On Feb 13, 6:03*am, wrote:
Fair enough. There must always be more to the story. It is a gas water
heater (40 gal...I think) of builder grade. The water heater is the
original from when the house was built in 2001. Ihave to admit, I have
been int the house for 3 years and have not had it serviced. I live
alone so there are no multiple shower issues. I don't know exactly how
hard the water is here in Georgia. It's not the worst I've seen, but
not the best either. After thinking about it some more, the water has
been a lot hotter in the past. Enough to scold you. But now, just hot
enough for a shower.

Steve


Steve-

My best guess from your expanded description would be

attempt to flush sediment from drain valve, try this first...you might
get lucky
replace dip tub which I find to be a scary job since I've only done a
couple
(& anode while you're at it but anode replacement only extend life not
improve w/h performance)

I'd bet a little more on the dip tube being the problem since the
water heater behavior seems to be random / erratic.

A w/h new in 2001 isn't exactly a "oldster" but it really depends on
local water chemistry. If there are older homes using the same water
ask around.

The few heaters that I replaced in Orange County, SoCal were pretty
old or VERY old 15, 17, 24, all over 10 years excpet ......one bad
one at 3 years!

cheers
Bob