| Hi Eric,
Mineral build up comes to mind. Does the heater pop and make noise as it's heating? Running out of water in a gas heater tells us one thing. You are drawing hot water out of the heater faster then the heater can heat the cold water coming in to replace it. Mineral build on the floor of the heater will act as a insulator keeping the heater from operating at full capacity. The solution is to flush your heater on a monthly maintenance schedule.
If you do not flush,(not drain) your heater on a regular basis it will build up mineral on the bottom of the tank. This mineral could act as insulation and cut back on the ability to heat the water. Let me show you how to flush your heater. Attach a hose to the boiler drain at the bottom of the tank. With the pressure on, open the boiler drain and let it run untill the water runs clear. You will see a spurt of red,(rust) and some white grains,(lime or calcium carbonate). The whole thing shouldn't take more then a few minutes. Don't forget to flush it out every month. Your heater will thank you for it. You might want to consider cleaning the screens on your areators if you have a high mineral buildup. If thev problem still persists after you have flushed, you will have to drain the heater, remove the boiler drain and go up in the bottom of the tank with a wood or plastic rod, (not metal) and try to break up the mineral and flush it out. Good luck, Tom |