I recently bought a house with a gas water heater and am getting odd
results. Sometimes, i have plenty of hot water, other times, i can
only get luke warm water. It is not due to other sources of water
consuption. The variablity holds true even when the dishwater,
washining maching, etc. has not been in use (first thing in the
morning, for instance). Is this normal for gas water heaters? What
could cause this variable amount of hot water?

Tim

In article .com, wrote:
I recently bought a house with a gas water heater and am getting odd
results. Sometimes, i have plenty of hot water, other times, i can
only get luke warm water. It is not due to other sources of water
consuption. The variablity holds true even when the dishwater,
washining maching, etc. has not been in use (first thing in the
morning, for instance). Is this normal for gas water heaters? What
could cause this variable amount of hot water?

No, it's not normal. My first thought is a defective thermostat, that's
allowing the water to cool off too much before it ignites the burner. If you
run the hot water while the burner is on, or shortly after it shuts off, you
get really hot water -- run it long after the burner has shut off, and all you
get is luke-warm water.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

no it shouldnt do that. try rotating the control all around both ways
stopping at a setting slightly higher than currently/

i had a old heater that did that occasionally must of been a bad
thermostat. withing 6 months it was at the curb after springing a leak

wrote:
no it shouldnt do that. try rotating the control all around both ways
stopping at a setting slightly higher than currently/

i had a old heater that did that occasionally must of been a bad
thermostat. withing 6 months it was at the curb after springing a leak

Interesting aside: I recently put out a water heater for "heavy trash"
pickup, but the urban faries beat the city to it. I guess they'll take it to
a scrap metal salvage yard.

Which is okay by me, re-use or reclaiming is better than dumping.

I, too, make the rounds of the neighborhood the night before heavy-trash
pickup. My prize score is a military 5-gallon jerry can. Excellent
condition. What's nifty about it is the legend on the bottom:

"3A - Sep 1944"

Which I take to mean, 3rd Army, September 1944.

My can helped Patton liberate Bastonge.

=====
"What do you do when you catch a monkey hanging by its tail?" Answering his
own question, he replied "You cut off its balls, and that is what I am going
to do with von Rundstedt." - G.S. Patton

Interesting aside: I recently put out a water heater for "heavy trash"
pickup, but the urban faries beat the city to it. I guess they'll take it to
a scrap metal salvage yard.

Which is okay by me, re-use or reclaiming is better than dumping.

I, too, make the rounds of the neighborhood the night before heavy-trash
pickup. My prize score is a military 5-gallon jerry can. Excellent
condition. What's nifty about it is the legend on the bottom:

"3A - Sep 1944"

Which I take to mean, 3rd Army, September 1944.


I have a friend with a OLD original cast iron hot water heater in her
basement. It MUST be a collectible its ornate and decorated but no
longer in service

wrote in message
oups.com...
I recently bought a house with a gas water heater and am getting odd
results. Sometimes, i have plenty of hot water, other times, i can
only get luke warm water. It is not due to other sources of water
consuption. The variablity holds true even when the dishwater,

Does the thing still have the dip tube? It's a $5 plastic tube that goes
inside the tank on the cold water side, carrying the cold water all the way
to the bottom. Heat rises, and this helps separate the hot and cold water.
You'll have to disconnect the cold water pipe at the top of the heater to
find out.

There is a dip tube defect in water heaters from the early 90's:
"The water heater was manufactured between 1993 and 1996. The
stamped-on code on the data plate should include the year."
The company which made all the dip tubes was sold and the new owners
changed the formula.

http://www.ci.wilsonville.or.us/depa...er/diptube.htm
The symptom is gel like goo or white particles on your aerator screens.
Installing a new dip tube solves the problem.
Richard

Bob M. wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...
I recently bought a house with a gas water heater and am getting odd
results. Sometimes, i have plenty of hot water, other times, i can
only get luke warm water. It is not due to other sources of water
consuption. The variablity holds true even when the dishwater,

Does the thing still have the dip tube? It's a $5 plastic tube that goes
inside the tank on the cold water side, carrying the cold water all the way
to the bottom. Heat rises, and this helps separate the hot and cold water.
You'll have to disconnect the cold water pipe at the top of the heater to
find out.

There is a dip tube defect in water heaters from the early 90's:
"The water heater was manufactured between 1993 and 1996. The
stamped-on code on the data plate should include the year."
The company which made all the dip tubes was sold and the new owners
changed the formula.

http://www.ci.wilsonville.or.us/depa...er/diptube.htm
The symptom is gel like goo or white particles on your aerator screens.
Installing a new dip tube solves the problem.
Richard

Bob M. wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...
I recently bought a house with a gas water heater and am getting odd
results. Sometimes, i have plenty of hot water, other times, i can
only get luke warm water. It is not due to other sources of water
consuption. The variablity holds true even when the dishwater,

Does the thing still have the dip tube? It's a $5 plastic tube that goes
inside the tank on the cold water side, carrying the cold water all the way
to the bottom. Heat rises, and this helps separate the hot and cold water.
You'll have to disconnect the cold water pipe at the top of the heater to
find out.

Oh.. and drain all the goo out of the bottom of the tank, like gray
jello.
richard