How To Tell If Your Water Heater Element Is Bad
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- Опубліковано 12 лис 2018
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This week I will show you how to figure out a bad water heater element. There are just a few easy steps to figuring it out. This video will definitely help if you are having water heater problems. I hope you enjoy the content and please leave a comment if you have any suggestions, questions, or would just like to say hi!
How to tell if your hot water heater is bad!
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When you verify voltage is present at your element, Amp draw is also an excellent test of element functioning. Also after draining tank and removing lower element, this is a good time to see if tank needs a cleaning.
you are right about the current. i would check with amp probe first
I always test for amperage draw never test for continuity the element can be out and still have continuity
We had a storm knock out our power and when the lights came back on, we had no hot water. I pulled out the elements and they were covered in little white rocks. They were still testing good for continuity but I replaced them anyway. Still no hot water. Tested EVERY contact and EVERYTHING was testing good and I couldn’t figure out what the problem was so I started watching troubleshooting videos on UA-cam and they all just kept repeating the same steps to test each terminal. I finally found this video and it offered a a test haven’t heard on any of the other videos, (checking both inputs together to verify that they added up to 240v)! Sure enough, one input wire was getting 120v (and since I had continuity every contact also read 120v) and the other read 0v. It was the Square D double 30 breaker. One side was good holding the other in the ON position, so it wasn’t tripped. Traded it out for a new breaker and I got 240v and hot water!! I just wanted to say thank you for including this test because you are the ONLY person who suggested it!
Nice. Mine is doing the same thing after I replaced both thermostats and elements and tested all the terminals. Over and over again as everyone kept suggesting. Hopefully I can find the problem in this video like you have.
The damn water company was doing some work on a house a couple yards down from me and no joke ever since they started I have had no hot water…. Don’t know if it was just shity timing or if somehow they screwed up my water too… they are never there when I’m off work so I’m kinda screwed lol
Thanks for the video. Keep up the good work. I’m a level 2 plumber and this video is part of the curriculum in Canada.
Great video. No stupid music on background, went step by step explaining everything clearly. Straight to the point and making some good comments along the way. The ONLY thing I would like to see a little better is the setting symbols on your multimeter (I know, I can watch a video on how to use a multimeter). Thank you !!!
Yeah me too. People who do videos need to understand peoples learning curve is all different and assume we are dumb sheep learning this for the first time. Because I am. I don't even know the settings all mean on my multimeter. The video did not focus well on the settings. Was too far out. Great video. Be careful of nonchalantly speeding through things like this. I noticed saying things important that could seriously harm someone because it was said casually or context was not from A to B. 11:18 is a good example of this. The way in which you said it, a literal person would disconnect the leads, and then cut the power. So someone would disconnect the leads before turning the power off. Because that is the way you said it and they are imitating everything you do. Why? Because they are sheep. In fact, when you say Cut.. don't be surprised if they actually CUT it. I've taught many classes before. Assume everyone are idiots.
Best explanation on UA-cam yet. This was awesome. Thank you.
I really appreciate that comment! Thanks!
My man...you just saved me some money for the time being👍🏾 Turned out to be both heating elements were shot. Even though I'm still considering doing tankless but now I can take my time
This really helped me! Very clear, detailed and understandable.Thank you for what you do!!
I really appreciate your comment! Thanks for watching. Hope to see you around the channel!
This was super helpful. Talk about a life saver. Thank you so much!
Very well explained. Love the video !!
Its not a "hot water heater" If you had hot water you wouldn't need the heater. Literally everyone calls it this. 😅
Impressed with such of a very detailed explanation, and easy to understand, thank you
Great information! Didn't know how to continuity test before. My element was bad and had shorted out and burned in two. Only discovered when I pulled the element out due to getting no hot water. Thanks!
You broke this down so dang good.
Thank you, 25 years electrician and never was shown how to test one. Just reasoned it out. I was right!
@Walsh; YOU must think that I am an idiot.
Your comment was not 11 months ago, it was more like 11 seconds ago, Mr so-called Langley/ NASA Scientific radio controlled “Researcher”!
Thank you! Helping me troubleshoot my research project!
Be nice if someone would show/explain removal of element that burned and one side was severed from the other. That's what happened to me and when pulling out the element without draining the tank, water went everywhere. If a continuity test showed no continuity, then you might be ready with a screwdriver? to hold down the broken element as it was pulled out of the tank? We had no idea the element could be broken in two. We did remove it and get the new element in, but like so many of these DIY YT videos, they always seem to show the perfect circumstance; never what might go wrong. And, the heating elements alternate function from the thermostat setting; we thought the lower unit had a problem until we check it again fir a few minutes. Your clip is one of the best for this. I never knew anything about it before we DIY. Thanks!
It is completely your fault for not following instructions to drain the tank before removing the heating element. The gushing water had nothing to do with your element being broken and everything to do with you not draining the tank before trying to remove the element.
Nice job at explaining very clearly!
Yep,..my problem exactly with the water heater,..thanks for the video,..very clear on what to do. Thanks
I agree with other comments, best explained video on UA-cam, I'm subbed brother
Awesome! That’s what the channel is all about!
good explanation, clear, and easy to understand. good video.
Thank you for your video! Best I found while problem solving my electric water heater!
Well I appreciate that comment! Thanks!
Excellent. Thanks for your time!
Great video, but your troubleshooting may not work in some cases.
If it's winter, and you're upper element failed, and your tank has been sitting a while (ie cooled down), you won't be able to turn down the upper element enough to allow the bottom element to turn on. Our incoming water is cold, and the upper thermostat's minimum temp is 90F, 32C. If the upper element has failed, the water wont warm, so the thermostat won't send power to the lower thermostat.
Thank you! You helped me identify a bad heating element on my water heater
Thank you so much for this video!! I thought I had a bottom bad element because it wasn’t getting to 240v after I flushed my water tank
Best "how to" on this subject! Thanks!
Wow! Very thorough! Thank you!!
thanks for the video, im a carpenter/roofer.... i hate wires!!!!... but now i know why my heater only gives 30min of hot water
Very good tutorial sir. 👍🏿
Had to skip all the way to 12:30 to find what I needed. Disconnect before testing continuity. Exactly what I needed. Been a long time since I had to muck with this. Thanks...
Good information and explanation. 👍☘ oh, one idea, show the settings on the multimeter when testing.
Thanks man I was getting lots over a blown out element in the tank
A good video. Good sound video and instruction. Thanks!
thank you for making this video it was much helpful!
Great explanations, you a great teacher.
Amazing explanation! Thank you so much!
Awesome! That’s what this channel is all about! Hope to see you around!
Great job explaining how the element work on a electric water heater thank
I appreciate your comment! Thanks
Gonna try this this weekend at the cottage. Thanks
Be sure to turn OFF the power from your main breaker box to the water heater before removing the wires on the heating element. One thing that some of these videos didn't mention is the mineral coating on the elements inside the water heater. The elements will still work. But it will take more time to heat the water when the heat from the element must go through the mineral deposits which act as an insulator that slow down the heat transfer from element to cold water.
Exactly, which also means that the water heater has to be drained/flush not always the case but I would drain it first & then changed the element to be on the safe side.
Very well explained
Excelente explanation! Thank you very much!!!.
Very good explanation….thank u
Thank you great video, I hope all the rookie maintenance watch your video.till then keep smiling with lol politely and healthy safely maintain knowledge
Thanks very helpful. Also love and appreciate the angst with the camera - I get the same issue when I’m videoing carpentry work cuz I don’t script or plan the video ahead. 👍🏼
Also as others have mentioned, I’ve reviewed a few on this topic and there’s a lot of great ones, but this was detailed and explained quite clearly and the troubleshooting aspect is spot on. Thnx again.
very good in explaining info.
Extremely affective and so informative 👏 , thank you so much sir, spectacular job!!
very helpful video.
The best take away is that both elements will not be on at the same time. Never knew this. Thanks!
Yes!
Great video, thanks!!!
THank you, this vedeo so clear on troubleshooting.. Is there any reason why there 2 type of heating element ?....
Great video , buddy!
Thanks for your very, very great video
Great video, good explanations with the multimeter. Old apartment had a Rheem 30 gallon from the 1990s...was probably never even touched. Hot water sucked, about 5 mins then lukewarm, and handle had to be ALL the way on full hot. If you moved it a HAIR, the water went cool. One time the heater went out totally- the thermostat RESET button restored it back to its "normal" crap performance. It finally busted a leak and was done for this year. Wish I knew this info before- could have at least drained/flushed sediment, and tested/replaced the elements. The anode was fucked and it was going to bust a hole anyway, but at least I couldve not dealt with lukewarm crappy showers for years. Thx for the info
Great job
Great video ❤
Thanks for the video
Great video, but I was a little confused as to the top thermostat and the bottom was showing power. I thought that was not suppose to happen. Even though the bottom was drawing any current but power shouldn't have gotten that far with the top running correct?
Thanks, very well describe
very good video thank you
Elements can also be tested by turning off the power, then testing the resistance across the element. A good element should read between 10-16 ohms. My good element read at 13 ohms, but my bad lower element read at .59M ohms (basically open). Safer to test with the power off.
What if both elements read at 13 Ohms, thermostats look good visually and power is being supplied but still no hot water? Could one of the thermostats be bad or voltage be incorrect?
@@snowyowl9132 Did you isolate each element by removing at least one wire from each one? You might be "back feeding" and reading the same element through the t-stat.
Good stuff
Thanks
So helpful, thanks
thank you for sharing
Great video thank you
Good info.
Nice video man appreciate it
Thanks! I appreciate the comment!
Hi.. I got a problem with my electric iron heating element. Let's say the resistance readings are as expected but I'm just scared to pass the current throught the heating element to check it, because I dont want it to short. I basically dont want the fuse in the mains to go off and then we'll have no electricity in the house and will have to call for help. So how can I make sure that wopnt happen?
From what I checked with the multimeter, it was showing no current leaking into the body and the resistance between the terminals of the heating element is exactly 58 ohms (calculation says it should be 57.6 ohms). Should I now be okay to move ahead and connect power supply?
Very wel explain good job
Hey I noticed the two elements you got from lowes. I bought a pair of the same "deluxe" elements (the loop one) earlier today. From what I understand, most new water heaters come with that other model you had on the table (high density I think?), but the deluxe (low density?) looped model is a bit longer than the other one. Does it matter that it has a greater length? We have a standard ao smith ECT 52 210, 50 gallon....typical sized. I would have played it safe and bought the shorter ones, but they only had one left. Both are 240/4500, only difference is the length.
The only thing you need to worry about is the correct voltage and wattage. Every company has their design and their opinion on which is best. Keep in mind that a lot of company’s will engineer something to a lower standard so that it fails. It will keep their business operating on need of the customer.
Good job
thank you for your video awesome brother👍
🤟 really helped me out
Awesome!
Do you have video for replacing element?
THANKS A BUNCH!
Where the second video to replace it great video !
I replaced thermostat and heating element. all Volt readings read 240V from break panel to the heating element. Power to both yet does not heat. I have a US/Craftmaster 30 gal elec water heater only 1 thermostat and 1 heating element. Ant suggestions?
Thank you.
Thanks for the comment!
So if i have power everywhere but the black wire that connects the two thermostat then is the top thermostat broken?
Keep in mind that both elements might not come on together. They might sequence. Heat bottom first then top. You can test and check it with a new one and find out! If it doesn’t fix it, take it back.
The hot water runs out quick after like 5-7 minutes while taking a shower. It's an electric water heater brand new, I've only had it for a month now. Any suggestions??? Thanks!
So it works on a hot water heater. What about on a cold water heater🤷♂️ 🤔
🤣🤣 just picking on you man, good video and break down🤙
I was considering asking why waste money heating hot water... ;)
Thanks.
HD didn't have one of those double back elements so I bought two straight ones of the proper wattage, it works but will that make a difference in the energy use or efficiency?
Only wattage matters. If you bought the proper wattage, it will use the same amount of energy.
The straight elements have a one year warranty. The double back ones have a 3 or 5 year warranty. They are longer, so they input the same wattage, into more metal. I guess that makes them last longer...
Question - Does the thermostat 180F limit red reset button on upper thermostat only act on top info present at upper thermostat, or does the lower thermostat send signals that can can pop it? I'm guessing no, but wanted to make sure. Reason I'm asking is that (i) I have "hard" well water and (ii) my reset button keeps popping (even after replacing both thermostats), so my working theory is that the elements are coated with minerals, which raises their internal temp to operate and thus setting off the thermostat limit reset (presumably at the upper thermostat?).
No signal sent between. I’d agree with your theory
Recently used your method to find the reset button had tripped. Left covers and insulation off for about a week waiting to see if reset would trip again. No problems during that week. 24 hrs after reinstalling insulation and covers, thermostat reset tripped again. What would cause reset to trip? Would changing thermostat be best solution?
Thanks
Might be an over temp problem. Putting covers back on made the thermostats get hot and pop. I’d try changing them out and see what happens! It’s a relatively cheap fix. If it doesn’t fix them, you can always return them!
i have a 4500kw water heater, went get 2 new wlements, guy at hardware says its universal threads, but i cannot get it to start, is this true?
I found a shortcut, or did I? Turn a thermostat up, hear it click on then hear water heating in the tank. Seemed to be an easy shortcut. Great video, thank you!
This seems like a very thorough explanation on trouble shooting a hot water tank. Unfortunately, I just don't understand much about electrical things. My hot water started coming out scalding hot and rather brown-ish the other day, so I knew something was wrong. But I don't know how to test these components. What if I just buy 2 new elements and 2 new thermostats? I'm pretty sure I can install them myself. Would that fix my problem?
This would be a good place to start. Draining the tank and flushing it out, should take care of your brownish color. However I wouldn’t change the elements out. You know they work well! It came out hot hot! Just replace the thermostats which seem to have malfunctioned. You can get the thermostat and element kits and save the elements for later.
@@TheDurbinCompound - Thank you so much for that advice! I will definitely follow thru.
Good luck! Let us know how it goes!
Nice video. Thanks for so much helpful info. BTW, when trying to add humor...be careful about saying to "wet your finger, etc." You never know when someone takes you literally. Also, not sure if anyone has ever pointed out how often you say "ah" or "um." A common speaking habit which detracts from the quality of your presentation.
When I tested the ohms, I was going 17 on a new one and like 30 on my ones that are already installed. Seeing how they both have continuity on the bottom and top, do you have any other ideas on why it’s flipping my breaker?
This is where testing with an amp probe comes in. The elements are marked as to their amperage around 18 amps I believe. If your element is bad it will show higher amps than normal. Or no amps.
The elements are $11-$14. Maybe just swap them out?
will a bad lower heating element cause my upper thermostat to trip because i have to keep resetting my upper thermostat,i know my lower heating element is bad,but should i replace my upper thermostat because i have to keep resetting it.
I just changed the element in my tank and it was all swollen and crusted and there's all these white chunks of stuff inside the water in the tank
I'm not sure what they are or how they got there and I don't know if opening the drain valve will drain out those clumps that look almost like big huge pieces of salt but I'm pretty sure it's not salt
It’s calcium deposits. Definitely a must to flush the tank yearly
I've seen on other videos it says to turn the water heater off at main breaker. Before touching all those screws with the voltage checker, are we supposed to turn off the main circuit breaker first?
How are you supposed to troubleshoot and check voltage with your multimeter if the main power is off?
Hey buddy you measure the ohms wrong on the element. It SHOULD NOT BE 77ohms!
A 3,500-watt element should register 16 ohms, a 4,500-watt element should register between 12 and 13 ohms, and a 5,500-watt element should register between 10 and 11 ohms
correct NK
New follower! I work as a service tech, I can learn a lot from you. Thank you!
I will start making more videos of troubleshooting in the field. I’ve been slacking
@@TheDurbinCompound yeah man you need to for you and for us.
Hey Edwin, if you could provide some things you’d like to see videos on as a tech, shoot me some of your ideas. I’m a remodeling contractor so I have such a narrow focus a lot and “writers block”
@@TheDurbinCompound whoooo ofcurse definitely it will be fun
@@TheDurbinCompound if you can I think you should make one fixing dryers basics like changing timers coils or thermostat and how to read the meter and what yo look for also
Check the amps, check all the legs withs volt metter. If one leg is low or inconsistent with the others, you got a bad element
Great video one question I have no power at the bottom thermostat or the lower heating element at 125 degrees but I have power on both of them at 150 degrees they both read around 235 when it's turned up to 150 degrees any suggestions
I would say that is operating correctly. The bottom thermostat is only coming on when necessary. If you’re still not getting hot water, then you most likely have a bad heating element.
Ok that helps me out do you think the bottom thermostat is bad I only have one on mine there is only a heating element on top behind the cover and I leave the water at 125 degrees and after one shower the water is Luke warm
Hey this is derick Durbin nice to meet you
Did u do part 2?
I measured the voltage with my meter at the top of the thermostat the way you show at 6:08. It shows no voltage. Yet my pen tester shows voltage present at both the thermostat and the heating element. I can't figure that out. The meter correctly shows voltage at a standard 120 volt outlet.
That goodman dependable 92 should be checked for big cracks in the collector box!!
Yep I’ve kept an eye on that old girl. She has been outstanding!
First time I've ever seen a Craftsman meter