Warm water is vital nowadays through showers, bathing, and regular hand-washing to heating, laundry, and dish-cleaning. An average person may end up using warm water to a maximum of 20 times a day. Therefore, we can say how essential it is to have a functional water heater. However? Can you know if you a broken water heater? Are there any signs? These are the things that we will talk about in this article.
Don’t wait for a catastrophe: Warn yourself for these signs of broken water heater. It is critical, however, that every homeowner knows for safety reasons the symptoms of a busted water heater. Sooner or later, you will see the signs of needing to replace your water heater.
Whether it’s because of the tank’s use strain or age, water heaters — even the best of them— have a lifespan of around a decade. While you can help with annual maintenance prolong the life of your water heater, odds are you will need to substitute the pre-existing tank with a new one if you have been in a specified residence for over eight years. So it’s essential to know about the signals that would mean when it’s time to replace the water heater as a homeowner.
What are the Signs that You Have a Broken Water Heater?
If you have instincts that you have a broken water heater, make sure to read these signs first before calling a hot water electrician. Before drawing some water heater services, here are some things that you might want to check. Ready? Then, let’s start digging in.
- Leaking – Leaking is a common characteristic of a broken water heater. More commonly found around the water heater tank as a pool of water, this leaking is that in containers that are at least six years old. Unfortunately, there is no easy fix when it comes to leaking. Leaking may require immediate repair of your tank, or else you will cause leakage or other harm to your home.
- Valves and Corrosion – The doors are often the first to rust down, which renders the hot water tank difficult to deliver hot water at average temperatures. Corrosion issues can become an issue if you have to change the tank manually to a higher temperature.
- Malfunctioning Parts – Faulty heating elements are also a problem. It manifests itself when hot water completely stops flowing out of the tank. Sometimes in a gas water heater, which is usually attributable to a faulty safety limit switch, the pilot light does not remain illumined.
- Irregular Sounds – Odd noises are coming from your water heater is another dead giveaway that your tank may have something wrong. Crumbling, banging, and moaning are familiar sounds of a busty water heater and are often the product of debris building up in the tank’s foundation.
- Deterioration – Deterioration happens as water remains on the tank bottom for long periods. It leads in rust and tank content wearing down, contributing to leaks, destruction, and a dead water heater.
- Temperature – More apparent signs of a broken water heater are when your water doesn’t seem hot enough or is too hot. The cure is sometimes as simple as the thermostat adjustment on the unit. Remember that the ideal temperature varies from 120 to 140 degrees C. However, if there is no hot water coming out of the tank at all, then you still have a heating element that has broken down. Such components are easy to replace and are an easy fix. However, you have to be sure to check to see if there is a simple fix before removing the entire unit.
- Age of the Heater – While proactively keeping an eye on your aging water heater, age is something to keep in mind. Units throughout six can face challenges or break down. Most households have old heaters between the ages of 15 and 20, and if they visit, make noises, or regularly fail to produce hot water. You should then remove the boiler so that the device fails suddenly.
How Many Years Does a Water Heater Last?
The older the water heater, the more often a failure happens. As a general rule, a water heater type tank will last 8 to 12 years on average. If your water heater hits the 10-year mark, there’s a good chance it’s time to replace the machine, and you might want to try a model without tank.
With proper maintenance and a little luck, you might be able to almost double your water heater’s lifespan. Nonetheless, sometimes a water heater needs some repairs after just a few years, even with the finest of treatment.
Water heaters fall over time, which will result into broken water heaters. One wants to take a cold shower, but hopefully, you’d like to be able to replace the water heater before it stops working entirely. Unless you wait too long, that might lead to a much bigger problem.
How Does a Water Heater Work?
Before you get into what allows a water heater to blow, you need to grasp how they function first. There are two basic water heater types-gas and electric. Each different water heater type can work in a slightly different way, but all water heaters use common concepts. The necessary process used by all water heaters is some sort of combustion inside the holding tank to heat the water.
Gas heaters use a flame inside the tank to heat stored water. Electric heaters use coils to heat the water. The burner switches off once the water inside the shell hits the ideal temperature. A person operating the water heater shall determine the temperature, gas, and heat of the water inside the tank. The company advises increasing the temperature to no higher than 120 degrees Fahrenheit for most water heaters.
What are the Parts of a Water Heater?
If you are familiar with the different parts of a water heater, it would be a lot easier for you to check what is the problem. Therefore, here is a breakdown of each piece of water heaters and explanations of their purpose in simplifying the process a water heater takes.
- Copper Piping: The water heater requires two valves-in an incoming cold water pipe and a hot water pipe outgoing. Typically these cylinders are copper and cover the reservoir.
- Dip Tube: The dip tube distributes the cold water to the bottom of the tank inside the vessel. If the tubing worsens or splits, there would be insufficient water.
- Anode Rod: An anode rod is a part inside the tank to protect the dip tube and container from minerals in the water and deteriorate the metal. Do not remove this while it may smell like sulfur. The anode rod attracts corrosive minerals that degrade your tank’s rest, but may eventually lead to strange odors.
- Drain Valve: A drain valve is at the bottom of the tank. Minerals that build up in the tub create a sudden pounding or banging tone. Although this sound is natural, the drain valve will open every few years to flush the water and remove mineral build-up.
- Pressure relief device at the top of the tank: It is a mechanism. The valve is a safety feature for relieving the pressure and stabilize the air while holding the tank becomes too high pressure or heat. If any of those valves fail, immediately replace them. If the tank causes a crack, shut off the cold water supply to prevent flooding.
- Discharge Tube: A discharge tube must be on the pressure relief valve and placed 6 “above the ground. It is another safety feature that prevents spraying out and injuring someone by scalding water.
How Do Water Heaters Work?
Gas heaters use a thermocouple or thermopile using a pilot to operate. The moment when the temperature in the tank decreases, gas releases. Then, the pilot lights the burner, which heats the inside of the tank. When the pilot goes out, the thermocouple or pile stops activation of the gas valve.
Many newer models require you to re-ignite the pilot with a turn. You have to ignite the water heaters manually with a long lighter. The pilot light is usually at the bottom of the tank. Water heaters that use gas will vent carbon monoxide to the outside of the house through the flu.
It can allow carbon monoxide to spill into your home. If you are using a gas water heater, install a carbon monoxide detector in your home and check it regularly to avoid any problems with potential leaks.
Do Water Heaters Explode?
If the temperature is too high, the water heater malfunctions, or if you have a broken water heater – it may burst. It can happen with a water heater or electric fire. When water heats up, it becomes electricity. Once it becomes too much heat and friction for the tank to bear, it tries to release the pressure through the relief valve.
If the valve is in any form damaged or disabled, then the internal pressure can increase until it eventually bursts. The harm it can do is significant. It can compromise all of your life. Even though water heaters are unlikely to fire, they work much the same as a missile when they do.
It will blow a hole through your wall and may end up some blocks away from the tank itself. It is extremely dangerous. Check the pressure relief valve on your water heater always to ensure it is in good working condition.
If you have any doubts that your water heater isn’t working correctly, have an auditor come, and take a look at it. The only measure you may decide to avoid anything occurring to you is to adjust the temperature of your water heater no higher than the level recommended by your maker.
Final Words
If you experience any of these commonly discovered symptoms in your water heater, you will probably have a broken water heater. Always seek a professional’s help. Quality Water Heater Services can help you anything about water heater installation, repair, and maintenance.
If your water heater has stopped working, you can get it repaired or replaced with us. Give us a call today or open our online requesting for support for any questions about water heater services.