No Hot Water

[jtherrien]

About a month ago we suddenly stopped having hot water from any faucet. We do get luke warm water when the hot faucets are on. And occasionally we get hot water for a couple of seconds.

We tried changing the top thermostat and element, with no success. However last night, my husband took a shower and there was actually hot water. Apparantly the toilet flapper got stuck and the toilet was running the whole time he was in the shower.

Any ideas on why this would happen, or what the fix is? I read online that it could be the dip stick is broken inside the water heater??

It is an electric water heater about 6 yrs old, and the house is 40 yrs old.

Thanks.

[HayZee518]

in the water heater cold water supply there is a plastic or teflon "dip tube" which goes to the bottom of the tank. water entering the heater turns on the bottom element first, then transfers to the upper element.

[Redwood]

There are a lot of things it could be...

• Failed elements and or thermostat
• A bad dip tube
• A failed tempering valve
• A hot/cold cross conection at a single handled faucet or at one where the water can be left on and the outlet turned off.
• A hot water leak under a slab

Just to name a few of the possibilities.
Before buying anything else or doing anything else I'd try troubleshooting to find what exactly the problem is then fix it.