Electric Hot Water Heater Troubleshooting

If that doesn t work perform a hard reset by shutting off power to the water heater at the circuit breaker box.

Electric hot water heater troubleshooting. Electric hot water heater troubleshooting involves checking wiring that has a significant amount of current. Often there is some hot water available but it runs out quickly. Electric water heaters have one or two elements and each is controlled by a thermostat. Most water heaters have two heating elements one near the top of the tank another located further down.

Turn off the water heater for a few minutes and then turn it back on. To rule out an undersized heater check to make sure the heater has 75 percent of its capacity as hot water. How electric water heaters work. 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.

For electric hot water heaters start troubleshooting with a quick reset. There may be no hot water in the house at all. See electrical safety tips for information on working safely around electricity. 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 the hot water heater is not working one of the thermostats may be bad. Electric water heaters are high voltage 240 volt appliances that are dangerous to work with when the power is on. 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. 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.

Wait about hour and see if your water heats up. There are several problems that can arise with a whirlpool electric hot water heater. In some cases the water is too hot. At times people see puddles or hear popping sounds near water heaters.

Fast water heater company discusses how to troubleshoot a failing electric water heater. In fact the combination of volts and amps in an electric water heater can be lethal.