No Hot Water? What to Check, and When to Call
Water heater not working in Colorado Springs? Four checks that find the cause in minutes - gas, breaker, pilot, dip tube - and when to call.
One Colorado Springs number, water heaters only.
If you smell gas, leave the house and call the gas utility from outside. Everything below can wait; that cannot.
Start with the unit, not the phone. Four checks take about two minutes and they settle most cases: is the whole house out or one tap, is the unit getting power or gas, has the breaker tripped or the pilot gone out, and was a wall switch or shutoff valve left closed after other work.
If the water stopped suddenly and the unit is powered and fuelled, the usual causes are a heating element or a thermostat on an electric unit, or a thermocouple on a gas one. Both are repairs, not a new tank.
Check these four things first
- Is it the whole house or one tap? Run the hot tap at two fixtures far apart, such as the kitchen and a bathroom. Cold at both points at the unit or the supply. Cold at one points at that fixture.
- Is the unit getting power or gas? On electric, look at the breaker. On gas, look for a lit pilot or listen for the igniter clicking when you turn a hot tap on.
- Has the breaker tripped, or has the reset button popped? Electric units have a high-limit cut-out on the upper thermostat. If it has popped, it presses back in once. A second trip is a fault, not a reset.
- Is a wall switch or a shutoff valve closed? A switch beside the unit, or a valve left closed after other plumbing work, produces exactly the same symptom as a failed heater.
If all four check out and there is still no hot water, the fault is inside the unit and the next section narrows it down.
What the answer usually means
| What you are seeing | Likely cause | Can you deal with it yourself |
|---|---|---|
| No hot water anywhere, unit has power | Failed element, thermostat, or dip tube | No, but it is a repair |
| No hot water, no power at the unit | Tripped breaker, blown fuse, popped high-limit reset | Yes, breaker and reset only |
| Gas unit, no pilot, no ignition | Thermocouple, thermopile, gas control valve | No |
| Hot water runs out much faster than it did | Dip tube, sediment, failing lower element | No |
| Water is warm rather than hot everywhere | Thermostat setting, crossed connections after other work, mixing valve | Sometimes |
| One tap only, or one shower | Cartridge, or a closed stop valve under the sink | The valve, yes |
Gas and electric fail differently
On an electric unit the order is breaker, high-limit reset, element, thermostat, then dip tube. The first two cost nothing to check, which is why they come first. A failed element usually leaves the unit with power but no heat, or with hot water that runs out in minutes.
On a gas unit the order is pilot or igniter, thermocouple or thermopile, then the gas control valve. A pilot that lights and then dies when you release the button is the classic thermocouple symptom.
Gas safety comes before diagnosis. If you smell gas, do not test anything, do not switch anything on, and do not look for the leak. Leave the house and call the gas utility from outside.
When it is not the heater at all
A shutoff valve closed after other plumbing work is the most common false alarm, and it is the first thing to check if a plumber or a contractor has been in the house.
One tap with no hot water is usually a cartridge or a closed stop valve under the fixture, not the heater. A whole-house loss that takes the cold side too is a supply problem, and in an apartment or a shared building it may be a central system the landlord needs to know about.
When to stop and call
- You can smell gas.
- Water is pooling at the base of the tank, or the tank is wet along its seam.
- There is scorching, a burnt smell, or discoloured wiring at the unit or the junction box.
- The breaker trips again after being reset.
- You have done the four checks and there is still no hot water.
- The unit is more than about ten years old and the hot water has turned rusty.
A diagnostic visit covers the four checks above, the meter and the element or thermocouple test, and a straight answer on whether this is a part or a tank. If it is a part, the repair page sets out what is worth fixing. If the tank is leaking, no repair fixes that, and the leaking page starts with shutting the water off.
For the part-by-part diagnosis on a unit that runs but never gets hot, the not heating page covers the element, thermostat, thermocouple and reset in more detail. The hub routes the other problem pages.
Questions we get asked
What should I check if I have no hot water?
Check whether the whole house is out or one tap, then whether the unit has power or gas, then the breaker or the pilot, then any wall switch or shutoff valve. Most cases that look serious turn out to be one of those four.
Why would I suddenly have no hot water?
A sudden loss with the unit still powered usually means a part failed: an element or a thermostat on electric, a thermocouple on gas. A gradual loss points at sediment, a dip tube or an element on its way out. Sudden failure does not mean the tank is finished.
Why is my hot water heater running but not heating?
The unit is getting power but not transferring it to the water. On electric that is usually the element, the high-limit reset or a thermostat. On gas it is usually the thermocouple or the gas control valve. The not heating page works through both fuel types in order.
Who do I call when my water heater is not working?
If you smell gas, leave and call the gas utility first. Otherwise call a plumber and describe the unit: whether it has power, whether the pilot lights, and whether there is water at the base. That is usually enough to tell a part from a tank before anyone arrives.
Call (719) 435-8785 and describe what the unit is doing. If it is a part, we will say so. If it is the tank, we will say that too.