hot water not as hot as it should be

T77911S · 02-03-2022, 03:42 AM

80g tank. 13 yrs old. I did buy one with a lifetime warranty

tank is at one end of the house, my bathroom is at the other end.
I checked the resistance of both heater elements and both were 12 ohms.

showers are not as hot as they use to be. BUT, if I flush the toilet is gets scalding hot. my shower has a single control that you rotate to turn on the water.

checked water temp in kitchen. 116, then the next bathroom 114 and then out of the faucet in my bathroom 116. none of these feel very hot. I can keep my hands in the hot water with no problem.

I have been meaning to drain the tank to get the sediment out of the bottom.

flatbutt · 02-03-2022, 03:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T77911S

80g tank. 13 yrs old. I did buy one with a lifetime warranty

tank is at one end of the house, my bathroom is at the other end.
I checked the resistance of both heater elements and both were 12 ohms.

showers are not as hot as they use to be. BUT, if I flush the toilet is gets scalding hot. my shower has a single control that you rotate to turn on the water.

checked water temp in kitchen. 116, then the next bathroom 114 and then out of the faucet in my bathroom 116. none of these feel very hot. I can keep my hands in the hot water with no problem.

I have been meaning to drain the tank to get the sediment out of the bottom.

I don't understand why the toilet would impact the water temp but de-sludging the tank is a good place to start.

stevej37 · 02-03-2022, 03:54 AM

Maybe bump the thermostats up just a small bit?

masraum · 02-03-2022, 03:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T77911S

80g tank. 13 yrs old. I did buy one with a lifetime warranty

tank is at one end of the house, my bathroom is at the other end.
I checked the resistance of both heater elements and both were 12 ohms.

showers are not as hot as they use to be. BUT, if I flush the toilet is gets scalding hot. my shower has a single control that you rotate to turn on the water.

checked water temp in kitchen. 116, then the next bathroom 114 and then out of the faucet in my bathroom 116. none of these feel very hot. I can keep my hands in the hot water with no problem.

I have been meaning to drain the tank to get the sediment out of the bottom.

If it was just the shower having the issue, then I'd say that the anti-scald valve in the shower could be having issues, but if you've having the same problem in all 3 locations, I wouldn't think that would be it. What temp do you have the thermostat of the water heater set to? 120º or something higher?

draining the sediment certainly couldn't hurt. I've also heard that if you've got hard water, scale can build up on the heating elements and reduce their efficiency.

Quote:

Originally Posted by flatbutt

I don't understand why the toilet would impact the water temp but de-sludging the tank is a good place to start.

When you flush the toilet, it takes cold water. If the shower is on with a mix of hot and cold water, that often makes the water momentarily hotter (less cold water in the mix).

T77911S · 02-03-2022, 04:01 AM

I takes cold from the shower.
the house has always been like that.
if she washes clothes while the shower is on its nothing but hot water.
same with turning the hose on outside. all hot water.

this makes me wonder if the control for the shower is going bad like it is not letting as much hot through as it use to. when the toilet is flushed I have to turn the hot water down because its too hot.

but, the kitchen sink would normally get so hot you couldn't out your hands in it. now its 116 degrees.

T77911S · 02-03-2022, 04:03 AM

i think the house was built in the 80's

masraum · 02-03-2022, 04:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevej37

Maybe bump the thermostats up just a small bit?

It has been my experience that in the winter, when the cold water is colder, that the thermostat needs a bump. Then in the summer, when the cold water warms up a bit, the thermostat can be bumped back down.

masraum · 02-03-2022, 04:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T77911S

I takes cold from the shower.
the house has always been like that.
if she washes clothes while the shower is on its nothing but hot water.
same with turning the hose on outside. all hot water.

this makes me wonder if the control for the shower is going bad like it is not letting as much hot through as it use to. when the toilet is flushed I have to turn the hot water down because its too hot.

but, the kitchen sink would normally get so hot you couldn't out your hands in it. now its 116 degrees.

Yes, the anti-scald valve in the shower could be causing the difference. In some cases, the valve can be replaced, and that will fix the problem.

T77911S · 02-03-2022, 04:08 AM

but getting to it.

would a house that old have one

masraum · 02-03-2022, 04:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T77911S

but getting to it.

would a house that old have one

no idea when they started incorporating those into the shower valves. Maybe.

This may give you an idea on how to figure it out

masraum · 02-03-2022, 04:15 AM

these may also help.

T77911S · 02-03-2022, 04:19 AM

interesting

my shower has never balanced the temp like when the toilet is flushed.

Norm K · 02-03-2022, 04:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by masraum

T77911S · 02-03-2022, 04:42 AM

I think my house is too old for an anti scalding valve.
but it could still be the mixing valve.

I will drain the hot water tank and check it again.

what sucks is if I have to replace the shower valve I have to cut a hole in the wall of the other bathroom and I just did some sheet rock work and painting in it.

the lower temp of the water in the kitchen gives me hope its the tank.
but then could the shower mixing valve be letting cold water back into ALL of the faucets.

masraum · 02-03-2022, 04:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T77911S

I think my house is too old for an anti scalding valve.
but it could still be the mixing valve.

I will drain the hot water tank and check it again.

what sucks is if I have to replace the shower valve I have to cut a hole in the wall of the other bathroom and I just did some sheet rock work and painting in it.

the lower temp of the water in the kitchen gives me hope its the tank.
but then could the shower mixing valve be letting cold water back into ALL of the faucets.

I don't think the shower valve would impact any other faucets in the house.

To me all of the temps looked like they could be a little low. I'd bump the thermostat a bit. It's winter, the cold water is colder than usual.

I'm surprised the valve isn't accessible somehow. It should be from one side of the wall or the other, but I think it's not that uncommon for them to be completely encased with no good access.

T77911S · 02-03-2022, 05:54 AM

the back of my shower (faucet) is between the wall of the other bath.

Zeke · 02-03-2022, 06:08 AM

Why is there anything but cold water in the toilet? You have a cross over problem somewhere. Possibly an backflow preventer is needed.

Funny story: I was building a room add for a family and a new bath. After plumbing was roughed in and waiting on inspection (meaning the water lines were live, we had a shower head stub out in place for when the tile guy came. Of course there was a cap on the end. Inadvertently the shower valve was left in an open position and no one would notice because the arm was capped off. The next morning the family told me all their water was lukewarm.

Someone noticed the position of the valve, closed it and problem solved.

masraum · 02-03-2022, 06:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T77911S

the back of my shower (faucet) is between the wall of the other bath.

If you've got a single valve, if it's got a big escutcheon plate, you can probably get to the valve assembly by removing that. You may be able to leave the plumbing but replace just the guts through the hole that the handle comes through.

fintstone · fintstone's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by T77911S

80g tank. 13 yrs old. I did buy one with a lifetime warranty

tank is at one end of the house, my bathroom is at the other end.
I checked the resistance of both heater elements and both were 12 ohms.

showers are not as hot as they use to be. BUT, if I flush the toilet is gets scalding hot. my shower has a single control that you rotate to turn on the water.

checked water temp in kitchen. 116, then the next bathroom 114 and then out of the faucet in my bathroom 116. none of these feel very hot. I can keep my hands in the hot water with no problem.

I have been meaning to drain the tank to get the sediment out of the bottom.

Missing data here. What is the actual temperature of the water at the tank? Sorta sounds like a broken or leaking dip tube in the tank. A real possibility in an older tank due to rust.

Explanation: Dip tube goes from top of tank to bottom. It routes/provides incoming cold water to bottom of tank. The tank's hot water output comes out the top (so as to access the hottest water). If dip tube is broken or leaking, the cold water enters at the top and you get the cooler water mix into the output line. A flush temporarily diverts enough cold water that you would get only the hotter water briefly.

gregpark · 02-03-2022, 06:56 AM

Your anode rod has probably disintegrated and there are metal flakes settled at the bottom of the tank interfering with the heating of the water. Do you hear popping when the water is heating? Drain it, flush it, enjoy a nice hot shower.
Might want to replace the rod too to buy more time on the heater but at 13 years it's near the end of its life. The old school thicker tanks lasted much longer.