No Hot Water? A Portland Troubleshooting Guide

No hot water is the single most common call we get, and a decent share of them turn out to be something you can check in five minutes. Here is the order we would work through it, and the point at which it stops being a homeowner job.

First: which kind do you have?

Gas heaters have a flue pipe out of the top and a gas line with a shut-off valve running in. Electric heaters have a thick cable into the top or side and no flue. The troubleshooting diverges completely from here.

Gas: four checks

• Is the gas on? The valve on the supply line should run parallel with the pipe. If other gas appliances are also out, the problem is upstream of the heater.
• Is the pilot lit? There is usually a sight glass near the bottom. The relighting procedure is printed on the unit. Follow it exactly.
• Does the pilot stay lit? If it lights and dies within a minute, that is a failed thermocouple — a cheap part, about half an hour, and one of the fastest repairs we do.
• Is the control dial in the right position? It has to be past PILOT to ON. It is more common than you would think, especially after someone has been working nearby.

Electric: four checks

• Check the breaker. A water heater is usually a double-pole 30-amp. Reset it once, fully off then on.
• Check the high-limit reset. Behind the upper access panel there is a red button. If it has tripped, press it. Turn the breaker off before removing any panel.
• Did it trip again? Then stop. A breaker that trips repeatedly on a water heater is usually a shorted element, which needs testing rather than resetting.
• Lukewarm rather than cold? That is the classic signature of one failed element out of two — the tank half-heats. It is a repair.

What each symptom usually means

When to stop and call

• You can smell gas — leave first, call the utility from outside
• The breaker trips again after one reset
• Water is pooling at the base of the tank rather than at a fitting
• The T&P valve is discharging
• The pilot will not stay lit after a correct relight attempt
• The water is scalding rather than merely hot — that is a failed thermostat

None of those are DIY territory, and all of them are things we diagnose with no diagnostic fee. If the answer turns out to be a $180 part, that is what you will be quoted.