I hope I can find some help here to a problem that has been going on now for 6 months. We built a new house and everthing was fine when we moved in. When it started to cool down outside, we started to have problems with the hot water. The problem is the first shower of the day in the master bath gets only 8 minutes of hot water. This is barley enough for 2 consecutive showers. The water is also noticably cooler in the whole house in the morning. The master bath is the coolest at 110-115 in the am. Later in the day or even evening, the water is considerably hotter through the whole house (130 ccompared to 120). We have 1/2" CPVC pipes and a 50 gallon Propane Gas Hot Water Heater. The gas company (Suburban Propane) changed a cracked dip tube and the thermostat. Neither has worked. They are refusing to change the tank itself. The builder and myself have tried to get them to replace it. Now, the builder is planing on adding a second 50 gallon unit either in line or working in a 50/50 setup. Can anyone tell me if they think the problem is in the heater or the plumbing or how I can determine better what is going on? Thank you in advance for help with this tale of woe!

 

Is the lack of hot water only in the one shower? Do you have single handle or dual handle valves in this shower and what make are they? Is it also a combination tub/shower? Do you know if you have Posi-temp valves on this shower (to maintain water temp constant and avoid scalding)? How are you measuring water temperature?

You say the water is noticeably colder in the whole house in the morning? Are you talking about the cold water (which it should be colder in the winter) or the hot water?

Need more info.

 

The lack of hot water is in the whole master bath (Tub, Shower, Sinks). In thinking this over, I have not properly tested other areas of the house for volume of hot water in the morning. The master is the furthest point from the heater. It is approx. 70-80 feet away. The master shower is a stall shower with a Speakman head. The valve is a Price Pfister 2 valve. I am not sure if it has Posi-temp or not. I am using a simple old fashioned thermometer to monitor temps. The expert from the gas company used the same method I am using. For some crazy reason, I expected them to have a more technologically advanced device. Forgive the digression. I am referring to the HOT water is colder in the AM. We have had guests comment how hot the water is but it is always late in the day. When I say the whole house has cooler hot water, I mean (120 compared to 130). The only problem as far as temp seems to be the master bath at 110-115 in the AM. I hope this helps some. I will galdly try to test for you or to explain more as needed.

Thanks

 

How old is the water heater?

 

The water heater was installed back in May or June of 1999.

 

If the builder is going to install another water heater, I would have it installed in the opposite (master bedroom) end of the house from the first one.
I also would insulate all hot water lines in the basement or crawlspace.
Good Luck!

 

Thank you for your response Old Guy. Old of course, being wise in this case. There is no where on the Master side of the house to put the second water heater. I was desperatly hoping that someone would be able to guide me as to whether the problem is in the hot water heater or the pipes themsleves. Just this morning, I did a test to see how much hot water would fill the master tub and it barely got half full before going cold. In the afternoon or evening, the tub will fill with hot water right to the overflow. Do you think it could be the cold on the pipes causing this much of a difference? If so, do yout think wrapping the pipes will make a big difference?

 

Some water heaters have a 2 year warranty on there parts, find the papers on this heater and check it out, it could be an element out, and if it's under warranty, the parts will not cost you nothing, the labor might cost thou, however even some water heaters will cover the labor for the 1st two years.

So check it out