Water Heater Repair in Montgomery, AL
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What Montgomery County does to a water heater
Montgomery winters are mild. Nights average 38°F from December through February, so the tank itself is not working hard against the cold. The bigger risk here is wind. The county has logged 34 damaging wind events over the past ten years against a single winter storm, and wind is what tends to take the power out.
A gas water heater with a standing pilot keeps making hot water through an outage like that. One with electric ignition will not relight on its own, and the water will cool until someone resets it. An electric water heater stops making hot water the moment the power goes, and in Alabama 18% of households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024. If that happens to your home, the water heater is not broken. It just needs to be turned back on.
- 38°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 5 months
- November through March, the months homes here need heat
- 18%
- of Alabama 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 $310 a year off hot water for a typical Alabama home.
Estimates for a typical Alabama home, compared with an older unit built to the federal minimum, from EIA household energy data and Alabama 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 often it means the tank itself has rusted through and is failing. Sediment collects on the bottom of the tank over the years, and once it eats through the steel, water finds its way out. A leak can also come from a loose drain valve or a fitting where a pipe connects, and those can sometimes be tightened or replaced. But if the tank is the source, the water heater needs to be replaced, not repaired, because a punctured tank cannot be sealed. A contractor can tell you in a few minutes which one you are dealing with.
- Why won't the pilot light on my water heater stay lit?
- The most common cause is a worn thermocouple, the small sensor that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve it is safe to keep sending gas. Once it wears out, the valve shuts off the gas as soon as you let go of the button, even though the pilot lit fine. A dirty pilot opening or a draft in the area can also blow the flame out. A thermocouple is a cheap, quick part for a contractor to replace, so if relighting it keeps failing, that is where to start.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most problems with a tankless unit are repairable. Mineral buildup on the heat exchanger, a failed igniter, a clogged inlet filter, and sensor errors are all things a contractor can service without replacing the unit. Tankless heaters run hotter and tighter than tank models, so buildup shows up as error codes rather than slow performance. A contractor can read the code and tell you whether it is a repair or something more serious.