Water Heater Repair in Arnold, MO
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What winter here does to your water heater
Arnold homes need heat from October through April, seven months of the year, and the water coming into your tank is cold that whole stretch. The burner or the elements have to run longer to bring it up to temperature, and that extra runtime is what wears out a thermostat or a heating element in an electric unit, or a burner assembly in a gas one.
Jefferson County has had 11 winter storms and 53 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and storms like that knock out power. In Missouri, 19% of households went at least a full day without it in 2024. A gas water heater with a standing pilot will keep heating through an outage. One with electric ignition will not, and you will notice when the hot water runs out and does not come back until the power does.
- 25°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 7 months
- October through April, the months homes here need heat
- 19%
- of Missouri 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 $270 a year off hot water for a typical Missouri home.
Estimates for a typical Missouri home, compared with an older unit built to the federal minimum, from EIA household energy data and Missouri 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?
- The most common reason is that the tank itself has rusted through from the inside and is starting to fail. Water heaters don't leak from the bottom for small reasons. Once the tank corrodes, water works its way out through the seams or the base, and no fitting or valve can be tightened to stop it. It's also worth checking the drain valve and the fittings above the tank, since a loose connection there can drip down and pool at the bottom, making it look like the tank is the problem when it isn't. A leak from the tank itself means the water heater needs to be replaced, not repaired.
- Why won't the pilot light on my water heater stay lit?
- Most of the time this comes down to the thermocouple, the small sensor that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve it's safe to keep the gas flowing. When it wears out or gets coated with residue, it stops reading the flame correctly and shuts the gas off even though the pilot is lit. A weak or dirty pilot orifice can cause the same problem by keeping the flame too small to reach the thermocouple. Either way, this isn't something to keep relighting on your own since it involves the gas supply.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most tankless water heater problems can be fixed without replacing the unit. Common issues include a clogged inlet filter, mineral buildup on the heat exchanger, an igniter that's failing, or an error code pointing to a sensor problem. Tankless units are built to be serviced, and their parts, like the flow sensor or the igniter, can usually be replaced on their own. A contractor can run the diagnostics for the specific error and tell you what's actually failing.