Water Heater Repair in Lexington-Fayette urban county, KY
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What winter here does to your water heater
Your water heater works harder from October through April, seven months of the year, as incoming water runs colder and the tank has to make up more ground before it reaches the tap. On the nights that drop to 27°F, that gap is bigger still, and the burner or heating element runs longer to close it.
That extra run time wears on the parts that do the heating, the burner assembly in a gas unit or the heating elements in an electric one. When one starts to fail, you notice hot water that runs out faster than it used to, or water that never gets as hot as it should. Power is part of it too. Nearly a quarter of Kentucky households lost power for 24 hours or more in 2024, and a water heater that goes cold in a winter outage takes time to catch back up once the power is on.
- 27°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 7 months
- October through April, the months homes here need heat
- 24%
- of Kentucky 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 $270 a year off hot water for a typical Kentucky home.
Estimates for a typical Kentucky home, compared with an older unit built to the federal minimum, from EIA household energy data and Kentucky 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?
- The most common cause is the tank itself, rusted through from the inside after years of sitting full of water. Once a steel tank corrodes and starts to leak, there is no patch or seal that fixes it, since the failure is in the metal itself. Water at the bottom can also come from a loose drain valve or a fitting that has worked itself loose, and those a contractor can repair without replacing anything. A contractor can tell you which one you have by checking the valve and fittings first, before assuming the tank is done.
- Why won't the pilot light on my water heater stay lit?
- Usually the thermocouple has worn out and stopped sensing that the pilot is lit, so the gas valve shuts it off as a safety measure. A weak pilot flame, a dirty pilot orifice, or a draft reaching the pilot can also blow it out or keep the thermocouple from heating properly. This is a repair a licensed contractor can diagnose and fix, usually by cleaning or replacing the thermocouple. Do not keep relighting it over and over. If it will not hold after a couple of tries, that is the signal to get it looked at.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most problems in a tankless water heater are repairable. Issues like a fouled heat exchanger, a failed ignitor, mineral buildup from hard water, or an error code from a sensor are things a contractor can diagnose and fix without replacing the unit. Tankless units also have no tank to rust out, which is the failure that usually ends a tank water heater's life for good. A contractor can check the unit's error history and internal parts to tell you whether what you're dealing with is a repair or something bigger.