[gregweber1985]

I am purchasing a home with 4 baths - Home inspection revealed some of the showers and faucets work fine while others have no water at all. Home has 2 water tanks that inspector called out are setup as a split system. Inspection reveals that both the in and out lines into both water heater are hot which indicates the dip tubes are shot and probably need replaced. The inspector said that because one or both of the tanks is failing this is the cause for no water to some of the faucets and one of the shower heads. Is this possible? Could the water heaters as they are setup cause not only hot water but prevent cold water to flow through these faucets?

Home has 4 baths with 4 showers and 3 tubs. Home has 6 bathroom sinks as well.
One shower head in one bathroom and 3 sinks in different bathrooms have no water flow at all. All shutoffs appear to be open. Inspection reveals a split line dual tank water heater setup. Inspector feels one tank is going bad and is preventing water flow of any type to these fixtures. Both the in and out lines on both tanks are very hot indicating the dip tubes are probably gone. Both tanks will be getting replaced - is it possible that this is the reason we have now water flow at these fixtures as the inspector has suggested?

[hkstroud]

nspection reveals that both the in and out lines into both water heater are hot which indicates the dip tubes are shot and probably need replaced.

That is incorrect. The fact that both the input and output lines are warm only means that there are no heat trap nipples installed or if installed are defective.

The inspector said that because one or both of the tanks is failing this is the cause for no water to some of the faucets and one of the shower heads. Is this possible? Could the water heaters as they are setup cause not only hot water but prevent cold water to flow through these faucets?

No. The fact that you have not water, neither hot of cold, indicates that either the aerator is clogged or that the stop valves are closed.

Inspection reveals a split line dual tank water heater setup.

I don't know what that means. Water heaters can be set up in a series or in parallel.
When in a series the hot water out of one goes to the cold input of the second.
When in parallel the hot is drawn equally from both. In a house with that many baths, the plumber may get a little fancy with the plumbing in order to satisfy some high demand fixture.

The water heaters have nothing to do with the cold water flow. Turn off all hot water heaters and the cold will still flow.

Since tub and shower don't have aerators, the aerator can't be the problem with the tubs and showers. Some tub ad shower valves do have integral stop valves. In other words they can have a stop valve built into the valve behind the escutcheon plate. It is done that way so you can work on the valve with out shutting down the entire water supply. It is possible integral valves were turn off so that valves could be serviced and not turned back on. As complex as this plumbing sounds it is possible that there is a stop valve some where that has been turned off. One would simply have to follow the piping to find it.

A dip tube is a plastic pipe in the cold water input side of the water heater. Its purpose is to take the incoming cold water to the bottom of the tank. Without it the incoming cold water would simply move directly across to the hot water output. A dip tube can crack, split or just disintegrate with time but that would not affect the flow. It would only affect the mixing of incoming cold with the outgoing hot.

First thing I would do is follow the cold water lines to insure that no stop valves are closed. Next thing would be to remove escutcheon plates to see if valves have integral stops.

Nothing major here. You (or the seller) may have to hire a plumber locate the problem but nothing major.

Your house inspector should not be trying to diagnose plumbing problems. Not knowledgeable enough

Both tanks will be getting replaced -

No reason to replace a water heater unless it is leaking.