DIYers With Good Experience Can Often Help Themselves
You have woken up to find out that there is no hot water. This can be a nightmare for many who start their day with a nice hot shower. If you are thinking of saving those extra bucks to fix your water heater yourself, you will need to know about plumbing connections and the wirings to make your heater work again.
When you are a DIY kind of person, replacing a water heater isn’t a very difficult task. You can even be keeping a good eye on its maintenance and are aware of how it works. You will need to know basic plumbing skills and electrical works. If these tasks make you nervous and you are not confident that you will be able to do a good job, then it’s best to call a professional. Whenever there are electric cables involved in a project, there is always a hazard. This task should not be done by beginners.
If you have decided to take up the challenge yourself and want to save some money, then the first step is to understand what kind of water heater you already have installed. There are two basic types of heaters, .i.e. Gas and electric. If you have the necessary skills, then a replacement can take a few hours wherein you will disconnect and remove the old heater and move the new one into place in the same fashion as the previous one.
There can always be some complications that you might face. After all, not all the problems of the water heater will be easily visible. Below are 4 tips that you can look for to understand what is wrong when you are thinking of replacing your water heater.
Understand the Problem
Just like any other appliances, water heaters also have a limited life span. Check the type you have to understand how long do water heaters last in the same category. In some cases, they can last up to 12 years before they need to replace. In case, you only have a water leak, it doesn’t mean that the heater needs to be replaced. Before buying a new heater to replace the old one, you should check if the leak itself can be fixed. There are times when there are just minor problems with the heater that can easily be fixed. This will save you a lot of trouble and money as you will only need to fix a minor problem and not actually invest in a new water heater.
Noise From The Heater
If the water heater is making noises that get louder as the water heats up, it can be due to sediment build-up. This means that the water heater will be consuming more energy to work and soon there will be visible crack formations. You can try to flush the heater and drain the sediments of the tank. If the tank still makes noise after being flushed then there may be a more serious problem with the water heater overall.
Rusty Water
While these water heaters are made with the strongest material on earth they can still rust. As corrosion takes place on the steel surface, it will spread slowly and rust the steel in certain spots. Both water pipes and tanks are made of steel. It can often be hard to tell if the rusty water is coming from the water heater of the pipes which leads to your faucet. To overcome this problem, you can drain several buckets of hot water from the tank. If the water is still rusty after the third and fourth bucket, then it’s definitely a problem with the heater and not the pipes. This of course means it’s surely time to replace the water heater.
Leak in the Water Heater
A leak can result in property damage and must be fixed at the earliest. Water leaks often occur due to expansions of the metal in the tank. Though the gaps may appear small in the beginning, they will broaden over time. It could on the other hand also be a problem with the tank itself. Mold can stem from the absorption of the water on floors, walls, and carpets. A minor leak may not be quite as urgent but the sooner you act on it the better it is.
These a few tips that can help you solve water heater problems so you know if you need to replace parts of the heater or the entire water heater itself. Caution should be exercised so you do not get hurt while performing these tasks.
