I recently had my water heater replaced, switching from a 45-gallon electric model to a 40-gallon natural gas tank. This required moving the tank about 15 feet to the other side of the utility room. Since the installation, I've noticed that whenever I use any other taps while taking a shower, the water turns cold. Interestingly, this happens when I use cold water—if I turn on a cold tap in the basement, for example, the shower runs cold and I also lose some water pressure. The shower is equipped with a 3-knob system (hot, cold, and diverter). The plumbers connected the new water heater to the existing pipes that supply the basement sink, and they believe there shouldn't be any crossed plumbing issues. The previous water heater was closer to the main water shutoff, but now the new one is further away. The city water supply comes in as a 3/4" pipe that narrows to 1/2" after the shutoff valve, and everything else is 1/2" copper. The plumber has already come back to troubleshoot but is perplexed as they changed the dip tube and checked each fixture without finding the source of the problem. I'm reaching out here for any insights or ideas you might have!
3 Answers
I had a similar issue after replacing my water heater a couple of months ago. I found my faucets and shower head were clogged with debris. I disconnected everything and cleaned the screens and pulled out the cartridge, but still no luck. In the end, I had to replace the shower head to restore functionality. Just something to consider!
This is odd! Are all your fittings standard 90-degree? If everything is reduced to 1/2 after the shutoff with no 3/4" sections left, that could affect pressure and flow. Make sure there aren’t any hidden issues with the pipe configuration that could lead to pressure drops.
Yep, all my fittings are 90 degrees and it stays at 1/2" after the shutoff. Before relocating the tank, my water pressure was great.
It sounds like you might have some debris or sediment traveling through the hot water pipe, which could be partially blocking the shower valve. If that’s the case, there might be a way to flush it back down the line. Definitely worth checking!
I thought about that too! But I looked at the showerhead screen and it's clean. I suspect the issue might be linked to the way the hot water heater was connected, especially since the problem only occurs when using multiple fixtures at once.
Was that causing you issues with temperature control too, or just affecting your water pressure?