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Lebanon Plumbers, home

Water Heaters

Water Heater Repair

Plenty of water heater faults are a part, not a tank. Knowing which you have before spending anything is the whole job.

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What is included

What this service covers

What we actually do on this job, and what you can expect us to deal with while we are there.

  • No hot water and not enough hot water diagnosis
  • Thermocouple, pilot assembly and gas valve faults
  • Electric heating elements and thermostats
  • Temperature and pressure relief valve replacement
  • Anode rod replacement and tank flushing
  • Noisy tanks caused by sediment
  • Correcting venting, expansion and relief discharge faults

Signs to look for

You may need this if you are seeing any of these

  • No hot water at any tap
  • Hot water that runs out much faster than it used to
  • Rumbling, popping or kettling noises from the tank
  • Rusty or discoloured hot water
  • A rotten egg smell from the hot side only
  • Water pooling around the base of the unit
  • The pilot light going out repeatedly

Why it happens

What usually causes it

01

Sediment on the tank bottom

Hard water drops mineral out of solution as it heats. That layer insulates the burner from the water, so the unit runs longer for the same result and the popping noise is water flashing to steam underneath it. It is the single most common cause of premature failure in this county.

02

A spent anode rod

The anode is a sacrificial part that corrodes so the tank does not. Once it is consumed the tank itself starts going, which shows up first as rusty hot water or a sulphur smell. Replacing it on time is what makes the difference between eight years and fifteen.

03

Failed thermocouple or element

On a gas heater a failing thermocouple lets the pilot drop out repeatedly. On an electric one, scale kills the lower element first, which typically gives you some hot water but far less than usual.

04

Thermostat drift

A thermostat reading incorrectly gives water that is either lukewarm or dangerously hot, and it is a cheap part rather than a reason to replace a working tank.

Our approach

How we handle this job

Specific to this work rather than a generic checklist bolted onto every page.

  1. 01

    Establish the age first

    There is a date encoded in the serial number on the label. It changes the whole conversation, because money spent on a fourteen year old tank rarely comes back and we would rather tell you that before you spend it.

  2. 02

    Find where the water actually is

    Leaks from top fittings, the drain valve or the relief discharge are repairable parts. Water emerging from under the jacket with everything above dry means the steel tank has corroded through, and no repair exists for that.

  3. 03

    Test the actual fault

    Gas heaters get the pilot, thermocouple, gas valve and venting checked. Electric ones get elements and thermostats tested rather than swapped on a hunch.

  4. 04

    Give you the honest comparison

    Where a repair is sensible we do it. Where the repair cost is a large fraction of replacement on a tank near the end of its life, we will say so and let you decide rather than quietly fitting the part.

The two questions that settle most water heater calls

Before anyone comes out, you can usually work out which conversation you are going to have.

How old is it? There is a label on the unit with a serial number, and for most manufacturers the date is encoded in the first few characters, generally as year and week. Under eight years, a component fault is worth fixing. Past twelve, spending on it rarely pays.

Where is the water? This is the one people most often get wrong, because water tracks across a floor and appears somewhere other than its source. Water from the top fittings, the drain valve, or the relief valve discharge pipe means a repairable part. Water coming out from underneath the jacket, with everything above it dry, means the tank itself has rusted through.

The sacrificial anode rod being drawn out of the top of a water heater tank

Hard water is the local variable

Lebanon County sits on limestone, and that shapes water heater life here more than brand choice does.

Dissolved mineral drops out of solution when water is heated and settles on the bottom of a gas tank or crusts onto the elements of an electric one. The insulating layer makes the burner work longer for the same result, and the popping noise on an older tank is water flashing to steam underneath it. On electric units, scale on an element is what burns the element out.

Two habits push back on this and neither is expensive: flush the tank annually, and check the anode rod every few years, replacing it once it is largely consumed. The anode is the part designed to corrode so the tank does not. Once it is gone, the tank is next.

Houses on private wells have a broader water chemistry question than hardness alone, which is covered on the well and water treatment page.

A 50 gallon residential hot water tank being flushed and serviced

When we will tell you not to repair it

If the tank is leaking from the body, or if the repair cost on a twelve year old unit is a large fraction of replacing it, we will say so plainly. You are welcome to have the repair done anyway and sometimes that is the right call for timing or budget reasons, but you should be making that choice with the numbers in front of you rather than finding out in a year.

If it is time, the replacement page covers sizing and fuel choice.

Questions

Water heater repair questions

Specific to this job. Every service page here has its own, none repeated.

General FAQ

Common questions

How do I know if my water heater needs repair or replacement?
Two things decide it. Age, which you can find from the date encoded in the serial number on the label, and where the water is coming from. Under about eight years old with a component fault is usually worth repairing. Past ten or twelve with the tank itself leaking is not, because the steel has corroded through and there is no patch for that. A repair on a tank close to the end of its life often means paying twice within a year.
Why is my water not getting hot at all?
On a gas heater the usual causes are a pilot that has gone out, a failing thermocouple that will not hold it, or a gas supply issue. On electric, a tripped breaker, a tripped high limit reset on the upper thermostat, or a failed upper element. Some of those you can check safely yourself, particularly the breaker and the reset button. Beyond that it needs testing rather than guessing, because swapping parts on suspicion gets expensive.
Why does my hot water run out so quickly now?
Most often sediment. A thick mineral layer on the tank bottom takes up volume that used to hold water and insulates the burner from what remains, so you get less hot water and it takes longer to recover. On an electric heater a failed lower element does something similar: the upper element still heats the top of the tank, so you get a short burst of hot water and then cold. A dip tube failure can also cause it.
What is that popping and rumbling noise?
Water trapped under a sediment layer on the tank floor, superheating and flashing to steam. It is not dangerous in itself but it is a clear signal that the tank needs flushing and that the unit is working considerably harder than it should. Left alone it shortens the life of the tank noticeably, which in this hard water county is worth acting on.
Can you repair a tankless water heater?
Yes. The common faults are different: scale build up in the heat exchanger, ignition and flame sensing problems, flow sensor faults, and error codes pointing at venting or gas supply. Descaling is the maintenance item most tankless owners here skip, and it matters more in a limestone water area than the manufacturer's generic schedule suggests.
How long does a water heater repair take?
Most component repairs are a couple of hours, including diagnosis, provided the part is a common one we carry. A thermocouple, element, thermostat or relief valve usually falls into that. Less common gas valves or control boards may need ordering, and we will tell you the wait before you commit rather than after.
My hot water smells of rotten eggs. Is that dangerous?
It is unpleasant rather than dangerous, and it is almost always the anode rod reacting with bacteria in the water rather than a gas leak. The tell is that it affects the hot side only. If you smell gas near the appliance itself, that is a completely different situation: leave and call the gas utility's emergency line first. The sulphur smell is more common on well water, and the fix is usually an anode rod change and sometimes a different rod material.
Should I flush my water heater myself?
You can, and on hard water it is worth doing annually. Shut off the power or gas, connect a hose to the drain valve, and run it until it comes clear. Two cautions: on an older tank that has never been flushed, the drain valve sometimes will not reseat afterwards, and disturbing years of sediment occasionally reveals a weakness that was being held together by it. If your tank is old and has never been flushed, it may be worth having it done rather than finding that out alone.

Related services

Where we cover for this

All service areas

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Need water heater repair in Lebanon County?

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  • Residential and commercial
  • Price agreed before work starts

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