Hot Water Heater Troubleshooting: Sudden Drop In Hot Water Temperature
It is frustrating when your hot water heater suddenly starts to produce less hot water. While this is sometimes a symptom of expensive-to-repair hot water heater defects such as a leaking tank, it is a problem that can be easily solved. The following are tips that will come in handy in helping you not only detect the source of your hot water heater problem, but also fix it.
Increase in heat loss
If your hot water problems start every time the environmental temperatures change, you likely have a heat loss problem. This is because a sudden drop in environmental temperatures will significantly reduce the temperature of the water that the heater has to heat. To get this water to the desired temperature, the heater will have to work for a longer period. You may therefore notice that the output of the heater is not as hot as you are used to.
Heated water can also lose a significant amount of heat when exposed to low environmental temperatures. This water will then exit the the hot water system with its temperature significantly reduced. This may be to blame for your hot water problems.
To reduce environmental heat loss, you will have to insulate your system's piping. If the piping system is routed outside, you should also consider rerouting it.
Cracked or broken dip tube
Since hot water has to be delivered into the tank with the heating process ongoing, there is always a risk of the hot water mixing with the cold water that is being delivered into the heating area. This will then have the effect of not-as-hot water leaving the heating system.
To prevent this from happening, manufacturers use a dip tube to deliver hot water into the heating area. This tube delivers hot water at the bottom of the tank. And since cold water is denser than hot water, this then minimizes the risks of the incoming cold water mixing with the already-heated water.
Unfortunately, there are times when this tube cracks due to wear and tear. The tube can also break. And when this happens, dip tube won't be able to efficiently direct hot water away from the heater's top. Instead, any water that escapes through the crack or broken area will mix with cold water. This will then reduce the temperature of the system's output. If this is the source of your hot water heater problem, then replacing the dip tube will be enough to fix to get your system functioning as well as it used to.
For more information, talk to a professional like Winters Heating Cooling.
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