Water Heaters - Hot water pressure very low...ideas before I call the plumber?

Hey guys,

I have a gas water heater that's probably about 5-6 years old. We've been out of our house for about a year or so (we had renters) and when we came back the hot water pressure was pathetic.

I went online to research and found the back flushing trick and tried that, but it didn't really do much. I'm not sure how long I was supposed to do it, but I did it for about 3 minutes or so.

I had a plumbing company come out and unclog a drain for me and while he was here I had him look at the hot water pressure. He cleaned out a bit of gunk where the water leaves the tank to the pipes, but that was really it. He then proceeded to tell me I probably need to get a new hot water heater in a month or so b/c the dip tube (which I don't know anything about) may be bad and instead of just replacing the dip tube, I should just get a new tank installed.

So, what am I looking at here? I've extended passed my abilities (Which didn't go very far in the first place) and I don't want to get run over by a plumber.

What are some things I need to consider before calling a plumber, and when I do call the plumber, what do I need to be aware of? Other than the pressure, the hot water is fine.

Would draining/flushing the water heater be of any use? Does that affect the pressure?

Thanks in advance for your time.

Paul

Ok, first, don't call that plumber again. A dip tube has nothing to do with the water pressure leaving the WH.

Google.. Water heater diptube lawsuit... the lawsuit is over, but they explain what it does.

Is the pressure bad everywhere? Does it start strong, then drop off? If its everywhere, it could be something as simple as the cutoff to the WH is not fully open, or partailly clogged.
Try cycling the inlet cold water valve to the WH off and on several times.

I'm sure others will weigh in here soon.

Good Luck

If he is getting crud out of the hot water outlet, then you have problems that may or may not be helped by draining it. I would opt to replace the heater, but install a whole house filter ahead of it with a 5 micron filter in it. This is not rocket science and you can do it yourself without the aid of a plumber if you wish. If you want to do it yourself, post a couple of pictures of the water heater and let us help you step by step.

I assume you have a hot water tank and not a combi boiler?

I have this problem - with a tank system - and consulted a plumber. He advised that the simplest way, if physically possible, was to raise the cold water header water tank. Even a couple of feet will apparently have quite an effect.

I did look at a pump, but have been advised that noise and vibration are almost impossible to supress. Judging by some houses I have seen with power showers, that might well be true.

With a combi boiler, none I have seen have the capacity to heat water fast enough!!

Is the pressure bad everywhere? Does it start strong, then drop off? If its everywhere, it could be something as simple as the cutoff to the WH is not fully open, or partailly clogged.
Try cycling the inlet cold water valve to the WH off and on several times.

Thanks for the help guys.

The pressure is bad everywhere, but it's most noticeable in the shower.

I went and bought one of those shower amplifiers last night at WalMart for $10 and that really made an improvement...maybe enough to keep my wife from complaining :-). In that case, I'm good to go!

Chandler, when you say I can do "it" by myself, are you referring to installing the hot water heater or just the filter?

Thanks again guys.
Paul

Paul, you can do it ALL yourself, water heater, and/or filtration system, and if you need help, we're here.:thumbup:

Paul, you can do it ALL yourself, water heater, and/or filtration system, and if you need help, we're here.:thumbup:

Awesome....I'm generally pretty handy. I think most people can do most things, it's just whether or not they have someone to consult along the way...which since I've found this site...I now have :-).

Thanks a lot, hopefully I can put off buying a new water heater for a bit with my new shower amplifier. Now I need to search around here for a couple of ideas on how to get rid of fleas (our renters had a dog...ergh.) Off to the pests section!!!

Thanks,
Paul