Water Heater Repair in Granite City, IL
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What Granite City winters do to a water heater
Your water heater works harder from October through April, with incoming water running cold for seven months of the year. It has to raise that water further to get it hot, so the burner or the heating element runs longer each time you turn on a tap.
Granite City has seen 11 winter storms and 86 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and in Illinois last year 16% of households lost power for at least a day. If your water heater is electric, an outage means no hot water until the power comes back. If it runs on gas with an electronic ignition, the same is true unless it has a standing pilot, which stays lit on its own.
- 25°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 7 months
- October through April, the months homes here need heat
- 16%
- of Illinois 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 $60 a year off hot water for a typical Illinois home.
Estimates for a typical Illinois home, compared with an older unit built to the federal minimum, from EIA household energy data and Illinois 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 often the tank itself has rusted through, and once that happens the tank has to be replaced, not repaired. The other common cause is the drain valve or a fitting on the bottom that has loosened or corroded, which a contractor can often fix without replacing the tank. Condensation can also pool underneath and look like a leak when it is not. Shut off the water and power to the tank and have someone look at it before the leak gets worse.
- Why won't the pilot light on my water heater stay lit?
- The thermocouple is the usual reason. It is the small sensor that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve the pilot is lit, and once it wears out it cools too fast and shuts the gas off even though the pilot is burning. A dirty or partly blocked pilot tube can cause the same problem. Either one is a straightforward fix for a contractor, and a standing pilot doesn't use any power, so this isn't related to an outage.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most problems with a tankless water heater are repairable. A failed igniter, a clogged inlet filter, or mineral buildup on the heat exchanger are the common causes, and a contractor can clean or replace those parts without swapping out the whole unit. Hard water buildup is worth asking about specifically, since it's what shortens the life of these units fastest. A contractor can tell you whether repair or replacement makes more sense once they see the unit.