Water Heater Repair in Memphis, TN
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What Shelby County outages do to your water heater
Shelby County has logged 195 damaging wind events and 15 winter storms over the past ten years, and in 2024, one in five Tennessee households lost power for 24 hours or more. That kind of outage is the main thing your water heater has to weather here.
Most electric water heaters come back on by themselves once power returns. Gas models with a standing pilot keep burning through the outage without any power at all. But a gas water heater with an electronic igniter needs that power to relight, so if your water isn't heating after the lights come back on, that's the first place to look.
- 34°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 5 months
- November through March, the months homes here need heat
- 20%
- of Tennessee 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 $280 a year off hot water for a typical Tennessee home.
Estimates for a typical Tennessee home, compared with an older unit built to the federal minimum, from EIA household energy data and Tennessee 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 starting to fail. Sediment builds up at the bottom of the tank over the years, and it corrodes the steel from the inside until a pinhole opens. It can also be a loose drain valve or a fitting that has worked itself loose, which a contractor can check in a few minutes. If the leak is coming from the tank wall itself, the water heater needs to be replaced, not repaired.
- Why won't the pilot light on my water heater stay lit?
- The most common cause is a worn thermocouple or flame sensor, the small part that tells the gas valve a flame is actually present. When it wears out or gets coated in soot, it shuts the gas off even though the pilot lit fine a second earlier. A weak gas supply or a draft pulling the flame sideways can cause the same thing. A standing pilot doesn't run on electricity, so a power outage isn't the cause, and a contractor can usually tell which part is failing by watching the flame.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most problems with a tankless water heater are repairable. Mineral buildup on the heat exchanger is the most common issue, especially if the unit has never been flushed, and it can cause hot water to run lukewarm or shut off early. Igniters, flow sensors, and venting problems are also things a contractor can replace or clear without swapping the whole unit. It's only when the heat exchanger itself has failed that replacement usually makes more sense than repair.