Water Heater Repair in Florence, SC
Tell us what your water heater is doing, and a licensed contractor who covers Florence County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Power blinks off, and your water heater has to restart itself
Florence County sees its share of wind. Ninety-seven damaging wind events and three winter storms have hit the area over the past ten years, and storms like that knock out power. Statewide, nearly half of households went at least a day without electricity in 2024. Every time the power drops and comes back, an electric water heater's thermostat and heating element have to pick up again, and a gas unit's igniter has to relight the burner.
A unit that has been quietly failing can survive on a steady supply and still not make it through a restart. That is when a worn heating element or a bad igniter finally gives out, and you notice with a shower that never gets past lukewarm.
- 36°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 failed inside. Water heater tanks corrode from the inside out over years of use, and once rust eats through the steel, water finds its way out the bottom or seeps out around the base. A leak can also come from a drain valve that isn't seated right or fittings on the bottom of the tank, so it's worth checking those before assuming the worst. If the tank itself is rusted through, it needs to be replaced, not patched.
- Why won't the pilot light on my water heater stay lit?
- The most common cause is a worn thermocouple or flame sensor, the part that tells the gas valve the pilot is actually burning. When it wears out or gets coated in soot, it can't sense the flame properly and shuts the gas off as a safety measure. A dirty pilot orifice or a draft hitting the flame can cause the same problem. A contractor can test the thermocouple and clean or replace it, which usually solves it.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most tankless water heater problems are repairable. Common issues include a scaled up heat exchanger, a failed igniter, or an error code pointing to a sensor or flow problem, and a contractor can diagnose which part is causing it. Tankless units also need the heat exchanger flushed periodically to clear mineral buildup, especially where water is hard. A repair is usually possible unless the heat exchanger itself has cracked or corroded through.