Water Heater Repair in Belews Creek, NC

Rural conditions around Belews Creek

Belews Creek is an unincorporated community in northeastern Forsyth County near Belews Lake, the lake Duke built in 1973 to cool its Belews Creek Steam Station. Planners treat the lake area as rural: a City-County staff report on a subdivision on Van Hoy Road near Fagg Farm Road found no Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities water or sewer there, though Town of Stokesdale water was available to that site. Private wells are common in the area as a result, and well water brings sediment, iron and occasional odor issues into a water heater.

Natural gas is rare. In ZIP 27009 about 85% of homes heat with electricity, about 7% with propane and only about 2% with utility gas, so water heaters here are mostly electric, with propane units the main gas-fired option. Housing in the wider Belews Creek area has a median build year of 1994, with about 28% from before 1980.

Plumbing permits for the Forsyth County side come from the joint Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Inspections Division, which serves unincorporated Forsyth County. The 27009 ZIP also reaches into Stokes County, where different rules may apply.

Electric, propane or natural gas: what to check

Signs it needs attention

• Rumbling as the tank heats, a common sign of well sediment
• Hot water that smells of sulfur
• A breaker that trips whenever the heater runs
• A propane pilot that won't stay lit
• Any gas odor: leave and call 911 or your gas supplier from outside (Piedmont's line is 800-752-7504)

Timing

Well-fed heaters benefit from a flush every six to twelve months, and late fall is a good time, before the colder incoming water of winter makes the heater work harder. If your well pump or pressure tank has been serviced recently, a flush afterward clears any sediment the work stirred up.