Agree...sometimes it's hard to see because it 's so small. Get out your set of hex wrenches. It will probably be 1/8" at the most; often smaller.

I did, i looked and looked, there's a round indent where a screw looks like it should go, but there is no sides for a hex wrench to grab on to. its perfectly round inside.

Sound's like someone striped it out but the plumber can get it out. It's done with a drill bit and/or easy out screw extractor.

Can you see that it's rounded? Also, it might be metric. In any case, they can be finicky...you need to go straight in.

yah, i looked up inside the hole with a flashlight and it is perfectly round. theres a tiny indent, like its supposed to fit a tool but idk what tool would do it.

"idk what tool would do it."

Why worry about it,the faucet will be changed out next Saturday. If you mess with it now and break it,you will have to call for emergency service.

Lol because people were still asking me about it.

Hi,

Did you check the nearest hot water in a sink, do you get the same result? If not the problem is related to the shower. Could be the mixing valve or the shower head. The ambient temperature of air will cool the water coming out of a shower head with a fine spray.

Good Luck Woodbutcher

Yah, thats what the plumber thinks the issue is. My wife says that even when the shower runs out of hot water, the sink still has plenty, I've never experienced that though, so I havent included it in any of my descriptions of the issue. After the plumber fixed the leak and changed the dip tube out, he said that he thinks the issue is the mixing valve in the shower it'self. He's coming Saturday to replace it.

Good luck...will be Interested to hear if that fixes things.

It did not fix the issue, we're still running out of hot water. We realized last winter that if we run the washing machine before we get in the shower that we'll have more hot water, so I've been setting it on a delay so it'll run right before I wake up in the morning. That has helped a bit, and changing out the fixture has helped a bit. We get about 20 minutes of (relatively) warm water, which is plenty for me in the mornings. Today was a little different, but it was -7 degrees outside when I woke up this morning, so I can't really count today towards our issue. Just happy our water lines are safe.

So are you going to live with it,wag at it some more or bring in a professional to fix it?

Sorry to say this, but I think I was right when I said to replace it (10 years old). You have already tried everything else. I think the thermostat is being slow to respond.

Bizarre that running the washer makes MORE hot water.

"Bizarre that running the washer makes MORE hot water."

Not really,,,,,,if,,,,,,that is true a competent professional would take it in consideration while systematically finding the problem.

I don’t think the fact that the washer running an hour prior to you using the shower seems to give you MORE hot water is weird at all. It makes PERFECT sense.

The washer is pulling all the OLD hot water from the heater. This causes the heater to kick on and produce NEW hot water - ready just in time for you to take a shower. This NEW hot water hasn’t had any time at all to set (and probably cool a little) in the heater; it’s freshly hot and ready to go.

Where is your water heater? In a semi-heated area? Near a cold wall? In the garage? I suggest the already-heated water inside it is cooling off before you use it. Have you tried putting a water heater jacket on it?

"LittleBug: I suggest the already-heated water inside it is cooling off before you use it."

That would mean something on the unit is malfunctioning, such as the thermostat. It should otherwise engage the gas burner to maintain the target temperature when the water in the tank cools below a differential point, same as an oven cycles the heat on/off to maintain the target baking temperature. An insulation blanket is not a fix for that.

The heater is in our basement, which does get chilly sometimes but is far from cold. It's along an interior wall so there's no exposure to the outside (at least not on the water heater itself). I've considered wrapping the heater in a thermal blanket or whatever they're called, but the sides of the heater are just barely warm. It doesn't seem to me that it's losing heat out of the sides.

The impact of running the washer before-hand makes me think that it could be the thermostat, but when the hot water gets low I can hear the burner kick on. I haven't stood next to it while someone else showered though, to see exactly how long it takes to kick on.

That does seem to be the only think that makes sense though, the thermostat isn't kicking on as quickly as it should be, so it's not able to start heating the incoming water early enough to keep it from cooling down the already heated water.

If the thermostat has some sediment build-up around it, that could definitely cause it to take longer to recognize that the temperature has dropped, but there was no indication that any sediment was in the heater at all when I flushed it out.

I have no problem replacing the water heater, my concern is that I'll do that, and we'll still have the same issues Then we'll be out a thousand dollars and still be in the same position.

On a separate note, I just want to say, thank you. You guys have been invaluable to me while I try to figure this thing out. Even having someone to bounce ideas off of makes a big difference and you all on this site have made a difference for me.

Hi Daniel,

I’d be interested to see how you make out, I have the same EXACT problem, I’m in NJ. I had the same issue with my old water heater, which I replaced a year ago, and having the same problem with the new one now! My water heater is a Whirlpool though. I’m stumped. I haven’t tried he heating jacket, similarly though my heater is in the middle of the basement and it really doesn’t get THAT cold down there. I could try though and see if that does the trick. Good luck!

Hello Nichole,welcome to houzz. If the jacket doesn't solve your problem,you might consider starting a new thread unless you are serious about your problem being exactly the same as was discussed here,including the washing machine oddity. Is your heater gas? Have you already tried everything suggested above? Did you perform the heater replacement and the attempted solutions?

It may still be the incoming water temp. I have city water and in the winter, the water temp is considerable colder in the winter. Water mains on our street are not very deep.

Hi, I suggested to check the shower head on a previous post. I will explain why.

I have a mobile home in San Diego about 50 Years old.I re plumbed it a couple of years ago and brought the risers up under the lav sink one for the sink and one for the shower the distance between the sink and shower is less than 4ft.

the valve for the shower is a old Price Phister two handles with washers and seats goes directly to the shower head no modern things in the way.I turn the lav sink to get the water hot ( I can't hold my hand under it). I shut the lav off and turn on only the hot on the shower and only get luke warm water out of the shower head. I changed the shower head and the problem was cured.

The old shower head was a water saver with a fine spray the new one has a heavier spray. If this works for you it's much cheaper than a water heater.

Good Luck Woodbutcher

If a feller ran both the washer and basin ,water should get hot enough to scald hogs in the tub.

im a bit late to the discussion, but we’re having pretty much the same issue. We actually did replace the water heater in May of this year but then realized that we were still having the problem when November rolled around. I’m curious if you ever came to a conclusion about this Problem? We have city water as well, with a 50 gallon tank, and it is in our garage. It seems to run out after around 15 minutes.

Mary, I’d wonder if the supply lines from the tank to the house run through an unheated zone.

It might be worth asking if your city water source changes. I used to be in charge of water quality for a large FAB, and our city water supply changed at various times from well water to the Colorado River.

Mary, we have yet to figure anything new out with ours. Likely to change the water heater out this year for a larger one, but worried it won't make much of a difference for us either.

We have found that of we run some hot water out and let it refill before we shower, then it will last longer. But still nowhere near as long as it lasts in the warmer months.

This seems pretty clear to me - at least the situation with the OP.

The thermostat on the water heater isn't responding properly. It's not turning on soon enough and it's overheating also. A heavy build up of lime can cause this problem, or simply a defective thermostat.

Drawing hot water causes the temp to drop low enough to kick on and heat the tank.

Replace the heater. Way too much time and money has been spent trying to avoid replacing the heater.

Yah, we've lived with it long enough. Replacing the dip tupe is all we've spent on it tho. We've found ways to manage and work around it, but we need a larger heater anyway. We have 4 people living here now (2 adults 2 children) so a 50 gallon tank doesnt really cut it anyways.

A 50 gal gas water heater - if it's working properly - should do fine for a family of 4 unless they are filling a large tub or taking back to back long showers.

Hi Just an idea. When you take a shower and the water gets cool, you or have some one else turn on the hot water at the closest sink and check if that water is cool.

Woodbutcher

i am having exactly the same problem with a 1 1/2 year old Bradford White 40 gallon. We have checked all the sinks in the house after the hot water starts to fade ~10mins and there is only lukewarm water all over the house.. Am interested in this thread as my heater is new

That's really strange. I would assume it's still under warranty tho, you should call whoever installed it and have them check it out. I'd be interested to know what they say.

funny I did and they charged me $180 to tell me well it is heating and to call the manufacturer. Really not helpful

If it's all but new and it produces more than enough hot water in Summer than in my opinion the problem is that the water is entering the tank much colder in winter and it simply can't keep up with the demand of raising the 40 degree water to 120 degrees or whatever you're set to.

The thermostatic mixing valve I described and linked to above could solve the problem for a minimum outlay. It worked for us. But eventually we replaced our heater with a tankless heater and we LOVE it. We can now take endless hot showers year round and our gas bill dropped quite a bit.

@Helene Hart - This sounds like an issue with Bradford White water heaters. Try doing what the Original Poster did - run hot water for a while to kick the heater on, then after the heater has shut off see how long the water stays hot.

I suspect these have defective thermostats that are allowing the water to cool off too much before they turn the burner on.

likley has to do with the incoming water temp If you are noticing a summer winter difference. In my case our water mains in my area are pretty shallow. In the winter the incoming temp is in the around 42 degrees. In the summer it’s around 60 degrees. I have a 40 gallon indirect tank plumbed off my boiler. You can’t run that out of hot water. I am not a pro, but in your case, a tempering valve on the output of the Heater will likley solve the issue. When this is installed run the water heater at 140 degrees and use the valve to mix to 120. as you likley have cold incoming water, be careful of considering a tankless on demand. They have a maximum temp rise and in my case that winter temp would fail big time with a tankless.

@jimct01 did you read any of what was posted already? And yes, a properly size tankless water heater will provide plenty of hot water at that temperature rise.

I live in NYC where our winter water comes in off the main in the low 40s. We have a tankless heater -- a higher-end Rinnai. It's set to 130 and it can provide truly endless hot water in the dead of winter. And by truly endless I mean 4+ hours. (Don't ask me how I know this.)

Yah, I'm actually looking into tankless options now, seems like the prices have finally started dropping to a reasonable amount. That may be the answer.

The price of the unit isn't the real cost -- the real cost is in the installation.

If you're concerned about cost and your existing heater has a good bit of life, the Honeywell tempering valve linked to above will cost 1/10th as much and the install cost will be 1/5th or 1/10th as much.

It's amusing to watch "houzzers" chase their tails but can also educational in human nature. There's no problem too complex for posting and in turn,well meaning people tackling with instructions. I spent decades in and around building trades and on the average it took 6 months of trade school and/or a couple years apprenticing before I was able to do the work. After all that experience,I can't tell someone how to troubleshoot and/or repair in 25 words "UNLESS" they at least know which tools and material is required, Numerous times I've asked people wanting to make diy repairs if they thought they could tell greenhorns how to do their job in 25 words or less. Surely one of you folks play violin,I would love to play Bruch"s Violin Concerto #1 for my granddaughter's wedding. I've seen it performed several times and it look's so easy,please,pretty please tell me how. Tax time is coming up and my cpa charge's me $1,500 to $2,000. I've tried making sense of the tax code but can't grasp it from printed material,anyone want to help me out here? Last but certainly not least is how to cut my own hair. It has to be simple since hairdressers and barbers talk,wave scissors and look at people waiting as much as they do guy in the chair. Thank you so very much.

Klem1, what's your point? Many of the people posting have already involved a supposedly "skilled" tradesperson and still don't have a resolution to their problem. It doesn't hurt to ask for advice before hiring another skilled tradesperson to take a look.

Nancy, no discernible point obvious. I think he's trying to stir the pot.

"Klem1, what's your point?" If I were to condense it to a single point it would be "common sense will always serve one better than asking strangers on the net". Thee single thing that helps prevent being ripped off by bottom feeders posing as service providers is spend time talking over the fence and on Social media telling neighbors about blood suckers as well as reliable pros instead of chatting with strangers 2k miles away. Although the majority of USA citizens believe they need not make an effort because Big Brother is looking out for them,that's not true. If you want it,go and get it because the yahoos that convinced majority of voters they will handle it are not going to come through when you need them. Have you noticed all the surveys from people you favor by spending money with them? Don't waste your time,give them publicity by word of mouth and other means. One of those "other means" that is underutilized is local news media. Make the effort to get the goods on scammers,outright inept jazz-axes that claim to know what they are doing. If you get 3 or more individuals willing to stand up,you can get a local story. Once news breaks,the contractor will straighten up or get out of business. Often when they go out of business,they start another business and ride it long as possible. Stay on top and twist their tail if they go back to old tricks.

Getting back to the problem at hand. Common sense would have a homeowner check and record incoming water temp,check and record temp of supply,run water til burner come's on,turn facuet off until burner go's off, attach a garden hose to a hot faucet,stick hose in 55 gallon barrel with a secound barrelstanding by ,record time (alternatly you fill your tub if you calculate tub capacity (1 cu ft= 7.5 gallons). A helper can man one post or you can run back and forth to see how long til burner come's on and test and record temp on about 5 minute intervals. If temp hold's up after burner come's on (it should) keep testing temp at facuet at 1 minute intervals until it get;s less than would be comfortable for showering. Turn facuet off, record time and record time that burner go's off. Subtract starting cold temp from starting hot temp. Time to burner off and temp differential of hot and cold alow's calculating recovery which is the true test of heater function. A builder grade 50 gallon should heat 40 gallons of 30f incoming to 120f per hour (re-heat cold 50 gal tank 90f above incoming) Those #s will tell a pro where to begin. Nancy that fall's under common sense. I didn't see anyone mention doing or suggesting anything like that. If non of that ring's a bell,perhaps the fact suffing the net for 3 years hasn't solved Daniel's problem so common sense should tell us there must be a better approach. (:

@klem1

I think you've been shut in just a little too long.

From my view, this is about a TStat that isn't responding correctly. It waits too long to come on - and too long to shut off. This isn't a common problem with water heaters - and if that's the issue, it's going to be hard to troubleshoot.

There is another post from someone else with a Bradford White with the same issue.

This is feom 4 years ago - what ended up being the problem and solution? I habe thr same problem with my water heater. I had a plumber come out a couple years ago through my home warranty and he tried to sell me on gettign a pressure reducing system installed (not covered by my warranty of course) and that sounded like a scam so I didnt bite.

The water heater's thermostat isn't functioning properly. It is overheating and not turning on quickly enough. Drawing hot water lowers the temperature sufficiently for the heater to turn on and heat the tank.

I think it's better to Replace the heater. Thanks.