Water Heater Repair in Woodland Park, CO
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Cold nights and power outages both take a toll on your water heater
Winter nights in Woodland Park average 10°F from December through February, and your water heater works to bring cold ground water up to temperature in that cold. The tank runs longer to make up the difference, and the heating element or burner cycles more to hold the temperature you set.
The county sees a lot of winter storms, 121 of them over the last ten years, along with 99 damaging wind events. Storms like that knock out power, and across Colorado 13% of households lost power for 24 hours or more in 2024. A gas water heater with a standing pilot will keep working through an outage, but one with an electric ignition or an electric tank will not heat water until power comes back. If yours shuts off during a storm and doesn't restart on its own once the lights are back on, that's the ignition system or a tripped switch, not the tank itself.
- 10°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 11 months
- August 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?
- The tank itself has likely rusted through and is leaking from the inside out. Sediment builds up at the bottom of the tank over years, and it wears through the steel from underneath until water starts to seep out. It could also be a loose drain valve or a fitting that has failed, which a contractor can check before assuming the tank is done. Once the tank itself is leaking, though, it 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, the small sensor that tells the gas valve the pilot is burning. When it wears out or gets coated in soot, it can't sense the flame and shuts the gas off as a safety measure. A dirty pilot orifice or a draft pulling the flame sideways can cause the same thing. A standing pilot doesn't use any electricity, so a power outage isn't the cause here. This is a gas appliance issue and worth having a contractor look at rather than relighting it over and over.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, in most cases. Tankless units are built with parts that a contractor can access and replace, like the igniter, the flow sensor, or the heat exchanger. Mineral buildup inside the heat exchanger is common and usually the reason for lost hot water or error codes, and it can be flushed out rather than requiring a new unit. A contractor can diagnose which part has failed and tell you whether repair or replacement makes more sense for your unit.