No Hot Water? Use This Plumber's Troubleshooting Guide Before Contacting Plumber Sydney For Assistance

You’ve opened the hot tap and your water isn’t flowing warm. Here are five things a plumber will check before you call before picking up the phone – three of them you can do in 60 seconds.

Approximately 20% of “no hot water” calls we get could have been handled by the homeowner without having to call us. It’s not a bad thing, it’s what it is. Some hot water failures simply stem from something of which you can spot and remedy within a minute. Some people actually do require the services of a plumbing specialist. Let’s find out how to distinguish them.

Check 1 - Check if the Circuit Breaker Tripped (Electric Systems)

This is the most frequent cause of an electric system’s sudden drop of hot water, and it’s the one that no one thinks to look for. Check your electrical switchboard (which is typically in the garage, laundry or in a cupboard in a hallway) for a switch that is marked “hot water”, “HW”, or “off-peak.” When off – flip down or to the side, push back on.

If it resets right away again, there is a problem in the system (typically a broken component that is shorting out) and time to call a plumber. However, if it remains on then the tank will begin heating and hot water will become ready in an hour or two.

The circuit breaker trips for a number of reasons: A power surge, a close lightning strike, or a small circuit problem that has self-corrected. It does NOT necessarily indicate that there is an issue – sometimes it only requires the breaker to be reset.

Check 2: Is the Pilot Light out? (Gas Systems)

If you have a storage tank with a gas or an older gas continuous flow with a pilot, determine if a pilot is still lit. With most systems, a small window for ground viewing will be located near the base allowing the pilot flame to be viewed. If it is out, use the following process on the unit to relight it.

Pilot lights extinguish for various reasons, including: gust of wind in an exposed pilot light assembly, or thermocouple failure, or clogged pilot orifice, and/or temporary loss of fuel supply. If it continues to stay on, problem solved. If it lights and turns off in a few seconds again, the thermocouple may be malfunctioning and needs the services of a plumber.

Check 3: Do the gas supplies come on?

Test to see if the gas meter has been switched off by anyone (including yourself, family members or by a tradesperson when servicing another gas appliance). The handle on the gas meter shutoff should be parallel with the pipe (open). If it is perpendicular (closed), turn back and relight the pilot.

Test to see if other gas appliances in the home are functional. If the cooktop does not light, then the gas to the entire property may be off and you should see if there is a gas outage in your area on the website of your gas retailer.

Check 4: Off-Peak Timing Issue?

If you have an electric tank which is set to an off peak tariff, it will only heat outside of set peak times (often overnight). If you have drawn off all the hot water in the morning or during the day, then it’s evening and the tank will reheat once the off-peak period begins later tonight. Normal, not a fault.

If you’re tired of being without hot water before the next off-peak cycle, you may want to install a midday boost timer, upgrade to a bigger tank, or use a continuous flow.

Check 5: One-touch or Not One-touch?

If the cold tap is the only one that is cold, then the problem is not with the hot water system- for example when the kitchen hot tap is cold and the bathroom hot tap is good. That’s the mixer tap or isolation valve to that particular fixture. These could all be caused by a seized mixer cartridge, a closed isolation valve, or blocked aerator. There is a hot water system fault, but this is a plumbing repair.

Understand When to Call a Plumber

If all of the above checks come back without any problems, there is a problem within the system itself, from a failed element to a faulty thermostat through to a broken gas valve, failed ignition module or even the tank leak. Unfortunately, these all need to be diagnosed and fixed by a licensed plumber.

Contact us and let us know what you’ve done. On arrival, it saves time because we already know that the simple reasons have been discounted. You can immediately begin to work on the system itself, determine what is wrong and have hot water working again the same day.

Can save the fee for a call-out with just 60 seconds at the switchboard. You should assume that first of all, the circuit breaker has tripped. Make sure of the pilot light second. Thirdly, test the gas supply. If all three are ok, you have no hot water at all, let the plumber know, the problem is that it’s in the system and thus requires the qualified hands of the plumber.