A water heater is one of the most important household appliances that provides comfort in the home. However, over time, various problems may arise: lack of hot water, uneven heating, leaks, or extraneous noises. The causes of malfunctions can be different — from the scale on the heating element to a broken thermostat or gas valve. It is important to promptly identify and eliminate problems in order to avoid serious breakdowns and in such situations, it is best to use the services of a reliable company that specializes in heating repair in San Diego.
Common Problems with Water Heater
A water heater is a necessary device that can have problems from time to time. Let’s look at the most common ones.
The Water Heater Is Leaking
Here are the most common reasons why a water heater is leaking:
- Violations during installation, including self-installation. In such cases, leaks often occur at the places where the plugs are installed.
- The boiler discharges water due to the heavy scale of the heating element, which does not allow you to control the heating. Scale appears due to hard water and insufficient tank maintenance.
- Corrosion on the walls of the tank. Usually, boiler tanks are made of stainless steel, but if the material is not of sufficient quality, corrosion may occur over time. In addition, traces of rust appear on the tank due to constant high humidity in the bathroom.
- The pressure relief valve in the boiler has failed. A clear sign of such a breakdown is that more than 1.5 liters of water leaks through the valve per day.
Some owners of water heaters, in order to save money, try to eliminate the cause of the leak themselves. For example, they weld up areas with rust. However, thoughtless intervention in the boiler design can lead to its final breakdown. Therefore, if the boiler leaks, it is recommended to immediately contact a reliable company for heating repair services, for example, Tytum.
The most useful thing you can do yourself before the specialist arrives is to disconnect the boiler from the network and drain the water from it. In this case, keep the operating instructions for the water heater at hand, as it always contains recommendations for draining. When the malfunction is eliminated, first fill the tank with water. And only then connect it to the network.
Network Defects of Boilers
If there are network problems, the water heater may not turn on or even give an electric shock. The exact cause can only be determined by disassembling the boiler. What happens most often?
- There is no power in the boiler. This usually happens if the network cable is damaged. In this case, the contacts in the cable are checked with a tester or a special indicator screwdriver. In addition, the water heater may not turn on due to a breakdown of the electronic control board.
- The heating element is out of order. The main threat to the heating element is scale, because of it the element burns out. This often happens with heating elements that are not insulated from the liquid. The only solution is to replace the heating element. By the way, in modern models, the heating element does not come into contact with water thanks to a special copper flask (this way, it is protected from scale formation).
- The pressure sensor in the form of a membrane is faulty. If this element in your boiler is made of rubber, over time, it can lose strength from constant pressure drops. It is recommended that boilers with a sensor made of more durable silicone be chosen.
Network problems should be solved with the help of specialists.
The Boiler Does Not Fill with Water
If you notice that the storage water heater has stopped filling with water, there may be several reasons:
- The coarse filter is clogged;
- The check valve is jammed due to debris;
- The cold water supply hose is clogged;
- The pressure reducer is incorrectly adjusted;
- The water supply valve is broken.
Such problems are solved by cleaning and replacing the elements. If you perform these procedures yourself, be sure to drain and turn off the water supply, and also disconnect the boiler from the network.
The Water Heater Does Not Heat the Water
The most common reasons why, when you turn on the water heater, it does not heat the water or does not heat it enough:
- The valve is broken, or it does not tightly shut off the water on the riser.
- The mode on the thermostat is lost (this happens due to problems in the network board).
- In a boiler with two heating elements, one of them fails (becomes covered with scale and burns out). This often happens if both heating elements are used unevenly.
- The thermostat in the boiler is broken (because of this, the heating temperature in the water heater constantly decreases).
- The water supply and drain hoses are connected incorrectly (the tank is constantly filled with cold water, which displaces the warm water).
The Water Heater Makes Noise when Operating
Sometimes, when heating water, the boiler can make a loud and unpleasant hum. What causes this:
- The pressure in the water supply system is too high (the problem can be eliminated using a special equalizing reducer).
- Microcracks in the heating element (they often occur on dry-type heating elements).
- The check valve is worn out (an element clogged with scale hums when water is discharged into the pipeline).
- The bypass valve is worn out (this is indicated by a whistle in the area of this element).
- Salt and limescale have accumulated on the heating element (to prevent this, water for the boiler can be passed through a special flow filter).
In order for the water heater to serve you as long as possible, we recommend that you carry out preventive maintenance. How regularly – this is usually indicated by the manufacturer in the operating instructions. If you still encounter a problem with heating water, you should contact a specialist for help in solving it.
Conclusion
A water heater malfunction can cause a lot of inconvenience, so it is important to be able to quickly identify the causes of malfunctions and know how to fix them. Regular maintenance, cleaning, and timely repairs will help extend the life of the device and avoid costly replacements. If the problem requires professional intervention, it is worth using the help of specialists, such as the Tytum company, which provides high-quality heating repair services in San Diego.
