Plumbers?
 

I have a gas hot water tank that runs out of hot water a lot quicker than usual. The only thing I can research is a possible broken dip tube. I was going to check that this weekend, but unlike the US, Homedepot and Rona don't seem to carry them here. Anyone know where I can find one in Calgary or have another idea why I run out of water so quickly.

Broken dipstick is the most likely answer. The box stores should stick them. Maybe try at a plumbing distributor if you can't find them.

Could also be sediment or calcification build up in the tank itself.

I flushed the tank the other day and nothing really came out. Don't think it's sediment!

Canadian tire stocks them

Hmm don't see anything online. Maybe I will just have to go into the store.

How old is the tank?

11 years

Seems to me they're supposed to last longer than that, but IME anything after 10 years is "anything goes". I don't know anything about dip tubes, interesting, will have to read up on that. I just kinda thought that the tanks just got less and less capacity as they got older and then poof one day they start leaking and then you go get a new heater. :lol:

I kind of like the idea of an on-demand/inline heater instead of a tank ... when the time comes to replace my tank I was thinking I'd look into that.

Good luck!

You called????
 

Its more than likely the dip-tube. Just remember that if you changed the setting on the tank to anything higher than normal, return it to normal after replacing the tube, or you're back to square one pretty quick.
I redid the dip-tube in my tank 5 years ago, it is still the original tank, something that will have to be done periodically. The tubes used to be made of copper, not crappy plastic......

Make sure you do your homework on that Tony, not as good as one would think......lots of problems with a lot of units.
Some are not that bad though.
You're lucky if you get 5 years out of the new tanks with out any service, but it does truly depend on the water conditions. I hooked a water softener up to my system, this is probably the best thing you can do in a household system.

I was reading up on tankless heaters and I will not go that route. My parents have had one for years, but you have to turn on the water then brush your teeth , vacuum your house, take out the trash, goto work for a few hours then the hot water is finally ready. And if it wasn't quite the temperature you wanted you make an adjustment and wait for it to take affect again. Also can have issues running multiple showers / appliances at the same time without booster pumps, etc. Not for me. At least not yet.

As long as they are properly sized for the family, and have an adequate gpm, the newer units actually work fine. The largest problem is maintenance, which is never done by average home owner.

that and putting in older homes with 1/2" lines. the lines need to be upgraded also.

Steve

My folks have had a tankless on demand heater for about 3-4 years now & they really like it. No maintenance yet & no plumbing/gas line upgrade required. They're in a mobile home park in the South Okanagan, so milder weather than most places in the country. They reported a noticeable savings in the gas bill after the install. As mentioned, the unit must be properly sized. For a larger family and locations with low incoming water temperature, you might need a fairly large unit, or gang two together. They've come a long way in the last few years with this technology and depending on how much you wish to spend for options, you can go as far as having individual temperature controls at different faucets in the house. Some systems allow you to set a priority as well, so if you're having a shower & someone decides to run hot water elsewhere, you don't get a surprise. Pretty much all of them come with at least one control unit allowing you to set the water temperature without having to run into the basement or wherever your tank is located.

With respect to the maintenance issue, most of the components are repairable/replaceable, even if not as DIY. Conventional tanks have a certain life expectancy & only a few components are repairable. After that they go to the landfill. My tank is living on borrowed time & I'm fairly certain I'll be switching to on demand when the time comes. Most provinces and/or the Feds offer incentives to install the newer tankless systems.