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Post a pic because usually water heaters have a dedicated initial cold water (IN) supply from the main line and then the (OUT) house hot water pipe. The cold water only to house supply line takes a different route.
There is no way the plumber crossed cold and hot. Or are you saying they crossed the in supply from main and out to house were crossed ( at the top of the water heater). Why didn't the plumber fix it right there and then. That's 5 minutes of work.
He said the charge is $150 and I didnt have the LL's approval at that time - only to diagnose the issue. Does that price sound reasonable? He said it might make a mess and what not I think
here is what it says on the invoice
Quote:
Swap water heater supply lines to the correct way. (As of
now the hot line is entering the cold side of the heater and
the cold line is enter the hot side of the heater.)
Clean air vents on water heater.
Here is a pic but I can't see if its HOT or COLD against the wall only on top of the waterheater I can see.
I would think if the lines were crossed you'd consistently have only cold water, not off and on again....that doesn't make sense?
I did get the approval from the LL but I am not calling the plumber to come in until I know if this is actually an issue. The Plumbing company has quite good reviews so Im not sure if they are just ripping me off. The plumber also said the water heater is dirty (as you can see in the pic) and they'll clean it up.
Initially thats what I thought - if the lines are crossed we would have consistent cold water / hot water but thats not the case - only sometimes does that happen actually.
What do you think I should do?
At first we thought the problem was the HOT water was being used up too quick, but then i realized when someone showers in one bathroom and they dont get hot water - after they come out i noticed we get hot water in the kitchen sink or bathroom sink. its very odd and irregular. Our water heater is manufactured 2009 i believe.
I did get the approval from the LL but I am not calling the plumber to come in until I know if this is actually an issue. The Plumbing company has quite good reviews so Im not sure if they are just ripping me off. The plumber also said the water heater is dirty (as you can see in the pic) and they'll clean it up.
What do you think I should do?
This is a rental. The correction is at the expense of the landlord, not you. The landlord gave you the go-ahead. What are you waiting for?
This is a rental. The correction is at the expense of the landlord, not you. The landlord gave you the go-ahead. What are you waiting for?
I dont want the LL to get upset because after the repair what if the problem persists? I asked the plumber and he said most likely it is the problem - but I dont understand if the lines are crossed then we should be getting cold water in the hot setting and vice versa - but that doesnt happen all the time. I can probably name about 5-6 instances where that happens.
The braided steel line with the valve is your supply ( cold) water line. That goes in the BLUE gasket colored threaded nipple. The ribbed stainless steel line is your hot water that goes to the house interior.
Shut off the valve
Bottom of the heater there should be a drain valve. Drain all the water out ( it's gonna be hot ).
Disconnect and swap lines locations use some Teflon tape on the nipple threads out of the WH.
Close drain valve,
Open supply line valve
Open furthest hot water fawcet and let system fill back up
$150 is about normal for a call but it's really easy to do. The lines need to be swapped. Its gonna take you longer to wait for the WH to drain than to swap lines.
I dont want the LL to get upset because after the repair what if the problem persists?
Then once again the LL deals with it. Again, it's not your property or your problem and you've been given the go-ahead so let the professional do his job and don't micromanage.
The braided steel line with the valve is your supply ( cold) water line. That goes in the BLUE gasket colored threaded nipple. The ribbed stainless steel line is your hot water that goes to the house interior.
Shut off the valve
Bottom of the heater there should be a drain valve. Drain all the water out ( it's gonna be hot ).
Disconnect and swap lines locations use some Teflon tape on the nipple threads out of the WH.
Close drain valve,
Open supply line valve
Open furthest hot water fawcet and let system fill back up
$150 is about normal for a call but it's really easy to do. The lines need to be swapped. Its gonna take you longer to wait for the WH to drain than to swap lines.
Alright the plumber will be here tomorrow to do it.
So do you think this is the cause of our problems? Just so I could get a 2nd opinion.
Also, does running the washer with cold water at the same time as someone is showering affect how much hot water the shower is getting? Like is it normal to not have hot water (more like lukewarm water) if we run the washer in cold setting? I asked the plumber this and he said it should make no difference in the temperature of water in the shower if you run the washer in the COLD setting
Alright the plumber will be here tomorrow to do it.
So do you think this is the cause of our problems? Just so I could get a 2nd opinion.
Also, does running the washer with cold water at the same time as someone is showering affect how much hot water the shower is getting? Like is it normal to not have hot water (more like lukewarm water) if we run the washer in cold setting? I asked the plumber this and he said it should make no difference in the temperature of water in the shower if you run the washer in the COLD setting
If the output from your water heater is crossed, maybe you think it's cold water in your washer, but is it possibly hot water? Anything that uses hot water in another faucet at the same time the shower is running would cause the water in the shower to seem cooler - because hot water is diverted elsewhere.
Okay so the plumber came and replaced the supply lines and cleaned the bottom vent.
However we are having the same problem.
So today I took a shower at 1:30pm for 10 mins.
The next 4 hours theres no one in the home. Then at 6pm 1 person takes a shower in the other bathroom (we only have 2 bathrooms) for about 20 minutes and the water was hot, it was scalding hot and they had to adjust the shower knob accordingly to cool it.
Another person showered right after and the water was initially warm then turned cold..really cold.
How is it possible for the hot water to run out in 15-20 mins? They werent showering in hot water.
This is almost a daily occurence, it always happens around the 4pm-6pm mark. We always run our washer in the cold setting does that empty hot water as well?? How often does a waterheater reheat water?? Once its completely empty? It is a 38gal and was manufactured 2009. And does using cold water have ANY effect on how much hot water can be used up?? I have no idea how to diagnose the issue and I will probably contact the plumber tomorrow to come back.
Meanwhile does anyone have any advice on what the issue could be? We are honestly not even using that much water and it is a family of 4.
In my opinion, your hot water heater is too small for your needs, but you're probably going to have to live with it. I live in a tiny apartment in a senior apt building, by myself, and my hot water heater is 50 gallons.
Running cold water will not affect the hot water heater.
The easiest way to get the hot water to last longer for your needs, is to turn the heat up on the HWH. This means, you will be adding more cold water to the hot water to get it to where you want it, so it will last longer. The down side to this, is that if you don't add cold water to it, someone can get seriously burned.
Honestly, I usually turn up my hot water heater, and I don't tell my landlord. I hate running out of hot water, but I don't have any young children around who could get scalded, either. Even living by myself, I will run out of hot water when I try to take a bath, if the 50 gallon tank I have is set at 120 degrees. I turned it up to 130 degrees, and that works for me. It's just about hot enough to scald me, though, if I don't add some cold water to it. I don't have kids around, so that works for me.
As far as the law in CA, here is a link regarding habitability issues and using the "repair and deduct" remedy, all the law says is that the landlord has to provide you with hot water. It doesn't specify how hot, or how much:
I think the problem is that your needs for hot water exceed the capacity of the 38 gallon HWH you have. You can crank up the heat and risk scalding, or you can simply adjust your lifestyle - nobody uses hot water for washing dishes, etc., for a while, then someone takes a shower. Then you wait 30 minutes, and the next person takes a shower, etc.
That's my take on it, anyway.
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