Electric Hot Water Heater Troubleshooting

Fast water heater company discusses how to troubleshoot a failing electric water heater.

Electric hot water heater troubleshooting.

If your electric hot water heater is slow to heat runs out of hot water faster than it used to or doesn t deliver any hot water at all there s a 90 percent chance that simply replacing one or both of the heating elements will solve the problem. The first things to check are the thermostat and elements of the hot. Before checking any electrical parts of a water heater shut off the power to the heater s circuit by turning off the appropriate breaker in your home s service panel breaker box. Electric water heaters are high voltage 240 volt appliances that are dangerous to work with when the power is on.

At times people see puddles or hear popping sounds near water heaters. Electric water heaters have one or two elements and each is controlled by a thermostat. To rule out an undersized heater check to make sure the heater has 75 percent of its capacity as hot water. Electric water heaters use either 120 or 240 volt power 240 volts is more common to energize metal heating elements that protrude into the water heater tank through the side wall.

If that doesn t work perform a hard reset by shutting off power to the water heater at the circuit breaker box. How electric water heaters work. Most water heaters have two heating elements one near the top of the tank another located further down. Electric hot water heater problems.

Often there is some hot water available but it runs out quickly. Wait about hour and see if your water heats up. You can test them with the power off using an ohmmeter to measure resistance or with the power on using a voltmeter to measure voltage. Electric hot water heater troubleshooting involves checking wiring that has a significant amount of current.

In fact the combination of volts and amps in an electric water heater can be lethal. There are several problems that can arise with a whirlpool electric hot water heater. For electric hot water heaters start troubleshooting with a quick reset. In some cases the water is too hot.

When the water s not hot enough the problem can be an undersized water heater crossed hot and cold connections or a faulty heating element or thermostat. See electrical safety tips for information on working safely around electricity.