[DaVinciRemodel]

I got a call from a customer yesterday that suddenly (about 3 in the afternoon) there was very low water flow in their home – just on the hot side. I stopped by and found all faucets in the house, when the hot water was turned on, we would get good flow for about 3 – 4 seconds then it reduced to a maybe half the flow.

The tanks are 7 years old (2 of them) connected in series and are not leaking. The cold side has excellent pressure.

Any ideas?

Paul

 

[TAHomeRepairs]

Have you tried flushing the heaters?

Since it's all taps, and it starts okay then slows, maybe something is obstructing the dip tube in the tank?

It would be a good start. 7 years is not that old, but with a lot of minerals/sediment in the water, it's possible.

 

[DaVinciRemodel]

Have you tried flushing the heaters?

Since it's all taps, and it starts okay then slows, maybe something is obstructing the dip tube in the tank?

It would be a good start. 7 years is not that old, but with a lot of minerals/sediment in the water, it's possible.

My thought also. So I flushed them – about 30 min. ago. Refilled and no joy

 

[Mr. Direct]

http://www.water-heater-repair-guide.com/lowhotwaterpressure.html

I have used this site when I had a water heater problem at home. (although it was something much simpler than your experiencing) I saw they have a section for "low hot water pressure in whole house". I'm not a plumber but maybe it will help.

 

[KillerToiletSpider]

Remove a hot side cartridge on the faucet of your choice and see if it is full of crud, if it is so is the angle stop and the hot side cartridge and angle on every faucet in the house.

 

[DaVinciRemodel]

Resolved! In case someone runs into this in the future – here’s my steps (not a plumber so excuse me if I use the wrong terminology):

1. After testing a few things, I became convinced that if there was an obstruction, it was on the supply side of the water heater.
2. I removed the supply connection and sticking up, out of the nipple on the heater, was a pointy plastic part (looks a little like a pencil bobber for fishing).
3. As it turns out, in Rheem water heaters, this bobber like thing acts as a check valve of sorts. When the tank is full and under pressure, it rises up and prevents any back flow into the supply line. When the tank starts to drain and eases pressure the bobber drops and allows the tank to refill. It seems to be part of (built into) the dip tube.
4. This little guy was stuck (slightly cocked to the side) in a semi closed position not allowing pressure to rebuild in the tank.
5. Once I straightened (unstuck) this little bobber thingy and reconnected the supply, we have full pressure at every faucet.

:thumbsup: :clap: