1994 Commodore hot water

[devilonmyback]

I have a 1994 12x56 sitting hard by the jersey shore. The water pipes are wrapped with heating tape that runs all the time. Modulating the hot water is very difficult, particularly in the bathroom which is butting up against the hot water heater. Theres plenty of hot water at the bath and kitchen faucet, but hard to regulate. The water out of the bath faucet has to be "tweaked" numerous times with the cold before sticking your hands under it, otherwise you'll scald yourself. The kitchen is similar but not as bad. The HW heater is an electric with 30 gal capacity, and it doesn't last very long when taking a shower. I replaced the heating coil which improved it but did not fix it.

So; I have two problems; one is modulating the temps of the water at the two faucets, and the second is overall lack of hot water when showering, with a 30 gallon unit with a new element.

[Greg]

There are a few things that may be causing the problem.
First, do you have 2 elements, one top & one bottom? If you are running with only 1 element working that will cause the problem you are having.
Next, It is possible that you have a thermostat going bad that will also give you the condition you have.
Did you flush out the tank when you changed the element? Sediment & crud build up on the bottom sometimes to the point that the bottom element is covered.
If you are on Well water and not municipal water I would look at replacing the heater. You can buy a new one for less than $300, There comes a point that an 18 yr.old unit just is not worth putting the money into. When you figure in the energy savings of a new unit it makes sense.

Greg

[1987Commodore]

Do you have a low flow (1.5 gal/min) shower head installed? Seems if the water were that hot, you would be mixing a lot of cold with it, so the hot should last longer. I have a 40 gallon tank (gas,) but I can take good long hot showers. Also, as Greg said, make sure you don't have two elements, with only one working.
Another thought, perhaps the dip tube in the tank has corroded away, letting the water stratify in the tank.

[devilonmyback]

To my recollection its only got one element, and the system is on municipal water, not well water. I could try to replace the thermostat as my next solution.