warm/hot dillema

[cajunjimbo]

i have a rheem/ge 50 gallon gas hot water heater that is about 4 years old. here's my problem...when i turn on one faucet i get warm water, if i turn on a second faucet then the water gets much hotter. also, don't know if this is related or a separate issue, but when i turn off the faucet, i can turn it back on 5-10sec later and the water is cold again, it's like the hot water that was in the pipe just disappeared and it has to travel all the way from the heater again???

[Ejbogusch]

If this is a new problem and you have not made any changes to your plumbing then I would start looking for a bad fixture or faucet. This could be checked by turning off the cold water supply one at a time at each faucet then checking to see if the hot water returns.

Faucets that have a single lever control are always a good place to start.

[cajunjimbo]

checked the faucets, it didn't affect the temperature...still warm when only one faucet is on and then hot when a second one is turned on....any other ideas?

[Ejbogusch]

Since you have hot water you can pretty much rule out a problem with the heater. Does this happen with every faucet in the house? With one faucet on will the water ever get hot? Say after 10 minutes? With one faucet on is the pipe leaving the heater hot?

Close the water heater supply valve 3/4 of the way. Is the faucet pressure and volume the same as before you closed it? It should be less.

[cajunjimbo]

the water is hot, just not as hot as it is if i turn on two faucets.

i can turn the water supply valve to the hot water heater completely off and turn on any hot faucet in the house and i get water, though it's cold water.

[cajunjimbo]

does anybody have an idea of what my problem is???

[Ejbogusch]

If you turn off your hot water at the heater and you have cold water coming out of the hot side of fixtures then I stand by my original post. Your cold water is entering into the hot water side via a bad faucet, fixture or mixing valve. In a perfect condition you should have NO water coming out of the hot side with the supply turned off.

With the water supply to the heater turned off, start turning the individual cold side fixture valves under the sink off. When you see that the cold water stops coming out of the hot side you have found the bad fixture. Note it will not be possible to isolate shower valves unless you have a shut off for these. Also don't forget to check at the dish and clothes washer.

Good luck!

[594tough]

I second the reply by Ej....

The fact that you can get water flow from the hot side with the stop to the WH turned off confirms crossover. A defective faucet is the first suspect. If you have a recirculating system, a failed check valve could be the culprit. If you have a tempering valve anywhere, that could also be bad.