For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been busy trying to figure out my hot water heater situation.
First, my sink water was boiling hot when hand washing the dishes. Secondly, the shower water was, also, too hot.
Replacing the Thermostat
Initially, the plumber came and put in a new thermostat on the water heater which wasn’t working properly. My water heater is over 15 years old and was pretty close being near to the end of its life span.
After this repair, my sink water began to get cooler and then cold.
Replacing the Hot Water Heater
I called the plumber, a second time, and he suggested to replace the hot water heater because some knobs were rusted shut. This was fine with me, I didn’t want to be too long without hot water.
The first step was to drain the water out of the old water heater.
Fifteen years ago, I remember it was sort of a project alone to drain the old tank. It took a long time to empty the tank so it could be removed from the house
Now the plumber uses a pump to speed up removal of the water in the old water heater.
New Pan under Hot Water Heater
Plumbing regulations changed since I last had a new water heater installed. Now a circular pan goes under the unit. This is a great idea to catch any leaks.
Ending Comments
I was thinking back to the “olden days” of no hot water. Boy it took some brave people to bathe or shower in icy cold water.
For now, I’m glad I can turn on the faucet and get hot water. No roughing it any more.
