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No hot water or not enough hot water.

A qualified electrical technician should do covers-off electric checks, and a licensed gas technician should do gas and flame work.

Customers put it like this

  • We have no hot water
  • The hot water runs out fast
  • The tankless heater shows a code
  • Hot water takes forever to reach the tap
Prepare this job in ForeBotFind another guide

Stop first if

  • You smell gas, including a rotten-egg smell near the heaterLeave the building now. From outside, call emergency services or the gas utility.
  • A CO alarm sounds, or fumes may be spilling from the heater into the homeGet everyone out into fresh air. Call emergency services or the gas utility from outside.
  • Water is standing around a heater that has powerStay out of the water. Shut off power only if it can be done without risk. Otherwise call the electric utility or a licensed electrician.
  • The heater has been flooded, burned or physically damagedDo not run it. Shut off power and water only if it can be done without risk, then call qualified service.
01

Ask on the call

6

Homeowner? These are the questions a good technician will ask you. Having the answers ready makes the first visit count.

  1. Is it cold right away, or hot at first and then gone?
  2. Is the heater an electric tank, gas tank, heat pump or tankless unit?
  3. When did it start, and did anything change, like the season, people at home or recent work?
  4. Does the heater show a code or flashing light?
  5. Could a hot tap be running or dripping somewhere?
  6. Does the home have a hot water return pump?
02

Bring

5
  • Thermometer
  • Electrical test meter rated for the heater circuit
  • Manometer for gas pressure
  • Hand tools for cleaning inlet filters and aerators
  • Flashlight
03

Check on site

6
  1. Read the nameplate. Note heater type, fuel, wiring mode, and any mixing valve or return loop.
  2. Let the closest hot tap settle, then take its temperature. Compare with the heater outlet. Go by the thermometer, not the dial.
  3. Check the breaker, disconnect and any code. If a high limit tripped, find out why before any reset.
  4. On a tankless unit, watch the flow display at the tap. Clean the inlet filter and aerators, and open supply valves fully.
  5. On a return loop, take temperatures at the heater outlet, a close fixture, a distant fixture and the returning line.
  6. A qualified electrical technician checks the heating path with covers off. A licensed gas technician handles ignition and gas pressure.
04

Keep on the record

5
  • Nameplate photo showing maker, model, fuel and age
  • Tap and heater outlet temperatures, with the time
  • Any displayed code and how often it appears
  • Breaker and high limit state as found
  • Notes on when it started and what changed

General guidance for a qualified person, not a finding about any home. The person on site decides.