Water Heater Repair in Santa Rosa, CA
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What the power going out does to your water heater
Sonoma County sees its share of storms. Ten years of records show 120 damaging wind events across the county, and statewide, 17% of households lost power for 24 hours or more in 2024. If yours is a gas water heater with an electronic ignition, an outage shuts down the pilot control and it will not relight on its own once the power comes back. You will notice cold water and a tank that stays cold no matter how long you wait.
Gas units with a standing pilot are not affected the same way, since that flame burns whether the power is on or not. Either way, if you come back from an outage to no hot water, the fix is usually about getting the pilot or ignition system running again, not the tank itself.
- 40°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 7 months
- November through May, the months homes here need heat
- 17%
- of California 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 $110 a year off hot water for a typical California home.
Estimates for a typical California home, compared with an older unit built to the federal minimum, from EIA household energy data and California 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 is starting to fail. Water heaters hold sediment at the bottom, and over years that sediment corrodes the tank wall until it gives way. It can also be a loose drain valve or a fitting that's just started to weep, which a contractor can tighten or replace. Once the tank itself is leaking, though, the unit needs to be replaced, not patched.
- 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 sits out of position, the valve shuts the gas off as a safety measure even though the pilot lit fine. A dirty pilot orifice or a draft in the area can also blow the flame out. A contractor can test the thermocouple and replace it if that's the problem.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most problems with a tankless water heater are repairable. Common issues are a buildup of scale on the heat exchanger, a failed igniter, or an error code from a sensor, and a contractor can clean, test, and replace those parts. Tankless units also have filters and a flow sensor that can cause hot water to cut in and out when they're dirty or failing. Whether repair or replacement makes sense depends on the age of the unit and what's actually wrong with it, which a contractor can tell you after looking at it.