A Weekend Without Hot Water: Quick Fixes You Can Try

Imagine it's Easter Saturday, a time when you hope to relax and enjoy the long weekend. You discover there's no hot water, and it’s not a simple fix. What do you do? This is a common issue faced when minor renovations, like roof replacements, accidentally impact electrical components. The challenge: the roofers accidentally drove screws through the cabling for the hot water system, causing the fuses to blow. This blog will guide you through a temporary, yet effective fix that can get you through until the professionals can fully repair it during the week.

Understanding the Problem

Firstly, let's break down what happened. During a roof replacement, screws went through the cabling, causing a short circuit. This blew the fuses and knocked out the hot water. The water heater’s performance wasn’t affected because of a fault in the heater itself, but due to an external issue from another necessary home improvement – the new roof. With the original circuit out of order, a workaround was needed until proper repairs could be made.

Finding a Temporary Fix

In situations like these, being resourceful is key. The goal is to ensure hot water is available, even though it might take longer to heat up. Here’s the approach used:

  • Switching Elements: At a local store, a 2,400-watt (10 amps) hot water element was found. It can be plugged into a regular PowerPoint, unlike the standard 3,600-watt (15 amps) element in most hot water systems, which cannot.
  • Making it Plug-and-Play: By swapping the elements and ensuring both ends of the wiring were safe and properly connected, the water heater was turned into a plug-in appliance. Though this solution might increase heating time, you’d still get enough hot water for the Easter holiday needs.
  • Setting Up Properly: The lead was run through a window to the nearest PowerPoint in the absence of outdoor plug access. This setup allowed the water heater to be used over the weekend, though more time was needed to achieve meaningful heating due to the reduced wattage.

Preparation for Proper Repair

While this temporary measure ensures basic hot water availability, it’s essential to organise a permanent fix. Arranging a meeting with a roofing plumber and, if needed, an electrician, is crucial for lifting the roof to run a new circuit safely. Planning these steps ensures no recurrence of the problem and peace of mind for future holidays.

Dealing with unexpected home repairs during a long weekend can be stressful, but knowing how to use the resources available to you can mitigate issues until full repairs are done. Whether it’s a hot water problem or another issue, staying calm, identifying the problem, and thinking through possible solutions can make a significant difference. Having experience in these matters or learning from experienced professionals can also help tackle both the technical and practical sides of such problems.