Most Temple City homes are several water heaters past their first. The ranch houses and cottages built in the 1940s and 1950s have seen tanks come and go, each generation a little wider and better insulated than the last, while newer homes started with modern tanks or tankless units. Knowing which generation you have helps explain what's going wrong.
No hot water? Start here
- Water on the floor: shut the cold valve feeding the tank and keep away from anything electrical that's wet.
- Gas smell: get out first, then call the gas utility and 911 from outside.
- No hot water: note the fuel, the heater's age and where it sits.
Temple City's homes and heaters
Temple City began in 1923, when Walter P. Temple and his partners bought land east of San Gabriel and laid out the Town of Temple as a town of affordable homes. It took the name Temple City in 1928, grew quickly after World War II and incorporated in 1960. Its Camellia Festival, held every February, dates to 1944. This page covers ZIP code 91780.
Much of the city's housing is single-story ranch homes and cottages from the 1940s and 1950s, with newer, larger homes on some lots. Most older houses keep a gas tank in the garage or an exterior closet. The water is hard, and many homes have softeners or filters, which shape how the heater should be maintained.
What the symptoms usually mean here
A relief valve dripping after heating usually points to thermal expansion; a steady flow needs prompt attention. Rumbling and less hot water mean sediment. Rust in the hot water only suggests a spent anode. Water from the tank body means the tank has reached its end.
Best before it fails.
Softeners, filters and the heater
Softeners are common in Temple City because the water is hard. A softener trades the hardness minerals for sodium or potassium, which means far less sediment settles in the tank and far less scale forms on elements or in a tankless heat exchanger. Rumbling and lost capacity become smaller problems, and flushing can usually be spaced further apart. Mineral crust on the fittings above the tank also builds more slowly.
The trade-off is the anode rod, the metal rod that corrodes so the tank doesn't. Softened water tends to consume it faster, and once it's gone, the tank's lining is on its own. So a softened home needs anode checks sooner, and the technician may suggest a different anode type after seeing how quickly the first one wore.
Filters and scale-control cartridges vary in what they actually do, and none removes the need for periodic checks. A water treatment specialist can test your water and confirm a system is working. Tell the water heater technician what's installed and when its media or cartridges were last changed.
Mention any softener or filter.
Exterior closets on ranch homes
Many of Temple City's ranch homes and cottages keep the heater in a closet on an outside wall, behind a louvered door facing a side yard or driveway. It kept the burner out of the house in a compact floor plan, and it still works well when the closet is looked after. Leaves and dust collect on the closet floor and are worth sweeping out, since they can be drawn toward the burner.
Keep the louvers clear: they supply the burner's combustion air, so storage, weatherstripping and paint have to stay off them. Sun and weather age the door, plastic drain valve, washers, flexible connectors and relief line faster than a garage would, and older pilot models can be upset by wind.
When replacement comes, the closet sets the limits. Each generation of tank has carried more insulation, so a new one may be wider than the opening framed for the original. The installer measures the door, shelf and vent before recommending a model. A slimmer tank, or a tankless unit on the outside wall that frees the closet, are the usual alternatives. A move to tankless also needs a gas line sized for the unit and new venting, which the installer prices alongside the tank option.
The relief valve
The temperature and pressure relief valve near the top of the tank is the heater's key safety device. If the water overheats or the pressure climbs too high, it opens and releases water through its discharge line, protecting the tank. It's a simple part, but it only works if it can open freely and its discharge line runs clear.
What it's doing tells you a lot. A drip after each heating cycle usually means thermal expansion in a system closed by a pressure regulator or check valve, and an expansion tank typically fixes it. A steady flow points to high supply pressure, an overheating thermostat or a worn seat, and needs prompt attention.
Never cap, plug or block the valve or its discharge line, and don't test it yourself, since an old valve may not reseal. The discharge line needs a clear route to a safe spot, which the installer confirms. On an exterior closet heater, check that the line hasn't been bent, cut short or blocked by plants, and that it ends where a discharge would be noticed rather than hidden behind the closet.
Strapping in Temple City
Across Temple City, a strapped or braced tank is the California norm with the fastenings sized to the tank. A full tank is heavy, top-heavy and joined to the house by gas, water and vent lines; securing it keeps it upright and those lines intact if the ground moves. It's part of nearly every Temple City replacement and is checked at sale.
For a Temple City address, garage walls take straps into their studs, and a concrete wall takes masonry anchors. An exterior closet on an older house may need blocking so the straps grip solid framing. A wider new tank usually needs new straps, flexible connectors complete the setup and tankless units are secured through their mounting. At a Temple City property, the details follow local rules, and the installer is the one to confirm them and answers questions along the way.
Repair or replace
A single failed part on a dry, sound tank is usually worth repairing. A tank-body leak, rust in the hot water, sediment beyond flushing or a tank well past its expected life points to replacement. Ask for both prices.
Temple City ZIP code
ZIP codes served: 91780
Nearby cities with their own pages include Arcadia, San Gabriel, El Monte, Rosemead and South El Monte. See every city on the Los Angeles Metro page.
Popular services in Temple City
Temple City water heater FAQs
The heater may be fine; the pipe run is long. Every draw starts by emptying the water that has cooled in the line, so rooms farthest from the heater wait longest. Recirculation or a point-of-use heater near those rooms solves it better than a bigger tank.
Two different metals touching, such as copper and steel, corrode where they meet, and a slow seep leaves mineral crust that looks similar. Hard water makes it worse. Dielectric fittings or new connectors usually solve it, and a technician can tell whether a joint is leaking.
Replacement means the new heater takes the old one's spot and reuses the existing gas or power, water lines and vent where they're suitable. A new installation puts a heater somewhere new, such as a garage instead of an exterior closet, or a second unit for an added dwelling.
Not usually in Temple City's mild winters. On a rare cold night, exposed outdoor pipes or an outdoor tankless unit are the parts most at risk, and many outdoor tankless models have freeze protection that needs power. Insulating exposed pipes near an exterior closet is a sensible step.
Measure before buying. Each generation of tank has grown a little wider with added insulation, so an opening framed around an older model can be tight. The installer checks the door, shelf and vent, and a slimmer tank or a tankless unit on the outside wall are the usual alternatives.
In a garage, almost always. In an exterior closet or a tight corner, it depends on width and height, including the vent connection above. The installer measures before recommending a unit and explains any changes to the closet or piping, so there are no surprises on the day.
Yes, with an outdoor-rated model, and on a Temple City ranch home it can free the exterior closet. It needs a suitable wall, a gas line sized for the unit and service valves for descaling. The installer confirms where it can go.
Less often for sediment, sooner for the anode. Softened water cuts the flushing a tank needs but tends to wear the anode rod faster, so that rod deserves earlier checks. The technician sets the interval from what the first visit shows.