed that the hot water does not come out of ANY faucet with the pressure that it use to. The screens in the faucets are not clogged and even the new shower head in one bathroom has the same problem. Adjusting the temp in the shower is especially tricky because of this. :furious:

So I'm wondering what solutions there might be.

Any ideas?

Thank you.

 

[Gabriel24]

Hot water not like it was.

Since this is a 80 gallon heater, I am thinking that the thermostat setting is not adequate for the 80 gallons. Also, the distance from the water heater to the faucets may cause the water to cool down a little.
I hope this helps.

 

[SlowHotWater]

Gabriel24,
Thank you for your reply.

I have a question, or two, about it though.

At first I thought the same thing, so I bumped the water heater setting, and the water does come out very hot - it just doesn't come out with the same force that water from the old water heater did. I can see this very plainly if I quickly switch the kitchen faucet from hot to cold - the cold comes out with much more force than the hot.

How much does vertical rise affect water pressure? Do the number of bends in the pipe affect pressure? I am guessing that the size of the pipe might affect the pressure, but that remained the same as the old water heater. What else might affect the pressure?
:wink:

 

[beenthere]

Height, length and the number of ells/bends in the pipes effects the pressure. Did they use copper pipes to extend the lines, or did they use CPVC, or pex pipe?

If they used copper, it could be that they have a poor solder joint that got filled partially by solder.

Next, newer water heaters have a anti thermal siphon fitting in them, that could be causing some of your water problems. Have removed a few of these for this reason.

 

[Lightfoot]

I would check the shutoffs to make sure they opened them all the way back. Did they shut the water off at the meter? If so, i'd check that valve as well to make sure it's completely open. Man, other than that, i just cant think of any reason why.

 

[VIPlumber]

Could also be the expansion tank. Did they replace or reuse the old one? It could be waterlogged.

 

[VIPlumber]

Could also be the expansion tank. Did they replace or reuse the old one? If it's the old one, it could be waterlogged. If it's a new one, maybe the pressure is set lower than the old one.

 

[Grampa Bud]

It actually sounds like the water pressure in the whole house may be in the 20-35 p.s.i. range and since the original 50 gallon tank was mounted near the ceiling of a 12' tall room it was being used as a home brew water tank to help increase pressure on the Hot side. Now that the new 80 gallon tank is on the floor where it should be the low water pressure will still fill the heater at the original pressure, but the hot water now has to be pumped up hill to get to its destination which will decrease the pressure at the faucets slightly. Are you on city water or on a private well? If on a well a well man (or a plumber) should be able to raise the cold water pressure to the house into the 50-60p.s.i. range quite easily. If on city water measure the pressure at any silcock. If it is 20-40p.s.i. a plumber can install a "Pressurizer Pump" and a secondary pressure tank and bring the water pressure up into the 50-70p.s.i. range. Don't go any higher than this or you may start bursting pipes or destroying valves.

 

[nap]

If on city water measure the pressure at any silcock. If it is 20-40p.s.i. a plumber can install a "Pressurizer Pump" and a secondary pressure tank and bring the water pressure up into the 50-70p.s.i. range. Don't go any higher than this or you may start bursting pipes or destroying valves.

or there may be an improperly set or defective pressure regulator

 

[Homerepairguy]

Hi Slow,

Maybe buy a water pressure gauge and connect it to a hose bib to see what the pressure is. Water pressure will be the same in both the hot and cold water lines. If you want to verify this, connect the pressure gauge to the hose bib for your laundry tray and turn the hot water faucet on.

This is step 1,
HRG