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techrec79 · Jan 7, 2007, 07:03 AM

I have a 2 year old Gas Hot Water Heater in my house 50 gallon I believe. It runs out of water after about 5 minutes and the water does not seem as hot as it should be (It's turned to 3 on a max scale of 4 on the heater). The pilot light is on. Can you tell me what might cause the hot water to run out so fast. Nothing else is drawing the hot water.

Thanks,

Eric

speedball1 · Jan 7, 2007, 08:06 AM

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 until 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

doug238 · Feb 13, 2007, 10:48 AM

Typically, a water heater that runs out too quickly has a dip tube problem. Either damaged or worn or defective. Another cause could be the t & p leaking from too much pressure or too hot. Check the t & p piping, is it hot? An electric water heater could be a bottom element out also.

labman · Feb 13, 2007, 11:14 AM

Another vote for the dip tube. And no, it is not the heating element since you said it was a gas heater.

Remove the cold water inlet. You should be able to see the flange of a plastic tube inside. No tube, and incoming cold water cuts straight across to the outlet. Berrr!

speedball1 · Feb 13, 2007, 01:46 PM

Duhh! I agree that the dip tube could be shot. Tom