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chris3403's avatar
chris3403
Explorer
Jan 14, 2018

Water Heater

My wife loves lot water when she wakes up so I leave it on propane all night.
For the past 4 mornings there is no hot water when she runs the faucet, however as soon as she starts running it the heater kicks on so it works. The problem is there is no hot water when she wakes up. Anyone know whats going on? It is a Suburban water heater.
Thanks

15 Replies

  • Standard Suburban Water Heater T-stat is set to OPEN (stop heating process) at 130*F.
    It will NOT CLOSE (call for reheat cycle) until water temp drops below 100*F

    No demand.......tank can take a while to loose enough heat and IF that Faucet DW is first using in AM is far from water heater it will take a quite a bit of cool water before the WARM water from heater reaches faucet. And then t-stat calls for heating.

    Before any water is used...measure water temp from T&P Relief Valve after heater has sat overnight.
    CAUTION: Water could be HOT

    IF water is 'cool' (less than 100*F) then time for new t-stat
    If water is above 100*F..changing t-stat is NOT going to change anything
  • Not normal for a tank type WH to do that. Your thermostat has developed a lot of hysteresis as Mat above described.
    Time to replace the stat.
  • Chris,

    You say the WH is Suburban, but with no model...
    If it is a demand heater, this is common. If it is not, then the heaters thermostat has developed a lot of hysteresis. This is not uncommon, but it usually takes a while. That control is not hard to replace.

    And yes, a HW circulating pump can save you a lot of water.

    Matt
  • I don't know.. sounds like a thermostat problem. Just so you know, a gas wh is VERY loud at 3am, so be kind to your neighbors.
  • Makes sense. Not using any water for a while, the tank itself will heat up and stay warm for a long time.

    A hot water circulation pump will help. They install under a cabinet, push a button and in 30 seconds hot water at every tap.