On Sun, 10 Sep 2006 18:56:46 -0400, wrote:

On 10 Sep 2006 13:31:33 -0700, wrote:

seems to me that if i use hot water (i.e. run the washer/dishwasher)
after a few hours i can take a hot shower but if no one uses any hot
water for a while all i get is cold water...think its some easy fix or
do i have to get a new hot water heater btw using a 40Gal gas water
heater thats about 4 years old

If you don't have to manually intervene to get it going again I am
betting bad thermostat that eventually figures out the water is cold.

Another possibility is the dip tube is broken off/corroded away if it
is a top fed tank.
--
Mr.E