Water Heater Repair in Newark, OH
Tell us what your water heater is doing, and a licensed contractor who covers Licking County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
What Newark winters do to a water heater
Your water heater works harder from October through May, when the water coming into the tank is already cold. Eight months of that a year wears on the heating element or burner, since both have to make up a bigger gap to get the water hot.
Outages add to the problem. In Ohio, 18% of households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024, and Licking County has seen 8 winter storms and 133 damaging wind events over the past ten years. A gas water heater with a standing pilot keeps working through that. One with electric ignition does not, and most units come back on by themselves once power returns, though some need to be relit by hand first.
- 22°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 8 months
- October through May, the months homes here need heat
- 18%
- of Ohio 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 $70 a year off hot water for a typical Ohio home.
Estimates for a typical Ohio home, compared with an older unit built to the federal minimum, from EIA household energy data and Ohio 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 often the tank itself has rusted through and is starting to fail. Water heaters aren't built to be repaired once the tank is compromised, since the steel lining wears from the inside out over years of use. It could also be a loose drain valve or a fitting at the bottom, which a contractor can check before assuming the tank is done. If the leak is coming from the tank itself, the water heater needs to be replaced, not patched.
- Why won't the pilot light on my water heater stay lit?
- The most common cause is a worn thermocouple, the small sensor that tells the gas valve the pilot is burning. When it wears out, it can't sense the flame anymore, so the gas valve shuts off the pilot as a safety measure. A dirty pilot orifice or a draft blowing out the flame can cause the same problem. A contractor can test the thermocouple and replace it if it's the cause.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most tankless water heater problems can be fixed without replacing the unit. Common issues are a clogged inlet filter, mineral scale built up on the heat exchanger, or a failed ignition part, and all of these can be serviced. A contractor can flush the unit and test the parts to find out what's actually wrong before deciding whether repair or replacement makes more sense.