Posted by: Randy on January 31, 2000 at 18:48:41

In Reply to: Sink Drain And Gas HWT Posted by: Mark on January 31, 2000 at 12:56:00

I have two questions. First, one of our kitchen sink drains is leaking. I think the putty is old and dried up. Is the fix simply a matter of taking off the old hardware, cleaning away all the old putty, and putting on new putty? Are there little tricks that would make this easier or special concerns to worry about? We have a cast iron sink (double).

Second: We have a gas water heater. It seems to work just fine in that it runs, provides hot water, etc. We have the temperature turned down pretty low because we have a child in the house, ( I think it's about 110). We often run out of hot water if both my wife and I take a shower in the morning, especially if whoever goes first takes a long shower. With the water tank temperature so low, we don't have to turn on very much cold water for a shower - in other words our "hot" water is just slightly more hot than a "hot" shower. I don't know how large the tank is - it looks "average" to me.

Is it possible we're running out of water because we're basically using water only from the tank for our showers rather than using hotter water mixed with some cold? If lots of sediment were the problem, how could I tell? What other symptoms would there be? What should I do to clean the sediment/tank? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

1. Yes, removal and cleaning will help. Use teflon tape on the threads and tighten securely. Check to make sure you have no cracks, which means you might have to change the piping affected.
2. Go to the following web site for information and help pertaining to your hot water heater. I've found it helpful for myself and others: http//
homerepair.miningco.com/home/homerepair/msubwhtr.

Good luck!