I seems every once in awhile, the water temperature during a shower will not stay hot for very long and most other times it is fine. Before the shower, I haven't ran anything that would use hot water. I was wondering if this is a sign of my water heater going bad?

How old is your water heater?

What type of heater do you have? Gas or electric? Is your shower valve temperature controlled? (Posi-Trmp or Anti Skald)? Let me know. Tom

Water heater is about 14 years old. It is a natural gas water heater. If my shower valve was temperature controlled, where would I look at to figure that out?

You may have broken / or missing dip tube in your w/h. This becomes more obvious when it gets cold outside. Also, you could have temp controlling mechanism inside your shower faucet malfunctioning.

If the dip tubes are missing or broken, why wouldn't the water be cold all the time?

Because your heater is full of hot water. As the cold water enters the tank, it "drifts" into hot water immediately as it enters the heater. With presence of dip tube, cold water is directed to the bottom of the heater pushing the hot water towards the outlet / shower.

Is this something I need to have a plumer look at or is easy for a regular person to find out?

If you give us the brand and the model number and we will tell you to look, also please open the link below it will show how the dip tube works, Thanks.

John

How a water heater dip tube works and what it looks like. (http://www.masterplumber.net/electricwh/dip_tube.htm)

Afaroo: great visual ! Too bad I cannot give you positive feedback...

Thank Milo

Depends how handy you are with tools. You have to remove cold water supply line from top of the heater, remove nipple, and remove the tube for inspection. Then, you have to put it back together..

I get back home at 3, so I'll post what I can find later this afternoon. Thanks for everyone's help so far

The attach link is a litle bit mor info regarding the Dip tube, Thanks.

John

Cold Showers From Dip Tube Failures - www.diptube.info - Another great official website from Michael Leavitt & Co Inspections, Inc. (http://www.diptube.info/DipTube3ColdShower.html)

Rheem Manufacting Co.
Model No:21V40-7