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Gas water heater - Gas need to be on for pressure?

11 years ago

I am sorry, this is probably a stupid question. I just purchased a home this friday and the water is not coming out very good at all. The house has gas to it (unlike my current condo which only has electric). My question is: Does the gas need to be on for the water heater to pump the water through the lines?

I know the gas is what heats the water, but does it also push it out as well? I know this is probably a common sense thing, but I never had to mess with this stuff before.

Thanks!

Will

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Comments (10)

bus_driver
11 years ago
The gas has nothing to do with normal water pressure.
brinked
Original Author
11 years ago
oh ok. thanks for answering my question.

The water is not coming out with much pressure on the first floor. On the second floor, there is no water coming out at all.

The water was working perfectly the day before we closed. I setup my account with the water company and they said the water is turned on. The water company sent someone but left a notice, I am not yet occupying the residence so I wasnt there, I cant live in a place that has no running water.
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Could this be a leak? Yes, it could. But there are other possibilities that replacing the heater will not cure. A leak, especially from a gas water heater, is highly unlikely to be intermittent. Thus the water at the bottom would continue to become greater. Nothing in the description indicates that to be the case. If the water supply is municipal, this is the time when the incoming water supply gets quite cold, just above freezing. Long hot showers are enjoyed and if a heater is set at 120 degrees, almost all of the flow from the shower head is from the heater. The flue gases from burned natural gas are, by volume, 2/3 water vapor and 1/3 carbon dioxide. That flue gas water will condense upon contacting cold surface--- just like the outside surface of a cold drinking glass. Turning the heater from 120 to 140 for a few days is a simple sensible test to determine if the water is condensation. If it is condensation, and the heater is replaced, and the condensation continues-- your landlord will not be pleased at the unnecessary expenditure.
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ramona1976
11 years ago
In my area the utility would turn on the service at their meter, but leave it turned off at the house. Check the shutoff valve at the service entrance, you may find that it is turned off. If it is old, you may also find that it broke when someone turned it off or tried to turn it back on.
weedmeister
11 years ago
You have no cold water either?
brinked
Original Author
11 years ago
the flow is very slow and only on the first floor and there is only cold water, but the pressure is so low its hard to make any use of it anyway.

I guess I will have to wait until monday for the water company to send someone back there.
brickeyee
11 years ago
Check and see if the main valve in the house is not open fully.

They are normally a ball or gate valve.

The gate valve takes a lot of turns to open all the way.
Keep turning it counterclockwise until it stops.
AliceHasLeftTheBuilding
11 years ago
Keep turning counterclockwise until it stops, then turn 1/4 turn clockwise - this will prevent binding up your valve.
brickeyee
11 years ago
"this will prevent binding up your valve."

And may cause leaking at the packing by not back seating the valve.
sofaspud
11 years ago
Is there a water outlet valve for your hot water heater, and is it all the way open?
fa_f3_20
11 years ago
You may have a water pressure regulator somewhere in your main that has failed. I've seen this happen before, and it does what you describe... very low pressure. In the Southeast U.S., they typically bury these things in the yard 2-3 feet downstream from the meter. There's usually a box around it, but a lot of the time, the box fills with dirt and then the yard grows over it.

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