Hot water not flowing but available

[sbell8100]

Hi All! I live in a 3 story townhouse. The first story being ground level (above ground basement). My issue is that even though I have hot water in the tank available it won’t travel to the 2nd & 3rd floors automatically.
I have to go to the ground level & turn on the hot water tap in the laundry tub, let it run for a minute then I can go upstairs & will have hot water. The cold water flows no problem & the water pressure seems fine.
Do you think it’s the water tank itself? It’s Approx 14 years old & this has happened for at least 5 years or is there a vent Issue or something. It did work no problem for several years. I can’t find a lot of information for this issue. Help! TIA.

 

[Geofd]

Have you ever flushed your hwh, maybe it's all sludged up.....14 years IS close or over it's lifespan

 

[sbell8100]

Have you ever flushed your hwh, maybe it's all sludged up.....14 years IS close or over it's lifespan

Hi! Thank you for the response. Yes I have & surprisingly there is never much t

 

[Geofd]

Do you get air before You get water????

 

[Geofd]

How long does it run before there is a drop in pressure after ????

 

[Geofd]

Only thing i can think of is valve off you hwh, connect the hot and cold together see if you get full pressure that would point to the heater
If the pressure is equal on both sides

 

[sbell8100]

Only thing i can think of is valve off you hwh, connect the hot and cold together see if you get full pressure that would point to the heater
If the pressure is equal on both sides

Hi thank you for your response. No air comes through at all just cold water. it’s the same pressure whether it’s turned to cold or hot. There is definitely enough hot water in the tank but for some reason it won’t move through the plumbing unless I open the faucet on the first floor first?

 

[Twowaxhack]

Hi thank you for your response. No air comes through at all just cold water. it’s the same pressure whether it’s turned to cold or hot. There is definitely enough hot water in the tank but for some reason it won’t move through the plumbing unless I open the faucet on the first floor first?

How old is your home and who has worked on your plumbing ?

What you’re describing doesn’t line up with common knowledge of how a plumbing system works.

Opening a faucet downstairs shouldnt Allow water to then flow upstairs.

I would say this is not a DIY problem and my advice is to hire a professional.

 

[sbell8100]

Hi, thank you. No one has worked on it yet. The home is 14 years old. I haven’t hired a plumber yet because everyone I’ve talked to about it including plumbers have no idea what it could be. I didn’t want to spend a fortune to be told they can’t fix it. I wanted at least an idea of what it could be before I hire a plumber.

 

[Twowaxhack]

Hi, thank you. No one has worked on it yet. The home is 14 years old. I haven’t hired a plumber yet because everyone I’ve talked to about it including plumbers have no idea what it could be. I didn’t want to spend a fortune to be told they can’t fix it. I wanted at least an idea of what it could be before I hire a plumber.

Do you get water out of the hot side but it’s just not hot until you first run hot water in the laundry tub ?

Hot water circulation system ?

Go to the water heater and turn the cold water off to the water heater. Go to a hot water faucet and bleed the pressure off. If the pressure never bleeds down, that means you have a cross connection between hot/cold water.

 

[sbell8100]

Yes exactly I get water if it’s turned to the hot side but it’s just not hot until I turn on the faucet at laundry tub.
I will try your suggestion. Thank you very much.

 

[GReynolds929]

Are you running the water long enough? Without recirculation it will take a long time to go up 3 stories.

 

[sbell8100]

Yes I’ve let it go sometimes 15-20 min just to be sure. Thank you.