Water Heater Repair in College Station, TX
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College Station's real risk is the power, not the cold
Winter nights here average 41°F from December through February, mild enough that your water heater isn't working hard against the weather. The bigger risk is what happens around it. Brazos County has seen 75 damaging wind events and 5 winter storms over the past ten years, and in a Texas storm, a third of households have gone at least 24 hours without power. A gas water heater with a standing pilot keeps working through an outage like that. One with electric ignition won't relight on its own, and most water heaters do come back on once power returns. If the outage runs long enough for the tank to go cold, you will notice it at the next hot shower.
- 41°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 5 months
- November through March, the months homes here need heat
- 33%
- of Texas 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 $290 a year off hot water for a typical Texas home.
Estimates for a typical Texas home, compared with an older unit built to the federal minimum, from EIA household energy data and Texas 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 from the inside and is starting to fail. Sediment builds up at the bottom of the tank over the years, and it holds moisture against the steel until it wears a hole. A leak can also come from a loose drain valve or a fitting at the bottom, which a contractor can tighten or replace without touching the tank. Once the tank itself is leaking, though, there is no patch for it. It needs to be replaced.
- Why won't the pilot light on my water heater stay lit?
- The most common cause is a worn thermocouple, the small probe that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve the pilot is lit. When it wears out, it stops sensing the flame correctly and the gas valve shuts off the pilot as a safety measure. A weak or dirty pilot flame can cause the same problem. Either way, this is a gas valve issue and a contractor should look at it rather than relighting it over and over.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most problems with a tankless water heater are repairable. A contractor can descale the heat exchanger, replace an igniter or sensor, or clear an error code caused by a venting or gas supply issue. The heat exchanger itself is the most expensive part to replace, so if that has failed a contractor will tell you whether repair or replacement makes more sense for the unit's age.