Water Heater Repair in Jacksonville, NC
Tell us what your water heater is doing, and a licensed contractor who covers Onslow County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
What Onslow County does to your water heater
Winter nights here average 35°F from December through February, and your water heater works harder in that cold to keep the tank at temperature. The colder the water coming in, the longer the burner or the element runs to catch up, and that extra runtime wears on the thermostat and the heating element in an electric unit, or the burner assembly in a gas one.
Power is the other piece. A quarter of North Carolina households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024, and this area has logged 68 damaging wind events over the past ten years. When the power drops and comes back, an electric water heater usually resumes on its own, but a storm that knocks out power for a while will leave you without hot water until it's restored, and any damage a surge causes may not show up until you turn on the tap.
- 35°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 5 months
- November through March, the months homes here need heat
- 25%
- of North Carolina 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 $300 a year off hot water for a typical North Carolina home.
Estimates for a typical North Carolina home, compared with an older unit built to the federal minimum, from EIA household energy data and North Carolina 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. Water heaters don't leak from the bottom because of a loose fitting, since there aren't any fittings down there. It's the tank that's failed, and once that happens the tank needs to be replaced, not repaired. Sometimes what looks like a leak is actually condensation or water dripping down from a fitting higher up, so it's worth checking the top connections and the temperature and pressure relief valve before assuming the tank is gone.
- Why won't the pilot light on my water heater stay lit?
- The most common cause is a worn thermocouple, the small part that senses the pilot flame and tells the gas valve to stay open. When it wears out, it can't hold that signal, so the flame goes out or the gas valve shuts the pilot off on its own. A dirty pilot orifice or a draft blowing across the flame can cause the same thing. A contractor can test the thermocouple and replace it if that's the problem.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most problems with a tankless water heater can be fixed without replacing the unit. Common repairs include cleaning mineral buildup from the heat exchanger, replacing an igniter, or clearing a blocked vent. How much a repair costs and whether it makes sense depends on the age of the unit and what's actually wrong with it, so a contractor will need to look at it to say for sure.