Water Heater Repair in Ely, NV
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What Ely winters do to a water heater
Groundwater coming into your house is already cold from ten months of heating season, and on nights that average 17°F it gets colder still. The tank has to work harder to bring it up to temperature, and it runs longer to do it. That extra runtime wears on the heating element or the burner assembly, and on the thermostat that tells them when to fire.
Power loss adds to this. Nevada saw 13% of households lose power for a day or more in 2024, and White Pine County has logged 226 winter storms and 246 damaging wind events over the past ten years. When power drops, an electric water heater stops heating until it comes back, and most units start up again on their own once it does. If yours doesn't, or if the water is lukewarm at best after an outage, something in the heating circuit needs a look.
- 17°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 10 months
- September through June, the months homes here need heat
- 13%
- of Nevada 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
A new water heater would cut about $240 a year off hot water for a typical Nevada home.
Estimates for a typical Nevada home, compared with an older unit built to the federal minimum, from EIA household energy data and Nevada fuel prices. Your home will differ.
Repair makes sense when an element, thermostat or gas valve has failed.
Replacement makes sense when the tank itself is leaking.
- Why is my water heater leaking from the bottom?
- Most of the time this means the tank itself has failed. Water heater tanks corrode from the inside over years, and once the metal gives way, the leak is not something that can be patched or sealed. If the leak is coming from a fitting or valve instead of the tank body, that can sometimes be repaired, so it is worth having a contractor look before you assume the tank is done.
- Why won't the pilot light on my water heater stay lit?
- This usually points to a weak or failing thermocouple, the small sensor that tells the gas valve the pilot is burning. When it wears out, it shuts the gas off even though the flame is lit. A dirty pilot orifice or a draft in the area can also blow the flame out or keep it from sensing correctly. A contractor can test the thermocouple and replace it, which is a straightforward fix once the cause is confirmed.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most problems with a tankless unit are repairable. A failed igniter, a clogged inlet filter, scale on the heat exchanger, or an error code from a sensor can usually be fixed without replacing the whole unit. Tankless units also have more electronic parts than a tank model, so a contractor needs to check the actual fault code before knowing what the repair involves.