Water Heater Repair in Berlin, NH
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Cold like this is hard on a water heater
Winter nights in Berlin average 8°F from December through February, and the water coming into the tank starts out close to that. The burner or heating element has to work harder and longer to bring it up to temperature, and it does that for ten months of the year here, September through June. That extra runtime wears on the thermostat and the heating element in an electric tank, or the burner assembly and thermocouple in a gas one.
The county also sees hard weather. Ninety-three winter storms and 62 damaging wind events have hit the area over the past ten years, and storms like that knock out power. A gas water heater with a standing pilot will keep working through an outage. One with electric ignition or an electric tank will not, and most come back on by themselves once power returns. If yours does not, or if the water is not getting hot the way it used to, that is worth having looked at.
- 8°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 10 months
- September through June, the months homes here need heat
- 22%
- of New Hampshire 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
- Why is my water heater leaking from the bottom?
- Most often the tank itself has rusted through and is leaking from the inside out. Sediment builds up at the bottom of the tank over the years, and it traps moisture against the steel until it corrodes a hole. A leak can also come from the drain valve or from fittings at the bottom that have loosened, which a contractor can check before assuming the tank is done for. Once the tank itself is leaking, it needs to be replaced, not patched.
- Why won't the pilot light on my water heater stay lit?
- The most common cause is a thermocouple that has worn out and no longer signals the gas valve to stay open. A weak or dirty pilot flame can also fail to heat the thermocouple enough, and a draft near the burner compartment can blow the flame out. If it happens repeatedly, have it looked at rather than relighting it over and over, since a gas water heater with a standing pilot will stay lit through a power outage but not through a faulty part.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most problems with a tankless water heater are repairable. A clogged inlet filter, a failed flow sensor, mineral scale on the heat exchanger, and ignition problems are all things a contractor can fix without replacing the unit. Scale buildup is common in units that have gone a long time without descaling, since minerals in the water collect on the heat exchanger and reduce how well it transfers heat. A contractor can flush the system or replace the specific part that has failed.