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Bartels Heating & Cooling Blog

Water Heater Repair Guide: The Dip Tube

You rely on your water heater for many of the most important activities you do during the day for your health and comfort. You use hot water to shower, wash your face, clean your home, and prepare meals. If your water heater is not keeping your water as warm as you would like it to, repairs can seem urgent. But you may delay water heater repair out of fear that the water heater may need replacement.

Actually, one of the most common repair needs for water heater that is a fairly simple fix for a trained contractor is a broken dip tube. The dip tube is a long plastic pipe that lets cold water in to the bottom of the unit. There is a burner or electric heating element located toward the bottom of the tank. Once the water heats up, it rises up to the top of the tank. Then, a small tube at the top of the tank allows the warm water to exit. The dip tube can fall into a state of disrepair, but a trained technician may be able to solve the trouble quickly.

There are a few things that could go wrong with the dip tube over time. It may develop small cracks that allow cold water to seep into the tank, lingering at the top. This means that you may notice bouts of cold or lukewarm water from your sink or shower rather than an uninterrupted stream of hot water. The dip tube may even simply break in half. When this happens, you might run out of hot water far too quickly.

This shouldn’t be a problem you have to live with. Call a technician for repairs as soon as you suspect a problem. And be sure to schedule annual water heater maintenance as well. This involves a few key adjustments to the system as well as a thorough examination of your entire unit to make sue something like a broken dip tube doesn’t go undetected for too long.

Count on the people at Bartels Heating & Cooling for quality water heaters and services in Hamilton. We pride ourselves on quality customer service and strive to keep your experience as positive as possible.

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