Running Out of Hot Water? | How to Fix Your Hot Water from Running Out
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- čas přidán 8. 07. 2024
- Why are you running out of hot water so quickly? It could be the temperature setting on your hot water heater, wrong sized hot water heater, a broken element, or a few other things.
Jim, The Grumpy Plumber, explains all the reasons why you are running out of hot water before your shower or bath is over. He also gives tips on how to fix it yourself so you don't need to call a plumber.
Jim's sage, no-nonsense advice as always on why you are running out of hot water too early. Save yourself some money with these plumbing tips from Jim.
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Jim answers the question Why Do I Run Out of Hot Water So Quickly:
00:00 Intro
00:58 Calculate how long you can shower for with hot water
01:46 Is your temperature set too low?
02:45 The hot water heater is too small
03:32 Buy an on-demand hot water heater
04:00 The electric heating element is burned out
04:05 Thermostat to the burner connection problem
04:53 Check if it is under warranty
05:18 Summary of why you are running out of hot water
Thanks for watching! Click SUBSCRIBE for more plumbing tips from Jim, The Grumpy Plumber. - Jak na to + styl
Your dad is very funny I was laughing when he said I haven't heard of anybody getting hurt in the last week.. But he has a lot of knowledge great video.
Thank you so much for your videos! I feel like I struck gold! After having to flush out and clean up a water heater with heavy sediment for the first time ever your videos definitely assisted me. I really appreciate your presentation as father and son.
Credentials are great but nothing beats experience. I really enjoy your videos
Great video guys! Thanks!
Great advice. Thank you. You have to appreciate a man you is straight forward and honest. I would trust someone like that way more than someone who is just trying to be nice and screwing you over in the meantime. I will go with the grumpy plummer.
This channel is gold I just found this
Just learned so much! Thanks. 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
Love your channel ❤️❤️❤️
Wow love this.
Knowledge priceless! Appreciate the jump start of the brain.👍👌
U are blessed to have a skilled dad. Love and care for him. I lost mine 2012. Anyway, my hot water last 20 minutes or less. All sinks same way. Waiting an hour for hot water. I have gas water heater that was bought in 96. What could be the problem? Plug and plastic tabbing? Thank u both.
Los Moore, an on demand heater would be perfect for you as you’ll never run out of hot water. Sounds like you have had very good luck with water heaters.
Love the name Grumpy Plumber and loved the comment at the end!!!😂
Why does the hot water come out all the other faucets but doesny come out the shower after a few minutes?
Has to do with length of time and amount of water I believe had the same issue. More water means more heat that needs to be applied over a longer period of time. Usually you don’t use a faucet as long as a shower. Could also be a sediment issue where the water heaters not running as efficiently and has even less time because it has to heat through sediment.
Grumpy plumber my sister has a I want to say a 60 gal electric hot water heater and in July of 21 I changed out both elements the upper and lower because it wasn't getting hot at all, an then just a week or two ago it started acting up agian where she would have to hit the red reset button every night to shower so I replaced both her thermostats and now it is on staying hot for so long both thermostats were set for about 125 f.
Toby Kirkpatrick, you’re sister is lucky to have you around. Good job on the DIY.
We recently (1 1/2 years) remodeled our bathroom and installed a Newport Bass Thermostatic valve for our shower. Every winter after the wife takes a shower and its my turn the water slowly turns cooler, not cold but doesn’t get hot anymore, this is especially evident when she washes her hair requiring more time in the shower. Would the thermostatic valve have anything to do with it?. We also installed a new 40GL water heater two years ago that i just flushed. There are only two of us, our house is 1,726 sq feet 4 bedroom and two bath. Thanks Steve
I live in Chicago, I have a two flat apt building and I am having issues with insufficient hot water on the first floor. I haven't asked the tenant on the 2nd floor anything.
The hot water tank is 3 yrs old and the outlet pipe is hot, I can't keep my hand on it for 2 seconds. I can follow the outlet line for 8 feet and it is hot. Upstairs in the first floor the hot water is warm at the kitchen, bath sink and shower. The shower head is a Moen posi temp single mixing cartridge. I replaced it thinking that it might have gone bad and mixing the hot and cold. The other fixtures have separate cartridges.
The second floor is the same set up. But again I have not asked them anything so as to not open a can of worms. If you understand how some tenants can be.
What can you suggest that I do.
My logic can't understand because even if restricted, it should come out hot........... HELP
I would really like to hear more of Mr. Fromholz's thoughts on the on-demand water heaters. I have electric, but am unsure how this can work if your home isn't on gas. How can we determine we're buying the right one? Any recommendations for trustworthy brands or sources? Thank you for this great video.
shnuggumz, to be real honest, I have no experience with an electric whole house on demand electric heater. I have worked with a brand named chronomite that are used commercially on a lavatory faucet in commercial bathrooms. It works on low water flow. I know electric on demand heaters work well in European countries but I have never seen them here in the US. Sorry I don’t have more knowledge about this topic.
I have a 30 gallon electric water heater I run out of hot water however I believe the element could be corroded up or burned out because we have extremely hard water where we live so your suggestion would be to drain the heater and replace the element?
MrToolock, yes, drain the heater and replace the lower element. Remember, with that 30 gallon heater, you have about 20 gallons of useable hot water. 30 gallon heaters are meant for one person in the house. If it’s an under the counter heater, you can go as large as 50 gallons if you have the room.
Hello Mr.Grumpus!!!
I have a Cap. U.S. Gals. 40 natural gas GE water heater MFG 2008. In the summer we pretty much get all the hot water we need but during the winter it runs out quickly. Some say it sediment build up and it needs to be flushed and i did that a few years ago but it still happens. What can it be?
POPABEARS, first thing, turn the thermostat temperature up. You probably already did this. Is there a window in the bathroom and do you leave it open when you shower? Not to be sarcastic but, I have run into this quite a few times. The water feels colder when the window is open. Another thing you can check is go to your lav or kitchen faucet and check the temperature with a thermometer. It should be around 120 degrees. You also could have a pressure balance or a thermostatic shower valve that needs to have a temperature readjustment which is not hard to do. You can CZcams to see how to adjust the brand name valve.
You gotta change that thumbnail its not right at all!? There are horrible people out there do not expose your kids like that
I had a 10 year old tank (50 Gallon Nat Gas) and was constantly running out of hot water after a 15 minute shower, so I replaced it with a new Rheem 75 Gallon tank, it does the exact same thing, After 10 min, the water is just warm. I have it set at 2nd highest setting and I am the 1st one to get up in the morning so I know no one else is using hot water. I checked the hot water tank after my shower today and the water that came out of the T&P valve was also barely warm. What do you think is the problem?
Scott, you know a 10-15 minute shower is a long shower. If you have full flow shower heads, you are probably using more than 5 gallons a minute. A 50 gallon or a 75 gallon wh usually takes 7 gallons of water to kick the burner on. The manufacturer says you only have 2/3 usable hot water in the tank. So I look at it this way, I would put in a water saver shower head if you’re going to be in the shower that long. Or a remedy is to install an on demand water heater and then you could stay in there 10 to 15 days without running out of water. And what you paid for that 75 gallon wh, you could have been close to what an on demand cost. Manufacturers don’t want to make 75 gallon heaters anymore so they really raised the price.
What about the cold water dip tube?
Dip tubes can break. The easiest way to discover a broken dip tube is that you run out of hot water very quickly. They are pretty easy to replace.
I have an issue where I redid my electricity and upgraded my panel. I Repiping my house, I am on my 5th electric water heater. We added an expansion tank to help with the pressure. But my 60 gallon tank really last 15 minutes of hot water with constant adjustments. Any thoughts?
Prior to, water heater number 3, the bottom elements kept going bad. Thoughts?
Cynthia Bencomo, if you have a 60 gallon water heater, you have about 45 gallons of usable hot water. If you have a shower head with a five gallon flow, you might have only a ten minute shower. Have you tried a water saver shower head?
I've been investigating this issue with my GSW gas 50 gal. This tank was new in 2019 and just last week I noticed a reduction of shower time. I have temperature always set at 130, everything fires up properly, no issues flame up or out. Is it really possible on a 3 year old tank the fill tube is caput?
I hear they are a real bas$#%d to unscrew so just wanted to narrow it down to fill tube issue before I have to start using swear words I haven't used in a few years !!!
Have an issue with my water tank not being big enough and don't have the room for a bigger water heater what is a better option I'm expansion tank or maybe going with an additional tank plus
@joshhawke9936, if you have gas, put in an on demand tankless water heater. Takes up less room. Add another heater if you can fit two into the same space.
Great advise, great video. I just wished your dad would say, "and I'm having a hard time holding these alligators down, wooo!"
Wish my dad was easy talking like yours 😔
I wish my dad would just come back from the store 😞 it’s been 4 years now.
The Grumpy Plumber...My pervious Payne water heater (gas) wouldn't kick ON until the water temperature got down to what I would call warm not hot enough for a shower for sure, this caused me to have to turn on the hot water until it was close to cold...then the burner would kick on and I'd have to wait for the water to heat up. I finally bought another water heater (another Payne) and it's doing the same thing but not quite as bad but very annoying and a waste of water. I know it's something to do with the thermostat not wanting to turn on until temperature gets to the cooler side. Why is this happening? Please don't tell me it's a Pane (Payne) haha
Have hot water everywhere in house but lukewarm starts in walkin tub ?Turned electric heater up to 140 on a 30 electric heater ??
Sounds like you have a pressure balance or a thermostatic shower valve. If it’s brand new, the temperature on the valve has not been set correctly. If it’s an older valve, you need to replace the cartridge. If you have a thermostatic valve, you need to adjust the temperature to maximum and then turn it down to cold every couple of months. That’s called exercising the thermostat.
I have a brand new 35 gallon hot water heater but I only have about 8 minutes of hot water... I need to take a longer shower because of work I get so filthy... any suggestions?
TEALepathy, if it’s a gas water heater, I would turn the thermostat all the way up. Set the temperature while you’re showering a little cooler. If it’s an electric heater, I would set both the upper and lower thermostats at 135 degrees. Or, you could buy water saver shower heads. Some will put out a lot of pressure and you’ll feel like you are getting a good shower. Good luck.
I got a gas water heater, its warm but not hot like it was 3 days ago, i even turned temp up, still just a kittle over luke warm, do u think i need to flush it, had it for 7 years. Any help would be appreciated, its a good size gas heater, 40 or more tank, about 4 feet high
When you turn the temperature all the way up, does the burner come on? If the burner comes on, it’s probably the gas valve causing the problem. The gas valve costs around $300. An hour labor job unless you can do it yourself. Draining the heater is not going to solve the problem. If you do need to replace the gas valve, then you need to drain the heater.
What is the best temp to use with an electric water heater
Rose, the new electric heaters come from the manufacturer set at 110 degrees. I usually set them at 125.
Jim, where would u suggest to buy an ON DEMAND water heater ?
Los Moore, I would recommend a wholesale plumbing supply. Doesn’t mean you’ll get a good deal but they shouldn’t sell it at a retail price. You need to know what you want when you go in. If you were to buy a Navien on demand heater, you would buy a N240A, a drain kit, you might need an acid filter that is installed on the condensate drain, and pvc vent pipe. Go in acting like you did your research.
I have a on demand combo water heater and radiators 2nd bath shower starts hot but after 3min gets cold
Alex Martinez, you have what they call “a cold shot”. What causes that is you have a circulating pump on the on demand with a storage tank. I don’t install systems like that anymore. I would recommend a combination water heater and boiler on demand system or two separate on demands. One thing you have to realize is that I haven’t seen your system and I’m just speculating.
I have 2 electric 50 gallon hot water heaters (previous owner set it up that way) I have 3 showers - will have hot to each if ran individually - but if someone starts a second shower the new shower will get hot and the 1st shower goes cold - Any ideas?
brandon mcintire, it sounds to me like they set your system up wrong. The water comes in one heater, goes out to the other heater and then to the house. The way I would have set it up would be to have the cold supply line split and feed the cold side of each heater equally. The hot water supply side to the house should be tied together with equal piping and then to the house. These two water heaters should be piped in parallel. The way you currently have it is in series.
,
Great video. I have a question. I have had my hot water heater for years and lately I run out of hot water super quick when I'm in the shower. I know there are a lot of variables and every plumber is different but what can you expect price wise for a plumber to diagnose and fix the issue? For example if it's the element that's bad what would a diagnose and fix for that cost? What if the rod is broken? Just a ballpark would be very helpful. Thanks.
notta3d, first of all the magnesium rod is not broken as it has nothing to do with running out of hot water. Your bottom element on the heater is burned out and needs to be replaced. I would replace it with a sand hog element which is an extra heavy element. Probably cost about $50 for the element, take less than a hour to replace. I really don’t know what the hourly rate is in your area. If the plumber knows what he is doing, he will turn the electric off, turn the water supply off, take the pressure off the heater, take an inch and one half socket, and screw the element out and put the new one in without draining the heater. This is a good time however to drain the heater and clean the sediment out through the element hole.
So where do we purchase a on demand gas water heater?
Check with a good plumbing company. Most plumbers are recommending tankless water heaters so give your favorite plumber a call.
Will adding a recirculating pump make my hot water in the shower last longer?
Adding a recirculating pump will only get the water there faster. It will not make your hot water last longer. You might add a good water saver shower head. If you have an electric water heater, you might want to make sure both elements are working. If you have a gas heater, you might want to turn the temperature up. You only have 2/3 of usable hot water. A five minute shower is a lot of water.
Is there a way to test the elements in an electric heater without having to drain the tank and pull them out?
antalog, first thing you need is an electrical tester that allows you to test the continuity on the element. That tells you that the Electricity is flowing through the element. How to test: first turn the power off to the heater. Test the top element first by removing the two wires connected to the element. Put one of the electrical probes on one screw and the other probe on the other screw. If the element is good, it will make a solid beeping sound or a light will come on the tester. If good, reinstall screws and test the lower element. Repeat process. The bottom element burns out most of the time. Another way to tell is if you have hot water for only a short time, the bottom element is burned out.
@@TheGrumpyPlumber Excellent! Just what I was hoping to hear. Thank you for the advice and info. I have a 1-year-old 50 gallon water heater and I'm only getting a few minutes of hot water. I'm trying to do a process of elimination so hearing I won't have to drain to check the elements is a relief. Thanks again!
You mentioned a water hose delivering cold water to the bottom of the tank making the hot water rise. Were you suggesting changing the hose for that? I feel like you never finished your advice on this. What was it?
I think you misunderstood. Not a hose but the fill tube which is on the intake side of the water heater. That tube goes into the heater approximately 24 inches so that is where the cold water goes to the bottom of the heater. That can break off but can also be replaced. Now, if you have an electric water heater and running out of water, you could have a burned out lower element. This is a very common problem with electric WH. I hope this clarifies what you were asking.
Hello sir, so one of my my showers hot water runs out before my tub is half full but the rest of my house is fine. Any ideas?
Try turning the water temperature up on you water heater. You use less water when taking a shower so it won’t hurt to turn the temperature up.
I have an electric Hot water system that delivers 250 litres. The pressure is good and I have hot water till about 5pm. Then there is no hot water till morning. I have to boil the kettle to wash dishes at night, and I can't shower at night. There are 3 people in my household and we have normal length showers (around10 minutes). Is there any way to adjust the water system to heat up more than once a day ??
Your water heater must be on a timer. The timer is probably located next to the water heater. If you can’t find a timer, I suggest you call the manufacturer.
Any brand tankless water heater you'd care to recommend ? I've been reading about Eco Smart.
Lise MacLead, I recommend the Navien Tankless Water Heater.
@@TheGrumpyPlumber Thank you ! And thanks for mentioning that electric water heaters have 2 places to adjust temperature. I thought it was just the one near the top.
We switched refrigerator and hooked up the new ice make and now the hot water has stopped working in some parts of the house. How can we fix this plz
Amanda Browers, sounds to me like you have a circulating line on your water heater and you should have unplugged the pump before you turned off the water to install the ice maker. Now you need to get the air out of the circulating line. Hopefully, you have a shutoff valve on the circulating line with a drain valve on the return side of the valve. Turn the valve off, open up the drain valve and run until all the air is removed from the circulating line.
Before you do this, unplug the circulating pump. If the circulating pump is making a lot of noise, that means it’s air locked. Hope you understand my directions.
i pressed like
I found out that water circulation pump making this issue when is in off mode, any idea what that is happening, my hot water came back when disabling the timer
DIY TODAYetc, I would not recommend having a timer on the hot water circulating system. They are just a pain in the ass.
@@TheGrumpyPlumber GREAT!! LOL.
My house has a recirculating pump that gets the hot water to the far end of the house. Some plumbers have told me that these pumps damage copper pipes. What do you think? btw - I have a 50-gallon gas hot water heater.
Edmund, yes, the pumps do damage copper pipes. I have repaired about 95% of the leaks within the immediate vicinity of the heater. 99% of my customers have circulating pumps.
@@TheGrumpyPlumber Thanks for the reply. My next question is if I follow your suggestion regarding the Navien tankless which has a built-in pump, will I have the same problem?
My house is plumbed with all copper pipes. Also, my home is long and has 4 BR's (3 with tubs/showers) 2 of which are on the opposite side of the house from where the current WH is, so that's a lot of copper pipe.
@@TheGrumpyPlumber BTW - I love your channel.
Edmund, the Navien circulating pump has a built in thermostat so it will control the circulating temp so the pump doesn’t run all the time. When you set the heater up, it will tell you what your flow is and you will adjust it to what Navien recommends. The new generation Navien’s with the circulating pump does not need a circulating line. You go to the farthest lav faucet from the heater and put a cross connection tee and that works great. Then you don’t worry about leaks in the circulating line. Either way, the Navien will work well in your situation. Thanks for being a subscriber.
@@TheGrumpyPlumber Thanks again for all the advice. Great service you provide and advice from a practical man that knows what the hell he is doing.
I have a worcester boiler my hot water always runs out have can I have constant hot water 💧
@annwalker8042, do you have a boiler with a hot water attachment? Or, is that a brand name for a water heater? If it’s a boiler, you can add a boiler mate that will give you continuous hot water. There is also an on demand water heater that will give you continuous hot water. I personally like on demand heaters.
No box stores ? What does that mean ?
Los Moore, would you buy a water heater at a dress shop where you won’t get any help? Buy a water heater from a plumber or a plumbing supply company.
So I get hot water in my bath tub at first then it goes ice cold. This is a new problem. I am getting hot water in other sinks but two tubs are doing this but my shower in the master is still running hot water. ???
You probably need to replace the pressure balance cartridge in your tub valves. Pressure balance valve devices give the same amount of pressure on the hot and cold faucets on the tub and shower valves.
I bought a house six months ago. I frequently run out of water. OUT. Not just hot. When I’m taking a shower the water will just shut off. I can hear my 50 gal electric WH filling. It usually comes back on about 30 min later. My WH was at 130. I turned it up to 140. I’m hoping that helps. 🤷🏼♀️
Are you on a well? If you are, maybe your pump is overheating and shutting down. If you are on municipal water, there might be something wrong with your pressure regulator. Turning the temperature up on the water heater is not going to help. It will just create a larger electric bill. You are running out of both hot and cold water? If you’re running out of hot water, the bottom element on the heater is probably bad and needs to be replaced. The top element only heats 1/3 of the water. That’s why you run out of hot water quickly when taking a shower.
@@TheGrumpyPlumber Yes, on a well. I was told the well is an older type that is shallow and no longer recommended. At inspection upon purchase of the home, the well inspector said they don’t even do maintenance on these wells any longer. They recommend a new standard deep well be dug instead. When the water shuts off, it is all water, hot and cold. The inspector did mention the pressure tank had low pressure. Could that cause the water to turn off and on?
The lower the well pressure, the quicker the pump comes on. It sounds like your water table has dropped. If you have a shallow well pump, it can only draw water 15 feet or less. You would be wise to drill a new well. Sorry, as that will be expensive.
my hot water runs out in about a min or 2 any help would be awesome the water setting is on A
its a 40 gal with a 40 gal recovery
Tiktok, first I would turn the temperature up between B and C. Or you could turn it to very hot with the maximum temperature of about 130-140 degrees. About 30 years ago we had a problem with the fill tube on the cold side of the heater breaking. The fill tube is about 30 inches long and designed to take the cold water to near the bottom of the heater. Check and see if the fill tube is there as it may need to be replaced. Another thing to check is if you have pressure balance tub and shower valves and the balance spool is not working right. Check this by using another shower in the house and see if you can take a longer shower with hot water. You may also have a cross connection so look for that.
I'm losing cold water in the showers and get burned when someone else opens a different faucet how can I stop this
Daniel, you need to replace the shower valve with a pressure balance valve.
We have 5 people here. 6 when our daughter is here. By the 3rd kid the water is definitely cold 🤦🏾♂️
@odhoover, if it’s an electric heater, you are lucky to get hot water for two people. If you have gas, I would definitely recommend you get an on demand tankless water heater. Navien’s will handle four showers at one time if you have a large piping distribution. We have a Navien and two people can take a shower at the same time and shower all day. Now, give me more info on your type of heater (gas or electric).
You guys didn't go into a house with no separate water heater. Our boiler heats up our hot water and a typical shower lasts only a few minutes. My other house had no such problem. Plenty of hot water. No separate water heater tank. The boiler kept up with the demand no problem. Any ideas?
amsedelm, sounds like you don’t have a tank with a heat exchanger coil. Unless you have something new that I haven’t seen before. I honestly need more information as I don’t know what you have. Or, the contractor hooked it up incorrectly.
@@TheGrumpyPlumber We have a Beckett Model 7505 boiler. Thanks for your reply. 8)
@@TheGrumpyPlumber I notice the Pump Prime nor Flame lights are on. I thin the Flame light is supposed to be on. But the boiler is running though.
amsedelm, the circulating pump could be on but the thermostat is not calling for heat. Hard to diagnose your problem because I’m not there. My suggestion is to call a boiler man to check it out. You want someone to explain how the boiler system works.
@@TheGrumpyPlumber thx !!!
I have a 1 year old gas hot water heater running out do not water within. 2-3 minutes in the shower . How has this video explained anything to trouble shoot??
Scundoor Sup, if you run out of hot water in 2-3 minutes, the cold water inlet has about a 30 inch tube that takes the cold water to the bottom of the heater and if that is broken, you would not get enough hot water. That is the first thing I would check.
_________ 1:22 (Electric Water Heaters Don’t have a Recovery Rate) _______ 4:01
Correct. Gas water heaters do have a recovery rate but not electric.
Hahahaha!!!!! If you don't go to hell!!!! I love this man!
He’s pretty awesome but michigan water is fugged up
IT'S ALWAYS THE SAME PERSON THAT RUNS OUT OF HOT WATER , ALWAYS WITHOUT EXCEPTION
I made sure to hit the “like button” who wants to “go to hell” 😂😂😂
I enjoyed your video. Most likely I'll end up in hell anyway. My question is how to change the heating elements in a electric water heater?
Edward, turn the power off, drain the water heater, open up a hot water faucet so the water drains, remove the two covers on the upper and lower elements, remove the two wires on both elements, use an 1 1/2” socket wrench to remove the elements, install a 4500 watt-replacement element in the upper and lower, make sure they are tight, reconnect the wires, refill the water heater with an open hot water faucet to let the air out of the water heater ( a tub faucet works the best turned to the hot side, or a kitchen faucet), put covers back on upper and lower elements, turn power back on to heater. Hopefully you don’t have any problems draining the heater. That’s how you change the elements.
@@TheGrumpyPlumber thank you for the advice. I had trouble getting all the air out of the lines. But I do have hot water on the third day of working on this problem.
Big talker but shares nothing. Complete waste of time
My Shower takes too long to heat up. Should be able to turn it on a jump in. It's a new 30Gal Gas Hot Water Heater from Lowe's.
Did you have instant hot water with your old heater? How far away is the water heater from the shower? Was there a circulating line on the old heater? You’re not giving me a lot of information.
Sorry Grumpy 😉, I think I have a solution figured out. If not, I'll get back to you. Thanks, Bobby Graziano