Waiting for hot water

[judy]

I am not used to living in a house, waiting for the hot water to kick over so that I can take a nice hot bath!!! Grrrrrr! And then, when I get in, I can't add more hot water to keep it warm because it gets used up.

I think there might be something wrong anyway because I can't fill the bath up before the hot water gets used up. I don't use hot water for a good while before I fill up the bath. Then I fill it with only hot water and wait until it cools down just enough so that I can get in and enjoy it.

[gja1000]

Do you know what size tank you have? You should not be running out of hot water with just a bath. I'd definitely have someone check it out.

[Lindsey]

I think hot water tanks usually have two elements (are they called elements?). We run out of hot water fast when one of the elements (if that's what it's called lol) stops working. You may just need to replace one. When it happens, we can usually only run water for about 5 or 6 minutes before the water turns cold.

[HALEY]

Judy i feel your pain, i been living like that for 5 years now, are tank is to small for all of us. we need a bigger one, hopefully this summer, i try to wash my whites in hot water after we all take out bath's at night, it sucks but if i don't we don't have hot water... Between mike and i taking a shower in the morning and all of us taking one at night, plus washing dishes, the hot water runs out...

[Janet]

Lindsey is right...it's either the element or your hot water heater is too small. Time to have it checked or just buy a new one. We just got a new one 2 years ago.

[Tiramisu]

Unfortunately, when the water heater is acting up, it causes your electricity bill to go up!

With all these kids, we put two 40-gallon water heaters in, when we built the house. One's up in the attic for the bathrooms. The other is in the laundry room, supplying the kitchen and washer. Then, a few years ago, hubby tied the two together, so we essentially have 80 gallons of hot water to the whole house. We replaced the one in the laundry room last year (25 years old) because it started leaking. I'm sure it's time for the other to go.

[DianaB]

You might want to check where your temperature is set at. If it's too low then you have to use more hot water to fill up a bathtub. If it's hotter then you don't need as much hot water and use more of the cold water. That's what I would check first.

[judy]

It's a 52 gallon, which should be enough for one person, if you have 80 for a whole family Sandy.

I don't know where the temperature gauge is Diana, but it feels very hot when I put my hand under the faucet.

Who do I call to check it out? My SIL still hasn't gotten his butt over here, or I would ask him.

[DianaB]

Is your hot water tank where you can get to it? There should be a dial right on the front of it. The left side is low and turning it the other way is higher. They usually don't have any numbers on them so it's a guess on where it should be. There will be a little arrow to let you know where it's set. It should be somewhere right in the middle or a little bit higher than that. Some people turn theirs down when they leave or maybe yours was turned down since no one was living in your apartment and it just needs to be turned up. With a 52 gallon tank you should have MORE than enough water to take a bath and do laundry. Check this before you call someone to come out. It will take a while for the water to heat up after you change it so check it in a couple of hours or so.

[judy]

There is a knob on the bottom front. I'll go check it with the flashlight.

[Tiramisu]

Wish I was a fly on the wall!

[Janet]

Let us know what you find Judy.

[judy]

Originally Posted by Tiramisu

Wish I was a fly on the wall!

If you had been, you would have fallen off the wall laughing! I was on the floor with my flashlight, my camera, armed with a magnifying glass in case I couldn't see!

Is this the thermostat? It doesn't move that I can figure out. It also says above it to disconnect the electric before changing the thermostat.

[DianaB]

No, that's not the thermostat and it's a good thing that you didn't get that to turn!!! That looks like the drain!!! You'd have had hot water all over your floor!!!

Hmmm.......Is your hot water heater an electric one? Or is it gas? Here's some sites that might give you some information. Neither Glen nor I are familiar with an electric water tank. I hope this helps.

http://homerepair.about.com/od/plumb...lsht_hwh_3.htm

http://www.handymanwire.com/question...erheaterq.html

http://www.diy-hq.net/water-heaters/...u-can-fix.html

If you have an electric tank--

http://www.chilipepperapp.com/troublee.htm

[DianaB]

Originally Posted by DianaB

No, that's not the thermostat and it's a good thing that you didn't get that to turn!!! That looks like the drain!!! You'd have had hot water all over your floor!!

Please ignore this part of my post. I had Glen take a look at your picture and he thought he saw an arrow on the side. He thinks that it's your thermostat and that maybe you need to push it in and try turning it.

I thought that it looked like a cap! Sorry for laughing!!! I tried to edit but I ran out of time.