Water Heaters - Hotwater tank
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daisywhite
01-17-08, 06:05 AM
Our hotwater tank used to make a nice sound when it kicked in, you could hear how strong that flame was. It roared. Well, now you can barely hear it and if you happen to catch when it kicks in it sounds like the fire has a hard time lighting. Any ideas of what I am looking at? Is this a regulator problem on the outside propane tank? Or is our tank just about to die? Ventilation maybe? Or does this sound like the inside is leaking? I hope someone can help me out I don't know what to do. Thank you.
chandler
01-17-08, 07:50 AM
Welcome to the forums! How old is the water heater? You know they die, right? It is possible to have a professional check the gas pressure and clean out the burner, etc. but if it is aproaching 10 or 12 years of age, it may be time to let it go. Do you have hot water? Do you have enough hot water? Is it hot enough? Answer yes to these, leave it alone. Any negative answers, have it serviced or replaced.
daisywhite
01-17-08, 08:48 AM
Yeah, it is rather old. Ten or twelve years is right about where it is. I do still have hot water and it is really hot. But I am worried about the silly things, like propane just leaking into the house. I don't know if thats even possible but I am going away for a week and I wonder what I will come home to. What do ya think?
lefty
01-17-08, 05:31 PM
Daisy,
As happens at lest 75% of the time, I agree with Larry. (Maybe it's 85%, or maybe even 95% -- nobody's keepin' score!)
As long as you have plenty of hot water, and the water is plenty hot, it's nothing to be overly concerned about at the moment.
For your own peace of mind, mix up a solution of about 10%dishwashing soap and 90% water in a spray bottle and shoot that on the joints that you can see in the propane line. If you see active bubbles, you have a leak at that joint. Get it fixed.
Beyond that, it's probably just sediment building up in the burner and that's not worth replacing the WH over. At about 10 years old, you're probably going to be replacing it in the next 3 to 5 years because it starts leaking.
As happens at lest 75% of the time, I agree with Larry. (Maybe it's 85%, or maybe even 95% -- nobody's keepin' score!)
As long as you have plenty of hot water, and the water is plenty hot, it's nothing to be overly concerned about at the moment.
For your own peace of mind, mix up a solution of about 10%dishwashing soap and 90% water in a spray bottle and shoot that on the joints that you can see in the propane line. If you see active bubbles, you have a leak at that joint. Get it fixed.
Beyond that, it's probably just sediment building up in the burner and that's not worth replacing the WH over. At about 10 years old, you're probably going to be replacing it in the next 3 to 5 years because it starts leaking.
daisywhite
01-17-08, 07:27 PM
Thank you both so much for your advice, I feel a lot better now.