Water Heater Repair in Smithville, ON — Diagnosed by a TSSA Gas Technician

Most water heater repair calls in Smithville start with one of two things: no hot water coming out of the taps, or water leaking from the water heater. No hot water usually means a part has failed, and a failed part can be replaced. A leak from the tank itself usually means it has rusted through, and a rusted tank cannot be repaired. This page covers what goes wrong, who is allowed to work on a gas water heater in Ontario, what we do when we come out, and what changes the price.

The Water Heater Problems We Get Called Out For Most

Most calls fall into four groups, and each symptom points at its own cause.

• The pilot or igniter will not stay lit. Something is cutting the flame off, and it is usually a safety device doing its job rather than failing at it.
• The hot water runs out early. The tank is still heating, but it is not heating enough water, or not reheating fast enough after the first shower.
• The tank rumbles or bangs. Sediment has settled across the bottom and water is boiling underneath it.
• There is water on the floor. A leaking fitting can be replaced. A tank that has rusted through has to be replaced entirely.

Sediment is the only one of the four that gets worse on its own. It settles out of the water supply and builds up across the bottom of the tank. There it sits between the burner and the water it is meant to heat, so the tank runs longer for the same amount of hot water.

In an older Smithville basement the tank is often wedged into a corner, which is why nobody spots a slow drip early. By the time water reaches the middle of the floor, the leak is not new.

One symptom is not a repair call at all. If you smell gas, leave the house, then call Enbridge on 1-866-763-5427 or 911 from outside. (6) Do not turn a light or an appliance on or off on your way out, and do not use a phone indoors. (6) Enbridge staffs that line 24 hours a day, every day. (6)

Who Is Allowed to Repair a Gas Water Heater in Ontario

Under Ontario law, furnaces and fuels-fired appliances must be maintained by TSSA-registered contractors. (1) A registered contractor has to employ technicians the Technical Standards and Safety Authority has certified for fuels work. (1)

• The business holds the registration.
• The person holding the tools holds the certificate.
• Ontario has around 9,000 registered fuels contractors and 78,000 certified professionals. (1)

Mike Peddle holds a TSSA Gas Technician certificate and a TSSA Heating Contractor registration. Ask to see both, on any quote you collect, ours included.

That rule is also the answer to most of what you will find online. Step-by-step instructions for relighting a pilot yourself are written for places with different rules. Following them here means doing work that Ontario reserves for a certified technician.

Why Your Water Runs Cold, and Why Turning the Tank Up Does Not Help

Most people turn the dial up first. It does not help because the problem is usually a part that has already stopped working.

Two temperatures matter, and both exist for safety. Health Canada’s guidance is to keep the tank itself at 60°C, because harmful bacteria such as Legionella grow in water held cooler than that. (2) A mixing valve then brings the water down to 49°C before it reaches a tap. (2)

The second number is about scalding, and the margin is narrower than most people expect. A child’s skin burns in a quarter of the time an adult’s skin takes. (2)

So a tank at 60°C with a mixing valve at the tap is already set correctly. If the hot water still runs out early, something has broken, and turning the dial higher will not repair it. On a tank with no mixing valve, a higher setting also sends hotter water straight to the taps, which is where the scald risk comes from.

Three things usually cause it. A burner or element is not delivering the heat it was built to deliver, a thermostat is reading wrong, or the tank is simply too small for what the household now uses.

What We Do on a Water Heater Repair Call

We work in the same order every time. We start with what the tank is doing now, check the venting and the burner, test the gas side, check the safety devices, then quote the work.

The carbon monoxide check is part of that list, not an extra bolted onto it. Carbon monoxide is invisible, odourless and tasteless, so nothing in the room warns you it is there. (3) Headaches, nausea, dizziness and drowsiness are the signs of exposure. (4) Ontario requires a carbon monoxide alarm in any house with a fuel-burning appliance, and a gas water heater is one of those. (4)

Where the house sits changes what the technician brings. We plan for both a long rural driveway out toward Caledonia and a property in West Lincoln that runs on propane, before anyone sets off.

What Affects Water Heater Repair Cost in Smithville

Five things move a repair quote:

• which part has failed
• the fuel the tank runs on
• the age of the unit, and whether parts are still made for it
• how reachable the tank is
• whether the broken part is on the gas side, which is regulated work

Water heaters use 19.3 percent of the energy an average Canadian household consumes, so a tank working badly costs you money every month. (5)

A repair that stops the symptom without finding what caused it costs more in the end, because the same part fails again.

Water Heater Repair Questions From Smithville Homeowners

Can a plumber repair a gas water heater in Ontario?

Only if the gas work is done by a TSSA-certified gas technician working for a registered contractor. (1) Ontario law puts fuels-fired appliances under that requirement whatever other trade the person holds. (1)

What goes wrong with a water heater most often?

A pilot or igniter that will not stay lit. In most cases a safety device is shutting the flame down because something else is wrong, so the repair means finding what that is.

Should I turn my water heater up if the hot water runs out early?

No. Yours should already sit at 60°C, with a mixing valve delivering 49°C at the tap. (2) Running out early means something has broken, and turning the dial up raises the scald risk without repairing it.

Do I need a carbon monoxide alarm if I have a gas water heater?

Yes. Ontario requires a carbon monoxide alarm in any house with a fuel-burning appliance, and a gas water heater is a fuel-burning appliance. (4)

Do you repair water heaters outside Smithville?

Yes. The area runs from Smithville out through Grimsby, Beamsville, Caledonia and West Lincoln.

Book a Water Heater Repair in Smithville

Call the office with the age of the tank, the fuel it runs on, and what it is doing now. Those three tell us what to bring. Environmental Heating & Cooling has been family-owned since 2014 and is rated 5.0 on Google.

If the tank is old enough that you are weighing a repair against a new one, the water heaters page covers how long a tank lasts here and what hot water costs.

References

1. Technical Standards and Safety Authority, Be Fuels Wise: Hire Registered and Certified Professionals, tssa.org
2. Public Health Agency of Canada, Water Temperature and Burns/Scalds, canada.ca
3. Technical Standards and Safety Authority, It’s Not Just Your Furnace — Be in the Know When it Comes to CO, tssa.org
4. Government of Ontario, Carbon Monoxide Safety, ontario.ca
5. Natural Resources Canada, Guide to Residential Water Heaters, natural-resources.canada.ca
6. Enbridge Gas, Smell Natural Gas?, enbridgegas.com