No hot water? Start here
Showers running cold: a few questions before you call
Did it fade or stop?
Hot water that gets weaker through a shower points to a tank that cannot keep up. Cold from the first second suggests it has stopped heating.
Whose heater is it?
In a condo or apartment block, check whether the heater serves only your unit or the whole building. A shared system goes to your building manager.
Look at the floor beneath it
Note any water or rust staining, and where it appears. Look only; leave valves and controls as they are.
Note the plate and the fuel
A photo of the label and a note on whether it runs on gas, electricity or oil helps the technician arrive prepared.
Think you can smell gas? Do not stay to investigate. Leave the building, and once you are outside, call the gas utility and emergency services.
Carbon monoxide alarm sounding? Everyone leaves the home immediately, and emergency services are called from outside.
Stamford's older centre, outer roads and where the heaters sit
Stamford is a city of about 122,000 people on Long Island Sound, in Fairfield County, on the shoreline between Greenwich and Darien. Its centre is dense, with taller apartment and condo buildings, and around it sit older streets of two- and three-family houses and brick buildings from the early twentieth century. Farther out, postwar capes, ranches and colonials give way to larger houses on wooded lots along the northern roads.
The heaters follow the same pattern. In the older houses, a gas tank sits in a cellar beside the boiler, often under a shared chimney, reached by a steep stair. In apartment towers and condos, there may be an electric tank in a closet inside each unit, or equipment in a mechanical room for the whole building. In the outer single-family houses, a heater might be in a utility room, a garage corner or a cellar, sometimes with an oil-fired boiler close by.
Most of Stamford is on public water and natural gas runs along most streets. Some homes on the outer roads rely on private wells, and these are more often found with oil or propane than with gas. A few smaller houses near the shore keep the heater in a crawlspace.
On a private well?
Well pressure swings and what they do to a heater
A well pump switches on and off through the day, so the pressure reaching the heater climbs and falls with it. Many well systems also have a check valve that stops water flowing back toward the pump, and that closes the plumbing. Water grows in volume as it heats, and with nowhere to go, it pushes the pressure up each time the heater runs, so the relief valve starts to drip.
A small expansion tank on the heater's side of the plumbing is the usual answer. The relief valve must never be capped to stop the dripping. The installers handle only the heater: pressure switches, pressure tanks and the well itself belong with a well professional. See water heaters in private well homes.
Mention the well, the dripping and how long it has gone on, and we will plan the visit.
Tankless sizing when January water comes in cold
Condo owners and house owners both ask about wall-hung tankless units. The thing to understand is that the unit heats water on the way through, and the colder the water arriving, the less it can deliver at once. In midwinter, a unit that was comfortable in September can fall behind.
The right way to size one is for the coldest month and the busiest moment, such as two bathrooms running together. The gas line must be able to carry what the unit burns at full output, and the venting has to be able to handle its exhaust, usually a dedicated pipe through an exterior wall, which can be a harder fit in a condo. Very short draws can fall below the minimum flow the unit needs to start, leaving the tap cold for a moment.
Where the water leaves scale, a unit needs descaling now and then. See tankless water heater installation.
Expansion tanks and the closed plumbing system
Warm water needs more room than cold. A house connected to a plain main lets the surplus drift back along the supply pipe. A backflow device, a pressure-reducing valve or a meter with a check valve stops that, and then the house is a closed system.
Pressure builds with every heating cycle and the relief valve begins to weep. An expansion tank on the cold feed absorbs the surplus. Its internal diaphragm is set to the pressure of the house, and the tank can lose its charge or become waterlogged with age, so a tank that once solved the problem may need attention.
Closed systems turn up in condos and apartment buildings as well as in well homes. Whichever you have, the cure is the right tank, never a plugged valve. See expansion tank installation.
The relief valve is not to be capped, plugged or tested
On the side or top of every tank is a valve built for emergencies, opening if heat or pressure inside rises too far. It is the final protection when the normal controls have failed, and it is only any good if it can open.
The pipe beneath it should run to a suitable, visible spot, and its end should be left open. Do not cap it, put a plug in it or lift the lever to try it. What discharges is hot, so keep people and pets clear of the pipe's end.
A valve that drips has a short list of possible causes: expansion in a closed system, water set too hot, house pressure running high, or a valve that has worn out. The technician finds the cause and replaces the valve only if it is the culprit. See pressure relief valve service.
If the taps have gone cold, tell us the building and fuel and we will take it from there.
Where we cover in Stamford
We connect households and building owners with local installers across the seven Stamford ZIPs: 06901, 06902, 06903, 06905, 06906, 06907 and 06910. That covers the apartment and condo buildings near the centre, the older streets of multi-family houses and the single-family roads out toward the city's northern edge.
Service area Stamford, CT · ZIP 06901, 06902, 06903, 06905, 06906, 06907 and 06910
Water heater services for Stamford homes
- Water heater installation in closets, cellars and utility rooms
- Water heaters in private well homes on the outer roads
- Tankless water heater installation where gas line and venting suit
- Electric water heater service for condo and apartment tanks
- Multi-family water heaters in older two- and three-family houses
- Oil-fired water heater service for houses off the gas main
Places near Stamford
The local installers also work in the neighbouring shoreline communities.
Water heater repair and replacement questions in Stamford
In Stamford, can the old chimney vent a tankless unit?
In most cases no. Tankless exhaust is cooler and wetter than a tank's, so the unit generally needs its own sealed pipe through a side wall. An existing chimney was built for different equipment. The technician looks at both before recommending anything.
In Stamford, how do we find the failed unit when several heaters share a basement?
The technician follows the hot water pipe from each tank to the apartment it feeds, rather than trusting position or old labels. Having someone who knows the building on hand helps, and each heater can be labelled afterwards.
In Stamford, can a tenant call you directly?
Yes, you can call, describe the problem and ask what is likely. Repairs and replacements normally need the owner's agreement, so have your landlord's or building manager's details ready. That makes it quicker to arrange a visit once they say yes.
Is replacing multiple building heaters together possible?
Often, if the route lets more than one tank be moved in a day. It saves a second interruption for everyone in the building. The technician checks each heater first, since a newer one may be worth keeping for now.
Is a shared chimney a problem for several heaters?
It can, because the flue works for all of them together. Take one appliance out or change it, and the others may draw differently. When a heater is replaced, the technician looks at its side of the venting. Chimney repairs go to a chimney professional.
In Stamford, is a water heater near the shore at higher risk from salt air?
Only slightly. The heater is indoors, so the effect is mostly on outside vent terminations and fittings, which can wear sooner near the shore. A damp cellar or crawlspace can also rust a tank's jacket and connections, and the technician checks those points.
Can a heater in a cottage crawlspace be replaced?
Usually, yes. The access hatch and the room to work decide how long it takes, so tell us its size and what is stored near it. A dry crawlspace is far easier than a damp one, and a drain pan is worth discussing.
My condo heater is in a closet. Do I call you or the building?
If the heater serves only your unit and belongs to you, call us. If it is part of a shared system, contact your building manager first. Tell us the floor and whether there is a lift, and whether a drain pan sits under the tank.
We are on a well on the outer roads. What should I tell you?
Say it is a well, what the hot water has been doing, whether the relief valve drips, and roughly when the tank was last flushed. The technician looks only at the heater. The well, pump and pressure tank are outside what we arrange.
Is natural gas available at every Stamford address?
No. Gas runs along most streets in the older parts of the city, but some outer roads rely on oil, propane or electricity. If you are unsure, look at what feeds your heater and your boiler, and tell us when you call.