Misbehaving water heater


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Old 05-12-03, 12:04 PM
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Misbehaving water heater

I have an 8-year-old American Water Heater Co. water heater, 40 gal. natural gas. I am confident that it is their bottom-of-the-line model (inasmuch as it was put in by the prior owners of the house when the previous heater gave up the ghost a few weeks before we took possession of the house). It seems like it doesn't get the water as hot as it used to. There are 5 marks on the thermostat (Hot, A, B, C, and Very Hot), which I believe correspond to 120 - 160 degrees, in 10-degree increments. I have to set it between B and C to get reasonably hot water. Some (but not all) mornings when I get up I have to mix in almost no cold water to take a lukewarm shower. But there are other times when the water gets rather hot. Any ideas on what this could be? Could the thermostat be bad? Dip tube?
 
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Old 05-12-03, 07:40 PM
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Definitely could be the diptube, but I think with those symptoms the thermostat is more likely... I personally don't like changing thermostats in a heater that may only last another few seasons anyway, but if you want the info on how to check them and how to change them, just do a search on thermostats above...
 
 

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