| Here is a common complaint: "We used to be able to take two or three showers without running out of hot water. Now we can't even make it through one". Well, there are several different ways of heating hot water for domestic use. Here are some of the types of systems"
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Listed below are the different types of Hot Water Heating Systems and possible causes for loosing hot water. |
 Electric Hot Water Heaters - This is usually a bad lower heating element. If that is the case, it is wise to replace the upper element as well. They are fairly inexpensive. If only the upper element is bad, then you wouldn't have any hot water at all because the upper element charges first.
Another cause would be a bad lower thermostat. Sometimes they stick open. This is much easier to repair because no draining of the tank is necessary. Once again, another inexpensive repair.
Gas or Oil-fired Hot Water Heaters - We really don't see this complaint with these types of Hot Water Heaters. Once in a while the thermostat can be bad or low gas pressure. But you usually have hot water or none at all if there is a problem.
Indirect Hot Water Heaters - What is this, you ask? This is if you have a hot water boiler for heating with a zone that heats up a large storage tank for domestic hot water use.
A thermostat on the tank sends a signal to the circulator which sends the hot boiler water to the tank which heats up the domestic hot water.
If you are running out of hot water with this type of system, possibly the thermostat is set too low or it's faulty. There could be a bad circulator or circulator relay. Or the zone could be air-bound.
Tankless coils inside of boilers - If you have a tankless coil in your boiler with no storage tank and you have a large demand for hot water then maybe you should consider adding a storage tank.
But if suddenly you are running out of hot water with no changes in your usage then there could be a problem with the boiler itself. The tankless coil could be blocked but usually this would also cause a reduction in hot water pressure. If that is the case, a plumber would be needed to acid-wash the coil or replace it.
Electric Hot Water Heaters combined with an "Off-Peak Storage System - This would be the same as a normal electric hot water heater, so check that heading. Remember though, with off-peak, your hot water heater only charges at night and weekends and holidays.
Hope this helps, remember - these are just rough guidelines and not all possible situations are covered.
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