Water Heater Repair in Steamboat Springs, CO
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Ten months of cold water, and the parts that give out
Your water heater works September through June here, ten months of the year. On winter nights averaging 11°F, the water coming into the tank is as cold as it gets, and the burner or heating elements run longer to bring it up to temperature. That extra runtime wears on the gas valve, the burner assembly, and the heating elements ahead of schedule.
Routt County has seen 202 winter storms and 47 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and storms like these can knock out power. A standing pilot keeps burning through an outage, but electronic ignition will not relight the burner until you do it yourself once power is back. Electric water heaters usually restart on their own, though you may notice a stretch with no hot water, or water that never quite gets warm, right after.
- 11°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 10 months
- September through June, the months homes here need heat
- 13%
- of Colorado 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 $60 a year off hot water for a typical Colorado home.
Estimates for a typical Colorado home, compared with an older unit built to the federal minimum, from EIA household energy data and Colorado 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 likely the tank itself has failed. Water heater tanks corrode from the inside over years, and once a crack or hole opens up in the tank, it will not seal itself. Sediment building up on the bottom of the tank speeds this up, especially with hard water. A leak from the bottom almost always means the tank needs to be replaced, not repaired. If the water is actually coming from a fitting or the drain valve instead of the tank, that part can sometimes be tightened or replaced, so it is worth having a contractor look before you assume the worst.
- Why won't the pilot light on my water heater stay lit?
- A pilot that keeps going out usually points to the thermocouple. That is the small sensor that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve it is safe to keep the gas flowing. Once it wears out or sits out of position, it shuts the gas off even though the pilot lit fine a moment ago. A dirty pilot tube or a draft pulling on the flame can cause the same thing. A contractor can test the thermocouple and replace it if that turns out to be the cause.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes. Tankless units are built to be serviced. Most problems come down to a handful of parts, the igniter, the flow sensor, the heat exchanger, or a fault in the venting. A contractor can pull the fault code the unit is showing and work from there. Mineral buildup inside the heat exchanger is common too, and flushing the unit clears that up rather than requiring a replacement.