Lubbock HVAC, Plumbing, and Energy Management Blog

Common Water Heater Thermostat Problems

Tweet

 

Water heater thermostat problems are never good for anyone to have at their home or business.  Electric and gas tank-type water heaters have thermostats on them that control the temperature of the water inside the tank.  Here are some common problems that can occur:

Thermostat was set too low

Believe it or not we get a lot of plumbing calls that have the thermostat set too low on the water heater.  The reason for this low setting comes that way out of the box.  Manufactures have a low temperature setting so that the water will not scald you when your water heater first gets to the set temperature.  Make sure when you have a new water heater installed, move into a new home, etc... that you check the thermostat to make sure it is set to the temperature that you like but will not get burned. 

Wired up incorrectly

This is another common issue that can happen when having a new electric water heater installed.  Make sure that the plumbers that you have hired to install the new water heater, do it correctly before they leave your home or business.  Remember, these types of problems never happen at a convenient time, so make sure the plumbers stay at your home or business until you have hot water.

Heating element is bad 

This is one issue that I am sure all owners of electric water heaters are familiar with.  The heating element can obviously cause the water in the tank to get colder than normal.  This is a big deal because until the element gets replaced the water in the tank will not get hot!  For areas in the United States like Lubbock, Texas we have hard water that can cause elements to go out faster than normal.   So if you notice a sudden change in your waters temperature, you may have a bad heating element.

These are only a few issues that can cause water heater thermostat problems.  If you notice a sudden temperature change in your hot water contact your local plumbing company or if you live in Lubbock County contact Sinclair Heating, Cooling, and Plumbing.