Water Heater Repair in Keene, NH
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Cold groundwater and winter outages both work against your water heater
Keene gets cold enough, often enough, that your water heater is never really off the hook. Nine months of heating season means nine months of cold incoming water, and the unit has to work harder to bring it up to temperature. That extra runtime wears on the heating element in an electric tank and the burner assembly in a gas one.
Power is the other problem. New Hampshire households went a full day or more without power at a notable rate last year, and Cheshire County has seen 34 winter storms and 164 damaging wind events over the past decade. When the power drops, an electric water heater stops heating until it comes back, and most units pick up again on their own. A gas water heater with an electronic ignition needs power too. Only a standing pilot keeps working through an outage. If your water heater has been running through a lot of cold snaps and outages, listen for popping or rumbling from the tank, or check whether the water is coming out cooler than it used to.
- 15°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 9 months
- September through May, 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 that means it needs to be replaced, not patched. Water heaters rust from the inside as the tank ages, and once it's leaking there's no repair that seals it back up. It could also be a loose drain valve or a fitting that's failed, and those are worth checking before you assume the worst. Water pooling underneath, though, usually points to the tank.
- Why won't the pilot light on my water heater stay lit?
- The thermocouple is the usual reason. It's the small sensor that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve it's safe to keep gas flowing, and once it wears out it can't hold that signal, so the valve shuts the gas back off. A dirty pilot orifice or a draft blowing the flame around can cause the same thing. A contractor can test the thermocouple in a few minutes and knows whether it needs cleaning or replacing.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most problems with a tankless unit are repairable. Mineral buildup on the heat exchanger, a failed igniter, or a clogged inlet filter are common causes and none of them mean the unit is done for. A contractor can flush the system and test the parts to find out what's actually wrong.