How do I turn on this hot water heater?
March 26, 2022 10:55 AM Subscribe
My landlord had a workman working in my laundry room a couple days ago, and since then I've had no hot water. I think the workman turned off the water heater while he was working, so it wouldn't be so hot in there, but the landlord denies that and won't help. Fine. How do I turn the thing on myself? Pics inside.
Never have I been so grateful for the lifting of the once-a-week posting limit! Here are some pics of the water heater (top, label, where a dial should be?, arrow points to ON, valve near the bottom, valve near the top, valve on the front, valve on the right.) Thanks for any guidance! I do have pliers and various tools.
Never have I been so grateful for the lifting of the once-a-week posting limit! Here are some pics of the water heater (top, label, where a dial should be?, arrow points to ON, valve near the bottom, valve near the top, valve on the front, valve on the right.) Thanks for any guidance! I do have pliers and various tools.
Best answer: All those settings look correct to me. Perhaps the pilot light has gone out? Somewhere near the pilot valve you should be able to peek in and see the pilot light.
No hot water is a habitability issue in most if not all states and should be treated as an emergency by your landlord. If he doesn't respond and repair within a reasonable amount of time you can typically report him to the city and/or break your lease. Another remedy allowed may be to notify your landlord that you will hire your own plumber to fix the problem and deduct from rent. Or you may be able to withhold next month's rent until it is repaired. But your local laws will vary.
posted by muddgirl at 11:05 AM on March 26, 2022 [11 favorites]
No hot water is a habitability issue in most if not all states and should be treated as an emergency by your landlord. If he doesn't respond and repair within a reasonable amount of time you can typically report him to the city and/or break your lease. Another remedy allowed may be to notify your landlord that you will hire your own plumber to fix the problem and deduct from rent. Or you may be able to withhold next month's rent until it is repaired. But your local laws will vary.
posted by muddgirl at 11:05 AM on March 26, 2022 [11 favorites]
If the pilot light is out you can indeed restart it but first turn the pilot knob to OFF and wait 15 minutes just to be safe. There should be relight instructions posted it may involve certain timings for when to press the green button and for how long.
posted by muddgirl at 11:08 AM on March 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by muddgirl at 11:08 AM on March 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
One last thing, that water heater is 10 years old which is around the average lifespan of a water heater. It may have nothing to do with the workman, it may just be broken. Again in most places your landlord is legally required to provide hot water.
posted by muddgirl at 11:13 AM on March 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by muddgirl at 11:13 AM on March 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
Here are the instructions to relight the pilot light (page 14) if it has gone out.
posted by ssg at 11:40 AM on March 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by ssg at 11:40 AM on March 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
I bet you have a gas dryer in your laundry. If the workers were working in your laundry room, they probably turned off the gas main as a safety measure. Fortunately this keeps them from blowing up themselves/your home. Unfortunately turning off the gas means there's nothing feeding your water heater, so the pilot surely went out. Good news/bad news relighting a pilot is easy/if the mechanism is in good shape.
(I lived for nearly a decade in an apartment with a gas furnace with a broken pilot mechanism that went out constantly and was a real piece of shit to relight.)
There's generally a little window down near the igniter mechanism, it's probably covered with a piece of metal and some insulation. Go ahead and pull that off and take a peek. Then follow the pilot relighting instructions someone dropped above.
If you can't get it relit after two tries, your landlord must get involved.
posted by phunniemee at 11:47 AM on March 26, 2022
(I lived for nearly a decade in an apartment with a gas furnace with a broken pilot mechanism that went out constantly and was a real piece of shit to relight.)
There's generally a little window down near the igniter mechanism, it's probably covered with a piece of metal and some insulation. Go ahead and pull that off and take a peek. Then follow the pilot relighting instructions someone dropped above.
If you can't get it relit after two tries, your landlord must get involved.
posted by phunniemee at 11:47 AM on March 26, 2022
Agree that the gas turn off may have put out the pilot light. Want to add that with proper maintainance a hot water heater can go well beyond 10 years. The biggest thing to do is replace the sacrificial anode and drain as necessary to reduce it rusting out internally. Your landlord should be doing those things, but I know a lot don't. Good luck with a relight.
posted by dstopps at 12:29 PM on March 26, 2022
posted by dstopps at 12:29 PM on March 26, 2022
Response by poster: I can't figure out how to get the plastic shield over the bottom of the heater off without breaking it, and anyway Muddgirl makes an excellent point -- this should not be MY freaking problem. I'm giving the landlord 24 hours from last night when I told him about the problem, then repair-and-deduct. Thanks, all!
posted by pH Indicating Socks at 1:07 PM on March 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by pH Indicating Socks at 1:07 PM on March 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
Be sure to follow the guidance on that page to document your plan in writing (an email or letter to the landlord) before doing anything related to not paying your full rent. You don't want to mess around with that sort of thing unless you have everything carefully documented first. Maybe send a polite email explaining the lack of hot water and asking about the landlord's timetable for fixing it, and mentioning your plan?
posted by mediareport at 3:27 AM on March 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by mediareport at 3:27 AM on March 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
Be sure to notice this part: "Allow the landlord a reasonable amount of time (usually 30 days) to fix the problem."
posted by mediareport at 3:29 AM on March 27, 2022
posted by mediareport at 3:29 AM on March 27, 2022
I can't figure out how to get the plastic shield over the bottom of the heater off without breaking it
More photos please.
posted by flabdablet at 6:22 AM on March 27, 2022
More photos please.
posted by flabdablet at 6:22 AM on March 27, 2022
My understanding is that in California there is no legal definition of "reasonable time" and 30 days typically applies to issues that don't affect habitability. So the courts have typically considered much much shorter periods of time for lack of water or heat - closer to 24-72 hours.
posted by muddgirl at 9:01 AM on March 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by muddgirl at 9:01 AM on March 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: a polite email explaining the lack of hot water... a reasonable amount of time (usually 30 days)...
Mediareport, are you new to this planet and/or species? Does it seem reasonable to you to go 30 days without the ability to properly clean your dishes or your body?
You don't want to mess around with that sort of thing unless
Ha! Wish a [landlord] would. The plumber is here now.
posted by pH Indicating Socks at 10:21 AM on March 27, 2022
Mediareport, are you new to this planet and/or species? Does it seem reasonable to you to go 30 days without the ability to properly clean your dishes or your body?
You don't want to mess around with that sort of thing unless
Ha! Wish a [landlord] would. The plumber is here now.
posted by pH Indicating Socks at 10:21 AM on March 27, 2022
Not arguing, just emphasizing the importance of playing *very* carefully by all relevant laws if you ever, as a renter, start down the road of deducting or withholding rent, as doing it improperly can get you in serious trouble. Good luck with your bad landlord.
posted by mediareport at 4:22 PM on March 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by mediareport at 4:22 PM on March 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by pipeski at 11:05 AM on March 26, 2022 [1 favorite]