Water Heater Repair in Lawton, OK
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What winter and Comanche County storms do to your water heater
Your water heater works harder from November through April, when incoming water runs cold and winter nights average 31°F. The burner or heating element has to work longer to get the same hot shower, and that extra runtime wears on the thermostat and the heating element itself. You notice it as water that takes longer to warm up, or runs out faster than it used to.
Comanche County has seen 14 winter storms and 148 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and a quarter of Oklahoma households lost power for 24 hours or more in 2024. A gas water heater with a standing pilot will keep working through an outage. One with an electric ignition or an electric water heater will not come back on until the power does, and most units restart on their own once it's restored.
- 31°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 6 months
- November through April, the months homes here need heat
- 25%
- of Oklahoma 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 $250 a year off hot water for a typical Oklahoma home.
Estimates for a typical Oklahoma home, compared with an older unit built to the federal minimum, from EIA household energy data and Oklahoma 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 rusted through and is failing from the inside. Water heaters don't leak from the bottom until the tank has already given out, so a puddle under the unit usually means it's near the end of its life. It can also be a loose drain valve or a fitting that's simply worked itself loose, which a contractor can check before assuming the worst. Either way, shut off the water and power to the unit and have it looked at, since a failing tank will only get worse.
- Why won't the pilot light on my water heater stay lit?
- This usually comes down to the thermocouple, the small sensor that tells the gas valve the pilot is burning. When it wears out or sits out of position, it shuts the gas off even though the flame is lit, which is a safety feature doing its job. A dirty pilot orifice or a draft in the area can also blow the flame out. A contractor can test the thermocouple and clean or adjust what's needed, since a standing pilot system doesn't rely on power to run so the fix has to happen at the unit itself.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most tankless water heater problems are repairable. Common issues are a clogged inlet filter, mineral buildup on the heat exchanger, an igniter that's failing, or an error code pointing to a sensor. A contractor can pull the fault code from the unit's display and go from there, since tankless systems are built to be serviced rather than replaced at the first problem.