Hello - my apartment heater is blowing cold air. I was told by maintenance folks to turn up my water heater (Rheem Model #42V50-65F Gas). It's already turned up almost to max, and I didn't have this problem over the last two winters. My water heater was recently replaced - could this be part of the problem? Thanks.

My water heater was recently replaced - could this be part of the problem? Thanks.

It is possible but you are not responsible for the repairs so call the maintenance folks and tell them to fix it correctly.

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Originally Posted by hvac1000

My water heater was recently replaced - could this be part of the problem? Thanks.

It is possible but you are not responsible for the repairs so call the maintenance folks and tell them to fix it correctly.

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I'm aware of this, however, maintenance people are telling me that there isn't anything wrong with my heater and won't do anything to correct problem (aside from turning the temp on my water heater all the way up). I'd like to show them what could be causing the problem in the hope that they will then call a technician to fix it.

What is the exact temperature of the water entering the hot water fan coil?

What is the exact hot water temperature leaving the coil?

The above two questions are not to be confused with the air temperature since that question is asked below.

Is the selonoid or fan coil zone valve opening fully when unit is operating?

What is the temperature into the return air and what is the discharge temperature out of the unit after it has run a minimum os 3 minutes?

Is the fan switch on the thermostat set on automatic? Or is it set to ON?

It is possible the fan switch or relay is stuck on allowing cool air to blow since the unit is not calling for heat.

These are good questions for the maintenance guy. I don't know where to find the hot water coil, selonoid or fan coil zone valve, or how to check the return air/discharge temperature. The temperature of the water coming out of the hot water heater is approx. 120 degrees. The thermostat is set on automatic, and turns on/off on its own - seems to be working fine. The fan is working overtime though, it takes much longer than it used to to heat apartment even though the water heater is set much hotter now. I am having to supplement heater with gas fireplace and a space heater.

Thw water at 120 degrees is probably your problem. The lower the temperature the longer it will take to heat your unit.

I have a similar problem. Except my water temp. coming from the spouts is fluctuating. And sometimes I can't get the water to stay warm enough for my daughter to finish her bath. The water heater has pipes that are connected to/run through the apartment heater. Hot water from the water tank is used to heat the room. If I have not used the apartment heater in a while, it takes longer than seems reasonable to start heating the apartment. But within about 5 to 7 minutes, it begins warming. I had an outside repairman look at my apartment heater and hint - very carefully, so as not to commit himself to a diagnosis- that something may be wrong with the valves or seals inside the apartment heater itself. I had someone else tell me, that if this is truly the problem, it is a rather expensive one that the apt. complex would rather not deal with (kind of like the Black Plague). So last time I called in for a "work order", they told me they would send in the plummer who installed my new water heater to look at the problem. The owner of this aforementioned plumbing company is the one who installed the water heater. He looked directly at me and told me, "The problem is NOT with the water heater." He further implied - very carefully - that it might be something else that is associated with the hot water heater. The apt. managers have done everything they can to try to blame the problem on me. This appears to be normal operating procedure.