Water Heater Repair in Fremont, NE
Tell us what your water heater is doing, and a licensed contractor who covers Dodge County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Long winters and storm outages put strain on your water heater here
Fremont homes run their heat from October through May, with winter nights averaging 16°F from December through February. Through those cold months your water heater is working alongside the furnace, and the colder it is outside, the more the tank has to recover between uses.
Dodge County has seen 17 winter storms and 49 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and in 2024 a quarter of Nebraska households lost power for 24 hours or more. A gas water heater with a standing pilot keeps working through an outage. One with electronic ignition, or an electric unit, will not heat water until power returns. Most units come back on by themselves once the power does. If yours does not, or the water is only lukewarm after an outage, that is worth a look.
- 16°F
- the average winter night, and colder incoming water means longer heating
- 8 months
- October through May, the months homes here need heat
- 25%
- of Nebraska 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
A new water heater would cut about $60 a year off hot water for a typical Nebraska home.
Estimates for a typical Nebraska home, compared with an older unit built to the federal minimum, from EIA household energy data and Nebraska fuel prices. Your home will differ.
Repair makes sense when an element, thermostat or gas valve has failed.
Replacement makes sense when the tank itself is leaking.
- Why is my water heater leaking from the bottom?
- Most often the tank itself has rusted through from the inside and is failing. Sediment builds up at the bottom of the tank over years, and once it wears through the steel there is no patching it. A leak could also come from the drain valve or a fitting above the tank running down the side, so look closely before assuming the worst. If the water is coming from underneath the tank itself, the tank needs to be replaced.
- Why won't the pilot light on my water heater stay lit?
- The thermocouple or flame sensor is usually the cause. That part senses the pilot flame and tells the gas valve to stay open. When it wears out or sits coated in soot, it reads the flame as out even when it is lit, and the gas valve shuts everything down. A weak gas supply or a draft blowing on the pilot can cause the same thing, so a contractor will check both before replacing parts. A standing pilot runs on its own and does not depend on electricity, so a power outage will not affect it.
- Can a tankless water heater be repaired?
- Yes, most problems in a tankless unit are repairable. Mineral buildup on the heat exchanger is common and is cleared with a descaling flush, especially where the water is hard. Igniters, flow sensors, and venting issues can also be replaced or corrected without swapping the whole unit. A contractor can tell you after looking at it whether repair or replacement makes more sense for your situation.