GE Gas 40 gallon hot water heater...not hot enough?
My old State 40 gallon gas hot water heater started banging around recently, so I flushed it out...long story short, it was 15 years old and I replaced it, even though it worked great. I didn't want to come home to a mess. It was banging loud enough that I could hear it on the first floor from the basement. I bought a 40 gallon GE (Rheem) from Home Depot. I have a mix of galvanized/plastic/copper plumbing in my basement, and my basement is about 6 feet on a good day. I ended up hooking up the new heater with stainless steel flex pipes, and I had to loop the hot tube and install the cold in a 180 degree bend. Neither is kinked. It doesn't look super professional, but it fits. After my wife complained of a shower that got cold after 15 minutes, I turned the thermostat from 120 to 130, then to 140, and finally to 150. It's better, but she's still getting cold at the end. I called GE, and they sent out a new sensor/thermostat, which I installed. I put the thermostat on 140. My shower on the first floor seemed to have plenty of hot water, but I did have to turn the cold mix down as I took a shower. If I turn the cold off, it's scalding hot even after 10 minutes. In her shower upstairs, which has never been as hot as mine, I now can barely turn the cold mix on to maintain a decent temperature. This was not a problem before the new hot water heater. So--I'm wondering what I may have done wrong, or if there's something wrong with the heater itself. Any input is appreciated...Thanks! The new 40 gallon heaters aren't as good as the old 40 gallon heaters. I almost made the same mistake when I was about to purchase one, for someone. The guy in Home Depot, explained it to me the home owner. You really needed a 50 gallon heater. have a mix of galvanized/plastic/copper plumbing in my basement, Probably got a lot of deposits in the lines from changing the heater. Might have clogged the cartridge and/or balancing spool. Probably need to flush the lines and change the cartridges/spools. GE was probably not the best choice IMO. The guy in Home Depot, explained it to me the home owner. You really needed a 50 gallon heater. Nonsense....... called GE, and they sent out a new sensor/thermostat, which I installed. Why did you install? You have a 1 yr parts and labor warranty..... Wouldn't there have been a decrease in pressure if there were deposits in the pipes? The new 40 gallon heaters aren't as good as the old 40 gallon heaters. Based on manufacturing practices today that may be true but a 40 gallon electric water heater is a 40 gallon electric water heater. It holds 40 gallons of water and if it has the same size heating element it should heat up the same or actually better when it is still new. With a 40 gallon water heater you only get approx 30 gallons of useful hot water as the cold water is entering as fast as you're using the hot. You may need to put water flow restrictors or lower flow shower heads that use less water. They deliver more pressure using less water. Thanks for all the fast answers! From what I read, it seemed that most of the new water heaters are made by Rheem, so I just went with the best price locally. The water pressure seems about the same as it's always been, but it's certainly a possibility that some crud got dislodged. 40 gallons are 40 gallons with gas too. Why would electric make a difference? On the job that I mentioned before, there was something on the box stating that the replacement heater was only good for a family of 2. Why, I don't know. That's why the owner followed the employee's suggestion to go with the 50 gallon tank. The only way I think that the OP has a clogged pipe is if the galvanized pipe is directly connected to the copper pipe it caused a chemical reaction, which I have seen before, with other metals. You are exactly right in thinking there was a copper/galvanized mix in there. If nothing else, this job has made me realize I need to run a new main line in my basement. It was pretty cruddy in there when I took everything apart. However, I pulled the screen from the end of my kitchen faucet and there was nothing clogging that up. Going back a little, what generally goes wrong with the GE heaters? I only installed the new thermostat and sensor because I didn't want to take a day off waiting for a plumber, especially when the job took only about 15 minutes after I drained the tank. What is the exact make model of the tank you installed? No matter what others say, I still don't think that the tank is suitable for your house. I would correct the pipe problem exchange the tank for a 50 gallon. That should solve it. Edit: Post some pics, if you can. Yes take some pics at Pulpo suggests. A quick test is to do a bucket test at a tub. Get a 5 gallon bucket. What until the water heater makes temp and the gas shuts off. Run hot water only at the tub and fill the bucket. Dump it and fill again...repeat. You should get 6 buckets before the temp of the water starts cooling or coming out cold. If you get less then it world be a dip tube issue. After my wife complained of a shower that got cold after 15 minutes, 15 min x 2.5 gpm typical shower head = 37 gallons or so. Thats normal IMO. My heater is only set at 120f and my spouse turns it on full hot to shower. 12 minutes or so and shes out of hot water. And thats good. We are on a septic. No sense dilly dallying. Get and and out is my moto. My shower on the first floor seemed to have plenty of hot water, but I did have to turn the cold mix down as I took a shower. If I turn the cold off, it's scalding hot even after 10 minutes. So your shower is normal.... What type of shower valve? Post a pic In her shower upstairs, which has never been as hot as mine, I now can barely turn the cold mix on to maintain a decent temperature. This was not a problem before the new hot water heater. Ahh never been as hot as yours.....???? If crude gets in the balance spool it will not affect pressure per se' but it will prevent the hot water form coming out fully hot. Also what brand? model? Is the scald protector set correctly? This is the stop that's behind the handle. I doubt its the water heater..... Here's what I'm looking at...once again, not the prettiest, but my home's worth about a half what I paid for it at this point. Thats the one shower. You should have no issues there with hot water. Its seperate H/C and looks like washer/seat design. Whats the other faucet look like? Did you do the bucket test? Are you still having issues? I haven't tried the test yet...I don't think I have a 5 gallon bucket. I'm going to flush everything out this weekend; my upstairs sink faucet had some black crud in the screen. The other shower has a similar setup but is a standup shower. It has two valves and a shower head. I'll give the bucket test a try when I find a bucket that's big enough that I don't have to dump it 30 times. My wife said it's better but not great. There is no reason that with your shower valves you should not get 35 gallons of hot water with hot on only. The only reason that you would run out of hot water sooner is a faulty dip tube. Since you have a new gas valve the temp of the water coincides with the gas valve setting? ( Check with thermometer ) If no 5 gallon bucket fill the tub with cold water from 1 gallon jug 30 times or so. Mark that level of the tub. Then drain the tub. Then run hot water only and fill up to the line you marked. Checking temperature as you go. You should get constant hot water around the temp you have set for. It should not get cool until about 32 gallons. This test will eliminate the dip tube being the issue. Note: There were a run of water heaters ( other manufacturer) where during the manufacuring process the dip tubes were not installed. It happens and you never now. These units were serviced at no charge and dip tubes installed. You could be missing the dip tube..... If the washers in your faucet are loose you can be taking a shower and the water temp with change. Sometimes you will hear a chattering. Or the handles are touchy and your always trying to adjust to maintain temp... Just my 2 cents Thanks for all the help...I'll give all that a try this weekend and let you know how it goes. Well, I pulled out all of the old shower head stuff and put new stuff in and blew out the pipes...she seems happy. We do have to adjust the cold mix as the shower goes on now, but there's hot hot water with the cold mix off, even after 15 minutes. We rarely had to adjust the cold mix with the old water heater for some reason, maybe we just got lucky--who knows? Thanks for all the help! '
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