Water Heater Repair in Charleston, SC
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What Charleston County storms do to a water heater
Charleston County sees more damaging wind than any other kind of weather, 304 events over the last ten years. That kind of wind takes down power lines. In South Carolina, 45% of households went at least 24 hours without power last year. A gas water heater with a standing pilot stays lit through an outage and keeps giving you hot water. An electric one, or a gas unit with an electronic igniter, goes cold until the power comes back.
Winters here are short, five months of real heat calls from November through March. Nights still average 41°F over that stretch. That is enough for a tank on its way out to start showing it, water that takes longer to feel hot, or a pilot that will not stay lit on a cold morning.
- 41°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 5 months
- November through March, the months homes here need heat
- 45%
- of South Carolina 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 $300 a year off hot water for a typical South Carolina home.
Estimates for a typical South Carolina home, compared with an older unit built to the federal minimum, from EIA household energy data and South Carolina 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 of the time this means the tank itself has rusted through and is failing. Sediment builds up on the bottom of the tank over the years, and it eats away at the steel underneath until a small hole opens up. A leak can also come from a loose drain valve or a fitting on top that's dripping down the side, so it's worth drying the tank off and checking where the water first appears. If the tank itself is leaking, it needs to be replaced. There's no repair that seals a hole in the tank.
- Why won't the pilot light on my water heater stay lit?
- This is usually the thermocouple, the small sensor that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve it's safe to keep the gas flowing. Once it wears out, it can't sense the flame properly and the gas valve shuts everything down, even though you just relit it. A dirty pilot orifice or a draft blowing the flame around can cause the same thing. A contractor can test the thermocouple in a few minutes and replace it if it's bad, which is a common, straightforward fix.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most problems with a tankless unit are repairable. Common issues are a clogged inlet filter, a failed igniter, an error code from the flow sensor, or mineral scale building up on the heat exchanger, and all of these can be fixed without replacing the unit. Scale buildup is worth watching for since it reduces how well the unit heats water and can shorten its life if it's never flushed out. A contractor can pull the error code or inspect the unit to say exactly what's wrong.