Water Heater Repair in Lubbock, TX
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What winter and storms do to a Lubbock water heater
Winter nights here average 29°F from December through February, and the cold runs from November through April. That is six months of your water heater meeting cold water at the start.
Lubbock County has had 10 winter storms and 150 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and across Texas a third of households lost power for at least 24 hours in 2024. When the power drops, an electric water heater stops heating until it comes back, and most come back on their own once it does. A gas water heater with a standing pilot keeps running through the outage, but if the pilot goes out, it has to be relit by hand. A storm like that is often when a homeowner first notices the water isn't hot anymore.
- 29°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 6 months
- November through April, 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 cracked. Water heaters corrode over years as the glass lining wears down, and once the steel underneath is exposed, it rusts and eventually leaks. This is different from a loose drain valve or a fitting weeping at the top, both of which a contractor can often just tighten or reseal. A tank leaking from the bottom or from underneath usually means the tank 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 sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve the pilot is lit. When it wears out, it can't confirm the flame anymore, so the gas valve shuts off the pilot supply even though it's burning fine. A dirty pilot orifice or a draft blowing on the flame can cause the same thing. 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 scaled-up heat exchanger from hard water, a failed igniter, or an error code from the flow sensor or venting. A contractor can pull the error code from the unit's display and diagnose from there. Whether it's worth repairing versus replacing depends on the age of the unit and what's actually failed, which is something a contractor can tell you once they've looked at it.