Electric Hot Water Heater Thermostat Troubleshooting

How electric water heaters work.

Electric hot water heater thermostat troubleshooting.

Electric water heaters are high voltage 240 volt appliances that are dangerous to work with when the power is on. The water could be hot enough to cause burns or it could lead to. If the hot water heater is not working one of the thermostats may be bad. An electric hot water heater has two thermostats controlling two separate heating elements one in the upper half of the tank one in the lower half.

If you are planning to fix the water heater yourself here are the steps to guide you through. Electric water heaters usually have two thermostats and to heating elements. Troubleshooting an overheating electric hot water heater. Then this is good news for you.

Didn t know you could adjust the thermostat on your water heater. 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. The thermostats work by turning the heating. Generally the ideal temperature for hot water heaters is 120 degrees fahrenheit.

An upper thermostat located behind a cover high on the heater tank and a lower thermostat located behind a panel low on the water heater tank photo at left. Troubleshooting the thermostat on a hot water heater. 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. Usually when the upper thermostat goes bad you will have no hot water at all while a bad lower thermostat makes itself known when there is only a small amount of hot water before the tap water goes cold.

First check your thermostat settings. Electric water heaters have one or two elements and each is controlled by a thermostat. See troubleshooting electric hot water heaters or water heater element testing for other related topics. Scalding hot water from a tap presents a serious problem for homeowners.

Most water heaters have two heating elements one near the top of the tank another located further down. Adjusting the temperature isn t difficult especially if you have a water heater with a dial 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.