Electric Water Heater Thermostat Troubleshooting

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 heater thermostat troubleshooting.

Symptoms can range from no hot water to inadequate hot water to water that s too hot. Electric water heaters have one or two elements and each is controlled by a thermostat. Troubleshooting an overheating electric hot water heater. Further it does not discuss gas or propane fuel types nor plumbing related issues.

Scalding hot water from a tap presents a serious problem for homeowners. An electric thermostat is set at the factory and not. 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. Most water heaters have two heating elements one near the top of the tank another located further down.

See troubleshooting electric hot water heaters or water heater element testing for other related topics. When there s no hot water the problem can stem from lack of power a faulty electric thermostat or a faulty upper electric heating element. The lower thermostat just controls the lower element. Electric water heaters are high voltage 240 volt appliances that are dangerous to work with when the power is on.

If the hot water heater is not working one of the thermostats may be bad. You can easily repair and replace if necessary the controls and heating elements of most common residential 120 208 and 240 volt electric water heaters with traditional line voltage controls. Extreme caution is required. The water could be hot enough to cause burns or it could lead to.

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. Several types of electric water heater issues can cause problems with water temperature. If you touch any bare wires or terminals you will receive a severe shock that can be deadly. Not the microprocessor types that are starting to appear in stores.

When the upper element works and the lower one does not you have a low supply of hot water. How electric water heaters work. Troubleshooting thermostats in a hot water heater requires that the power be turned back on.