Water Heater Repair in Norristown, PA
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Cold groundwater and winter storms both work against your water heater
From October through April, the water coming into your house is cold, and your water heater has to work harder to bring it up to temperature. That extra run time adds up over a Montgomery County winter, and it wears on the heating element or burner first. You notice it as water that used to be hot running lukewarm, or a tank that takes longer to recover between showers.
Winter storms are the other problem. The county has seen 351 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and storms like that knock out power. About 15% of Pennsylvania households lost power for a full day or more in 2024. A gas water heater with a standing pilot will keep working through an outage. One with an electric ignition or an electric tank will not come back on until the power does, and if a storm has knocked something loose in the process, it may need a look before it does.
- 25°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 7 months
- October through April, the months homes here need heat
- 15%
- of Pennsylvania households lost power for a day or more in 2024, and a heater with an electric element or electric ignition stops without it
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new water heater would cut about $70 a year off hot water for a typical Pennsylvania home.
Estimates for a typical Pennsylvania home, compared with an older unit built to the federal minimum, from EIA household energy data and Pennsylvania fuel prices. Your home will differ.
Repair makes sense when an element, thermostat or gas valve has failed.
Replacement makes sense when the tank itself is leaking.
- Why is my water heater leaking from the bottom?
- The most common reason is that the tank itself has corroded through and is failing from the inside. Sediment builds up at the bottom of the tank over the years and it can trap moisture against the steel, which eats through it. A leak can also come from the drain valve or from fittings on top that drip down the side and pool at the base, so it is worth drying everything off and watching where the water first appears. Once the tank itself is leaking, the water heater needs to be replaced, not repaired.
- Why won't the pilot light on my water heater stay lit?
- Usually the thermocouple has worn out and is no longer telling the gas valve that the pilot is lit. That part sits in the pilot flame and it degrades with age like any other metal exposed to constant heat. A dirty pilot orifice or a draft pulling the flame away from the thermocouple can cause the same problem. A gas water heater with a standing pilot does not need power to run, so if yours goes out during an outage, the outage is not the cause.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most problems with a tankless water heater are repairable. The heat exchanger, igniter, and flow sensor can all be replaced individually, and mineral buildup inside the unit can be flushed out rather than requiring a new water heater. Hard water scale is the most common cause of a tankless unit losing performance over time. A contractor can look at the specific fault code or symptom and say whether a part needs replacing or the unit needs descaling.