Water Heaters - New water heater acting like old one?

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adam09
10-28-08, 07:59 AM
I recently installed a new water heater. For some reason when my wife gets up and takes a shower (before me) the water is never hot. Once I get up, about 1 hour later, it's hot for me.

The strange thing is, this is what the old water heater did. Any ideas why the thing isn't keeping the water hot? It seems like it only turns on after heavy usage, and not when the water cools down (i.e. overnight). I've insulated the pipes going from the heater into the house (it's in the garage).

I assume that turning up the temperature won't make a difference.

sminker
10-28-08, 04:00 PM
the tank itself should maintain the water temp within itself during the night..but the pipe run out will lose all its heat(insulated or not) till the shower is turned on...how's the pressure of the water?is it the same as the cold side of the shower.your dial setting should be at 12 to 1 o'clock position or a little to the right of those for normal hot water usage.note next time how long the water takes to get hot from when the 1st shower is taken and the 2nd one.
adam09
10-29-08, 07:50 AM
the tank itself should maintain the water temp within itself during the night..but the pipe run out will lose all its heat(insulated or not) till the shower is turned on...how's the pressure of the water?is it the same as the cold side of the shower.your dial setting should be at 12 to 1 o'clock position or a little to the right of those for normal hot water usage.note next time how long the water takes to get hot from when the 1st shower is taken and the 2nd one.

Do you mean the dial settings on the water heater, or on the faucet? I was confused by your last few sentences.

sminker
10-29-08, 02:37 PM
water heater setting....open the hot water side only of the shower faucet,and see how long it takes to get hot.
adam09
11-03-08, 07:13 AM
I checked the water heater, and the dial is around 1 o'clock... my wife mentioned that it take 30 seconds or so to heat up, but she says the hot water only lasts about 2 minutes and then gets cold. When I take a shower, it take a few seconds to heat up and is hot the whole time...