BiggerPockets

Here's another question. I have a house that had been "winterized" (before I owned it) because it was a foreclosure and would be vacant for a long time. All the utilities are now on, and the only problem is that the hot water is not functioning properly. All faucets act the same. Specifically, when I turn the hot water on I get a little bit of flow (never hot), then sputtering as air comes out, then it just goes silent. As far as I can tell, the hot water tank has filled and the heating mechanism (gas burner) is working (it makes the normal sounds and occasionally I feel the outgoing pipe is warm).

Everything I've found says to run the hot water until the air stops and I get a continuous flow of water, but I never reach that point. Is it possible there is air trapped in the lines (from the winterizing) causing some kind of air lock, or is it more likely a problem with the hot water heater itself? I don't want to call a plumber if there's a simple solution I'm missing. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I like the idea of connecting the inflow to the outflow and thus eliminating all "non-hotwater-heater" causes. I hadn't thought of that. It turns out it was your other, seemingly obvious, suggestion that solved the problem. I flushed the hot water heater (turns out it's pretty easy to do, I had just never done it before). In the process I discovered that the inflow to the tank was feeble at best. It turns out the inflow faucet was stuck. It was on, but no on by very much. I messed with the faucet some, it loosened up, and then bam -- the water is a-flowing. No plumber for this guy. (With my luck, though, I'll probably find the house flooded tomorrow.)

Thanks for the help.

My hot water works coming out of all the faucets except the Kitchen. This is the first house i've owned and worked on, so i'm new to the 3-way connecter under the sink. If my thinking is correct, the main water pressure acts as a vacuum for the 3rd connection (coming from the hot water heater), and sucks out hot water as it comes. The other thought is that the 3rd connection is for the dishwasher. I don't think there is any way to tell w/o breaking out the wall... or asking more experienced people.

The hot water pressure in the kitchen sink is very soft, but the cold water works just fine. I have replaced (not by choice) the valve and the hose to the faucet; so my last resort is assmuing something is lodged in that 3rd (small, copper-tubed) connection. Because it is so small, i can't think of any way to suck or grab a lodged item out of there. If anyone can help, i would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks for your tips. I'm not sure what my 3rd connection goes to. It's run through a copper pipe into the drywall, and i have no interest in busting out the wall just to see where it goes. The sprayer comes from the faucet itself, so that isn't it either.

There were a few beautification projects i did to make the kitchen a little less of an eyesore, and replacing the faucet and sink was one of them. So i know the faucet isn't the problem. Just a few minutes ago, i disconnected all of the connections off of the valve, and opened it up. Well, the pressure problem seems to be occuring before the water gets to the valve as there was very little pressure coming out of the valve with no hookups. I hope this helps narrow some solutions down, because i am baffled, and its starting to look uglier.

Nope, it's a brand-new, 1/4-turn valve and it's having the same problem as the valve it replaced yesterday. :badwords: LOL

I feel your pain.

The only other thing I can think of is maybe one of the junction pipes between the water heater and the sink is clogged somehow. If this is the case then replacing the line is the only solution I can think of. I would probably recommend calling in a professional plumber at this point.