Water Heater Repair in Nantucket, MA
Tell us what your water heater is doing, and a licensed contractor who covers Nantucket County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Nantucket storms leave water heaters cold
Nantucket County has recorded 7 winter storms and 60 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Across Massachusetts, 10% of households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024, and the island's exposure to wind off the water puts it in the way of that kind of outage.
A gas water heater with electric ignition will not relight on its own once the power comes back. It needs a hand to get the pilot going again, and until then the tank sits cold. A standing pilot model rides out the outage itself, since the flame never needed power to begin with, but the tank still loses ground if the outage runs long enough.
- 28°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 8 months
- October through May, the months homes here need heat
- 10%
- of Massachusetts 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
- Why is my water heater leaking from the bottom?
- The tank has likely rusted through from the inside and is failing. Water heaters have a steel tank with a glass lining, and once that lining cracks, the steel underneath corrodes and eventually leaks. A leak from the bottom can also come from a loose drain valve or a fitting sweating with condensation, so it is worth checking those first before you assume the worst. If the tank itself is leaking, it needs to be replaced, not repaired.
- 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 no longer hold the valve open once you let go, so the flame drops out. A dirty pilot orifice or a draft blowing on the flame can cause the same problem. A standing pilot does not run on electricity, so a power outage will not be the cause here.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most problems with a tankless water heater can be fixed without replacing the whole unit. Common repairs include descaling the heat exchanger, replacing an igniter or flow sensor, and clearing a blocked vent. A contractor can look at the specific error code or symptom and tell you what the unit needs.