Water Heater Issue

[jigarlakhani]

Hello:

I have a 5 year old Rheem Waterheater self cleaning water heater (40Gallon) and we started noticing issues with hot water. Initially we get hot water but after 20 mins of showeriing we get cold water. I called a plumber and he changed the valve adjuster on the faucet but that didnt do anything for us.

i am having some guests over and i need some help figuring out what the issue might be?

Jigar

 

[Cass]

Is it gas or electric?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Bob NH]

Twenty minutes of showering is about the limit with a 40 gallon hot water heater. You will get noticable mixing after about 30 gallons, so 1.5 GPM of hot will last about 20 minutes. You will also find that you don't get as much usable shower time if your water supply is colder in the winter. You will get a bit faster recovery if it's gas but that won't help the 20 minute shower problem.

When your guests are coming, crank up the heater temperature to about 160 or 170 F about 8 hours before they arrive. Warn them of hot water if you don't have a tempering valve on the outlet of your heater.

 

[Plumber1]

hot

We all have to consider the other person.

I would tell everyone to limit the shower to 5 min.

If you want longer showers, spend the money and get a high recovery water heater.......

 

[hj]

Wh

A domestic water heater can only be adjusted to 150 degrees. And even that is too hot, even if you warn them and they forget.

 

[Bob NH]

From the Thermodisc site:

• The 59T is adjustable over a range of 110F (60C). Lowest calibration is 90F (32C) and the highest is 200F (93C).

It is not be good practice, but they can usually be set higher than 150. Added hot water capacity can be obtained by increasing the temperature and using a thermostatic tempering valve.

 

[Cass]

You may have a bad dip tube. Electric or gas.

If gas you may have a bad gas valve temp sensor.

If electric you may have a bad thermoustat and or burned out element.

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

20 minute showers....huh??

Either get a bigger water heater or

just stop playing with that bar of soap so much.....

EVERYTHING should be "spankey" clean after only a few minutes...

what kind of soap are you useing??l

 

[hj]

t'stat

Now you're going to make me check a water heater to see if it has the 59T 'stat. Historically, residential heaters had a thermostat that went from about 80 to 150, 160 max, for safety and liability reasons. Then they started using letters for the settings because the numbers were not always accurate and customers would get upset when the water was hotter or cooler than the degree set on the thermostat. These days, most heaters come with the thermostat set a the minimum point and require the plumber or installer to set it to the desired temperature. And since the "B" setting is about 130 degrees, I do not see how turning it to the "C", hottest setting, could bump it up to 200 degrees, but I will have to check it out tomorrow to see how far above "C" it will turn.

 

[jigarlakhani]

Hi Guys - Thanks for your response. Actually this is a Rheem gas waterheater. I have notice we get less and less hot water in a single shower and this at times is after 10 - 15 mins of shower.

I am worried because this is a 5 year old waterheater and Rheem isnt giving me much response. I thought the diptube issue was with older water heaters?

so could the issue still be diptube or the gas valve temperature sensor?

I have no plumbing experience. how do i find the right plumber?
pls advice.

thanks.

 

[jigarlakhani]

If i remember correctly we also removed the reducer because my wife was complaining about the water pressure..If i add it back on will that do it?
Can i get the reducer from anywhere?

 

[Cass]

When you call, ask them if they carry dip tubes on their truck because you think that may be the problem

 

[Jadnashua]

Without a reducer in the showerhead, it is anyone's guess how much water you are using per minute. Stick a pail under it and measure how much per minute. My guess, without a restrictor in the head, you might be using 5-6 gallons per minute or maybe even more. With a 40-gallone tank, what do you expect? 10-minutes could easily be 50 gallons.

 

[JK60]

I think a good first step would be to check the temperature of the water in the heater. Wait until the heater kicks in and at the end of the heat cycle drain some water from the heater into a container. Stick in a meat thermometer in the water and see if the water temperature corresponds to the setting on the thermostat.

Good luck!!!

 

[Dubldare]

From the Thermodisc site:

• The 59T is adjustable over a range of 110F (60C). Lowest calibration is 90F (32C) and the highest is 200F (93C).

It is not be good practice, but they can usually be set higher than 150. Added hot water capacity can be obtained by increasing the temperature and using a thermostatic tempering valve.

The 59T is an electric wh stat.


The ECO (electronic cut-off) in the vast majority of residential gas water heaters (with standard, immersion type gas control/thermostat) is set at 160 degrees. The ECO is non-resetable. If it reaches 160, the entire control must be replaced. The 160 degree setting is because of the thermostats position (low on the tank) and temperature stratification in the tank, as well as end-user safety.

 

[Dubldare]

A simple dip tube test, found on AO Smiths website: www.hotwater.com

How can I tell if my dip tube is OK?


A very simple dip tube test can be done to determine if your dip tube is intact. This test applies to top plumbed tank type water heaters:

Shut the circulation pump off (if applicable)
Turn the heater control to pilot position(or turn the power off to an electric heater)
Run approximately three to five minutes of hot water from the nearest hot water faucet
Place a small bucket under the drain valve of the water heater
At the end of the three to five minutes of water running shut the hot water faucet off
Drain about a gallon of water from the drain valve of the water heater.
The water temperature should be cool
If the water is hot you may have a dip tube failure.

 

[Plumber1]

Also you can start running hot water at a faucet and grab the hot water outlet and see how soon the pipe gets cold.

 

[Jadnashua]

If he is running a showerhead WITHOUT a restrictor (he said he took it out), at least to me, that is the reason he runs out of hot water in 10 minutes or so...I think the HWH is fine...it is only a 40-gallon, not even a high recovery unit.