Stusue
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We replaced the water heater for this reason but it did not increase the heat, what else could be going on that we or a professional could fix?
Water will not get hot enough, it’s warm hot not steaming hot
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hj
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If you have an underground hot water pipe leak, that could be where the hot water is going. If that is the case, eventually, the heater will run continuously, but the 'hot' water will be cold. I know plumbers who replaced water heaters because of those symptoms, without checking for the REAL cause, and then returned the new heater because it was not working any better than the old one. when I told them WHAT the problem was they disagreed, said it could never happen, and installed the second heater. (The supplier did NOT refund their purchase price, nor did the manufacturer, so the plumber had to take it back.
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Post a photo that shows the piping at and near the WH. You may have a device at the water heater intended to prevent you from getting steaming hot water in the shower or for hand washing, and the washing machine and dishwasher happen as a side effect..
Are you looking for this steaming hot water for the washing machine, dishwasher, showering, hand washing, or what?
Jacobsond
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Posting the actual temp of the water will help. Incoming cold and how hot out. Steaming hot water to me would be 200+ degrees. Your not trying to get it that hot? Is this tankless or a tank type heater
Jadnashua
Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx
Did this ever work 'right'?
Make sure that there is nobody using water in the house. Look at the water meter. See if the thing is indicating water is being used (sometimes, you can hear it, but not always). If it is, shut the inlet to the WH and see if it stops the counter on the water meter. If that happens, you have a hot water leak somewhere.
Another reason why your hot may be limited is if there's a cross-over in one of the fixtures. NOte, if you have a shower, have a valve on the showerhead, and do not actually close the valve on the wall...you've created a cross-over that will then mix cold into the hot line. Some single handle faucets can have an internal cross-over, so you could shut the cold supply valve off and see if that 'fixes' it. If you can isolate which one(s) is causing the problem, then you can replace or repair that valve. Some people put a T on their washing machine hoses to force it to always get warm water...that creates a cross-over between the H and C. Because water will take the path of least resistance, some valves may see hot and cold, but others may only see warm and cold. It's possible a washing machine itself may have a cross-over if it has a defective check valve or shutoff.
Do you have a hot water recycling system installed? If its checkvalve has failed, that would allow the hot line to be drawing from both the top and bottom of the tank. Initially, both of those would be hot, but quickly the bottom of the WH would become cold as you use hot water that will go towards the top.
If you've replaced the shower valve (assuming it's the shower), you generally need to adjust the high temp limit stop in the valve...the typical default setting won't allow the outlet to get all that hot. I put a post in the tutorial section that helps explain this, and how to fix it. That's a critical setup step in any modern shower valve that people tend to ignore until they find it doesn't work as expected.
Make sure that there is nobody using water in the house. Look at the water meter. See if the thing is indicating water is being used (sometimes, you can hear it, but not always). If it is, shut the inlet to the WH and see if it stops the counter on the water meter. If that happens, you have a hot water leak somewhere.
Another reason why your hot may be limited is if there's a cross-over in one of the fixtures. NOte, if you have a shower, have a valve on the showerhead, and do not actually close the valve on the wall...you've created a cross-over that will then mix cold into the hot line. Some single handle faucets can have an internal cross-over, so you could shut the cold supply valve off and see if that 'fixes' it. If you can isolate which one(s) is causing the problem, then you can replace or repair that valve. Some people put a T on their washing machine hoses to force it to always get warm water...that creates a cross-over between the H and C. Because water will take the path of least resistance, some valves may see hot and cold, but others may only see warm and cold. It's possible a washing machine itself may have a cross-over if it has a defective check valve or shutoff.
Do you have a hot water recycling system installed? If its checkvalve has failed, that would allow the hot line to be drawing from both the top and bottom of the tank. Initially, both of those would be hot, but quickly the bottom of the WH would become cold as you use hot water that will go towards the top.
If you've replaced the shower valve (assuming it's the shower), you generally need to adjust the high temp limit stop in the valve...the typical default setting won't allow the outlet to get all that hot. I put a post in the tutorial section that helps explain this, and how to fix it. That's a critical setup step in any modern shower valve that people tend to ignore until they find it doesn't work as expected.
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