Water Heater Repair in Wilmington, DE
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Cold groundwater means your water heater never stops working
From October through April, the water coming into your tank is cold, and on nights that average 27°F it works harder to bring that water up to temperature. The burner or the heating element runs longer and more often to keep up, and that extra run time wears on the parts that do the heating. A gas water heater's igniter and thermocouple see more cycles. An electric unit's heating element sees more hours under load.
New Castle County has seen 11 winter storms and 228 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and 12% of Delaware households lost power for at least 24 hours in 2024. When power drops and comes back, most water heaters recover on their own, but a unit with a pilot light will need someone to relight it, and one already struggling to keep up with cold water has less room to recover before you notice lukewarm water or none at all.
- 27°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 7 months
- October through April, the months homes here need heat
- 12%
- of Delaware 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 $70 a year off hot water for a typical Delaware home.
Estimates for a typical Delaware home, compared with an older unit built to the federal minimum, from EIA household energy data and Delaware 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 the tank itself has rusted through and started to fail. Minerals settle at the bottom of the tank over years, and once they corrode a hole in the steel, water finds its way out and there is no patching it. It can also be a loose drain valve or a fitting weeping from pressure buildup, which a contractor can check before assuming the tank is done. If the leak is coming from underneath the tank itself, plan on replacing it.
- Why won't the pilot light on my water heater stay lit?
- The most common cause is a thermocouple that has worn out and can no longer sense the flame, so the gas valve shuts off to be safe. A dirty pilot orifice or a draft blowing across the flame can cause the same thing. Less often, the gas valve itself is failing. A contractor can test the thermocouple in a few minutes and replace it if that is the problem.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most tankless problems are repairable. A clogged flow sensor, a scaled heat exchanger, or an ignition fault are things a contractor can clean or replace without swapping the whole unit. Tankless units also throw error codes on their display, which point straight to what is wrong and make diagnosis faster than with a tank.