When you unexpectedly took a cold shower or turned on the sink to discover that there was no hot water in the house, you decided to read this article. If this is the situation you’re in right now, don’t freak out. You suddenly ran out of hot water for a very obvious reason. And with that, let’s get started.
Your hot water heater should be your first port of call. However, the System’s internal components, a gas problem, or an electrical problem could be the real problem.
Here are nine potential causes of no hot water in your home if you can’t get hot water for your shower, washing machine, or dishwasher.
Table of Contents
Why Don’t I Have Hot Water？
1. Gas Leak
Your home may never again have hot water if a gas line leak occurs. Before calling a plumber or making repairs with common household tools on gas water heaters, it’s crucial to check all connections for leaks. During this procedure, the main valve should be closed, the faucets should drip continuously, and all pipes should be checked for moisture or any strange odor coming from the gas supply.
It can be very dangerous if anything fishy is discovered with your gas supply. If you notice a “rotten egg” gas smell in your home, you might have a line leak. Here’s what you should do:
- Till you are a safe distance away from the suspected leak source, refrain from using your phone.
- After moving a safe distance from your home, dial the police and the utility company.
- Your home’s gas valves should be shut off.
- It is not recommended to turn on or off household electrical appliances like stoves and refrigerators.
- Make an immediate call to the gas utility.
- The line should not be repaired.
- Avoid smoking and using lit matches.
2. Leaking Water Heater Tank
Not intended to leak, water heater tanks. A water heater won’t work unless the tank is full of water. If there is no hot water and there is water on the ground near the hot water tank base, you most likely have a leaking tank.
Empty tanks are extremely dangerous and inefficient in terms of energy use. Check all of the pipes’ connections, valves, and other hardware on the appliance. Check the tank compartment to see if they are locked.
There’s a good chance that your machine needs to be replaced if there is water in the compartment
3. Gas Valve Failure
Check the gas inlet valve and gas supply tube if your gas water heater isn’t producing hot water. Examine the gas valve to make sure there are no leaks. It needs to be placed correctly and safely. After that, make sure the gas is turned on once more.
If the gas valve is operating properly, check the pilot light. The pilot may need to be relit several times. It must continue to burn. If not, the gas supply may be limited as a result of the gas line’s obstruction.
If none of these fixes succeed, you should invest in a new water heater that uses less energy. Make contact with a plumbing expert if you want to be certain.
4. Pilot Light Is Out
The pilot light on your water heater might be out if the hot water faucet has turned cold. A no-heat storage unit or a no-hot-water heating system may not have enough gas pressure to produce any no-heat water temperature if no one turns it on until a predetermined temperature threshold has been reached, which could take hours to reach. The pilot light usually went out before this happened, and there are usually warning signs.
Although the majority of contemporary heaters no longer have pilot lights, you should be aware that they now have glow plugs or spark ignitors as a substitute. If this applies to you, you might need to seek professional assistance or attempt to fix it yourself by consulting the owner’s manual.
Inspect the burner to see if there are any marks if your water heater has a pilot light. If you can’t find any, try this simple method!
- Turn off the regulator for five minutes or longer while you wait for the gas to burn off. Afterward, move your regulator to “pilot” mode.
- For at least 60 seconds, you should hold down the ignition knob if your water heater has a self-ignition feature. After that, change the setting on your regulator to “on.”
- All you need is a long lighter if you need to relight the pilot with a flame. Turn on the lighter while holding it over the gas supply tube. Your pilot light should be relit using this method.
The gas inlet valve may be open, though, if the pilot light doesn’t light. If it isn’t, adjust the gas inlet valve’s handle until the gas line and the handle are at the same level. Before attempting to relight your pilot, give the gas time to enter.
5. Electric Water Heater Malfunction
You won’t have to worry about waking up to ice-cold water in your home thanks to gas or electric water heaters. It should go without saying that the electric version is typically powered by electricity from a separate circuit. You might have an electrical problem rather than a problem with the water heater.
An additional way to test this idea is to use an electric device with an internal battery backup system in place of the main energy source provided by wall outlets. There is no power going to your electric water heater if switching power sources does not turn on any heated faucets.
Finding any loose connections to the water heater and resetting any blown fuses in the circuit breaker box can solve the problem of not having hot water, which is a common issue. If the breaker tripped, warm water will start flowing through your home again in about an hour. A circuit breaker that keeps tripping indicates a bad signal, so press the reset button. Get in touch with a licensed electrician if the problem persists.
6. Water Heater Tank Size
Your home won’t be energy efficient and will run out of hot water more quickly if your tank is too small. When it was just you and your spouse, the gadget may have been effective. But as the size of your family grew, so did the demand for hot water and a lot more hot baths. This suggests that it’s time to increase the capacity of your hot water tank.
It is true that an electric water heater requires more time to heat up than a gas water heater. If so, you will require a larger non-heated storage unit, which should address the issue of no hot showers when no one is home.
7. Faulty Heating Element
If there is no hot water in your home, the heating elements could be the issue. Water heaters only last ten years, so replacing one is preferable to fixing an old one. However, make sure to completely turn off your water heater before replacing your heating elements.
8. Thermostat Malfunction
The thermostat for a water heater needs to be set between 122 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit in order to heat water while being energy-efficient. If there is no hot water, not enough, or it is too hot, check the upper thermostat.
It is advisable to replace the thermostat if it is broken. Even if the thermostat is set properly, problems due to sediment buildup can result from a lack of routine maintenance. You can get rid of this by draining and cleaning your water heater.
One of the most frequent causes of no longer having hot water in your house is a high-temperature cutoff switch that has tripped. By pressing a button and flipping a switch, you can fix it.
When you press the reset button, the water heater should make a clicking noise before the power comes back on. It’s most likely because the electricity hasn’t been restored if the high-temperature cutoff needs to be replaced.
9. Local Weather Forecast
The outside temperature affects how long it takes to heat water. Even in relatively warm areas like the Southwest, water heater tank energy efficiency and performance may suffer during the winter. Your system might be impacted if you live in an area where temperatures drop significantly, leading to problems with water. Before insulating the tank, you might have to endure the cold.
What Is The Recovery Time Of A Water Heater?
Whether a water heater is a gas or electric model will affect how long it takes to recover. The recovery time of a gas water heater is half that of an electrical one. For a 40-gallon electric water heater to recharge, it takes about two hours. An electric water heater with 40 gallons takes about four hours to recover, compared to about two hours for a comparable gas water heater.
Avoid using any hot water while you’re recovering for the quickest return to hot water. If you don’t use hot water while the tank is recovering, you’re letting your heater fill and heat the water continuously.
If you draw water while your tank is recovering, you’ll be adding cold water to it. This will only increase the amount of time it takes for your water heater to fully recover and start supplying hot water. If you take a sip of water too soon, it might just be warm or you might only have a short period of hot water before it cools off again.
What Type Of Water Heater Do You Have?
Before we discuss troubleshooting your water heater to determine why you don’t have hot water, we first need to briefly discuss the various types of heaters that are available.
This is so that you know what kind of water heater you have and where to look for issues. There are several different types of water heaters that are frequently used in homes.
The most widely used types of water heaters can be divided into three main categories. Of course, there are many more than these three, but in a residential setting, it is most likely that yours will fit into one of these three groups. They are:
- Traditional gas heater with a tank
- Tankless on-demand heater
- Electric heater with a tank
