A question about plumbing..... (1 Viewer)

[Dome Vongvises]

I've always wondered about this. What exactly causes an apartment/house to run out of hot water? I've just got done playing basketball in the rain, smell like crap, and I come back to find no hot water for a shower? Urgh.....

For that matter, what the hell causes nothing but hot water to come out of the showerhead after flushing a toilet?

 

[DougRuss]

Well, you'll have to check and see how many Gallons the Hot Water heater holds? It could be too small ? ( you have people(s) that take 1/2 hour showers) Need a larger capacity Hot Water Tank.
As far as the flushing problem. You generally have the water temp. set at a comfortable level while showering? When the toilet is flushed, a portion of your cold water is used to fill the tank in the toilet, taking away from that nice warm comfortable water temp. that your using in the shower.Resulting in a warmer(HOT ) shower.

 

[JohnRice]

Basic concept of water heater. Cold water is fed in the top of a big tank and down an internal pipe to the bottom, where there is a heating element or flame. As the water heats, it rises to the top. When all the water reaches the temperature set on the heater's thrermostat, it shuts off. As you use hot water, which it taken off the top of the tank, it is replaced by cold water at the bottom. If you use hot water faster than it is heated long enough, eventually there is no more hot water in the tank and you just get cold water.

 

[Keith Mickunas]

Dome, in addition to not having a big enough hot water heat, it could have a build up of sediment in it that is limiting its capacity and ability to heat. Once a month or so you should drain a bunch of water directly from the tank. You get it from the bottom and it helps get some of the stuff out. Some newer models have some sort of filtering for this, but I don't know how it works.
Want to make someone mad while their in the shower? Start a load of wash. One time my brother came home to work shortly after I returned from school for the weekend. As was his normal routine he immediately started harassing me for no reason. So when he went to tak a shower, I started my laundry. Then he had the nerve to lecture me about how "its not cool to do laundry while someone is taking a shower." What a moron.