Water Heater Repair in Harrison, AR
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Cold months and power loss both strain your water heater
From December through February, winter nights in Boone County average 28°F. Cold weather like that means your water heater's burner or heating element has to run longer and more often to keep up. That extra runtime wears on the thermocouple and the heating element sooner than it would in a milder stretch of the year.
Power loss adds to the strain. Nearly a quarter of Arkansas households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024, and the county has logged 37 damaging wind events and 4 winter storms over the past ten years. A gas water heater with electronic ignition will not relight itself once power comes back on. It needs a person to light it again, and until then there is no hot water in the house.
- 28°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 7 months
- October through April, the months homes here need heat
- 24%
- of Arkansas 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 Arkansas home.
Estimates for a typical Arkansas home, compared with an older unit built to the federal minimum, from EIA household energy data and Arkansas 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 of the time this means the tank itself has failed and is rusting through from the inside. Water heater tanks are lined, but once that lining wears through, the steel underneath corrodes and starts to weep, and no repair fixes a leaking tank. It could also be the drain valve or a fitting near the bottom, which a contractor can check before assuming the tank is done. If the tank is the source, it needs to be replaced, not patched.
- Why won't the pilot light on my water heater stay lit?
- Usually the thermocouple has worn out and is no longer telling the gas valve the pilot is lit, so the valve shuts the gas off. A weak or dirty pilot flame, a draft in the area, or a buildup of soot on the sensor can all cause the same thing. A standing pilot doesn't use electricity, so a power outage isn't the cause. This is a common repair and a contractor can usually replace the thermocouple in one visit.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most problems with a tankless unit are repairable. Error codes usually point to something specific, like a clogged inlet filter, a buildup of scale on the heat exchanger, or a failed sensor, and a contractor can diagnose it from the code the unit is showing. Because there's no tank to replace, repair is often the more likely outcome than it is with a standard water heater. A contractor will need to look at the unit to know what's actually wrong and price the repair.