Hot Water Heater Elements

1) Turn off the electric power at the main electrical service entrance. Turn off water supply to the tank.
2) Attach the alligator clip of the tester to one electric terminal of the element. Then touch the probe of the tester to the other electrical terminal of the element. The tester should light. If not, suspect a broken wire or a faulty heating element.
3) Open a nearby hot water faucet to start draining the tank. Then open the tank's drain valve to dram the remaining water. With the power and water turned off, remove the bolts holding the thermostat bracket and the element in the heater. Let the thermostat hang by the connecting wires. Then replace the old element with a new one of the same size, setting a brand new gasket in position, replacing the wires, and replacing the bracket and bolts. Be sure to repack the insulation around the thermostat and replace the access door.

4) Turn on the water and fill the water heater tank. When the tank is full of water, turn on the power. Do not turn on the power until the tank has been filled with water.

A SHORT CIRCUIT?
No hot water could indicate a short circuit in the heater instead of a malfunctioning element. Test it this way:

1) Turn off the power of the water heater at the main electrical service entrance.
2) Remove the access door and the insulation around the thermostats.
3) Fasten the alligator clip of a continuity tester to one terminal of the element. Touch the probe of the tester to a bolt holding the bracket/element in position. If the tester light goes on, there is a short circuit and the element usually must be replaced.

A short could be caused by a loose wire in the element coming in contact with metal. If water leakage is the problem a fuse/breaker can blow/snap and the water in the heater will overheat causing the high-temperature cutoff to come on. Most likely you will have to replace the heater.

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Comments installed new thermostat,elect..hot water heater,no hot water have already replaced heating element.hooked up the wires to the thermostat.120v on each side of theheating element #21 - sparky - 10/11/2009 - 19:45 Use the pressure relief valve to help drain the water from the tank when replacing the element. (Adds air in to the tank so that water can drain out the bottom faster) #20 - Ken - 09/16/2009 - 11:43 Plumbing stores sell a deep well socket that works great for removing hot water tank elements. #19 - Ken - 09/16/2009 - 11:39 Element replacement Am having trouble taking the old heating element out to replace with the new one. It is to tight to loosen! Any ideas or suggestions to help loosen to get my hot water heater working ASAP? #18 - Do-it-herself 75 - 09/01/2009 - 15:08 what about watts Do I need to use the same wattage heating elements? My data plate says 1250w, but I can only find 1500w. #17 - dar - 08/20/2009 - 17:28 HandyMan Help me..!! I can't find the solution.. I am getting 120v to each side of the upper and lower elements just installed into my Richmond 30 gal electric hotwater tank.. NO HOT WATER !! The wiring is fine, the ground is fine.. checked the reset button.. I AM MECHANICAL, BUT.. I AM STUMPED !! any suggestions ?? #16 - James - 07/19/2009 - 08:09 water gets too hot and trips top thermostat-I have replaced top thermostat, I don't see any water leak in the system, everything is dry and looks like brand new, continuity test shows both elements to be good (not brocken or shorted. I can't measure the resistance on the elements what should they be? I have 50 gallon 4500 watt elements on my unit. Could it be my elements? which one and how to tell. Than You. #15 - Tony - 07/11/2009 - 08:22 Can't get old element out ... too tight. #14 - Bill Uppercue - 05/04/2009 - 15:19 Mr I have replaced lower element twice in a very short time. The last time it lasted 1 day. Only have enough hot water for one bath. What would cause the lower element to continue going bad? Thanks #13 - E. G. - 04/20/2009 - 14:40 what to do during water outage Would anyone recommend to turn the hot water heater off during a water outage? Would the element be at risk? #12 - Kurt - 04/03/2009 - 09:07 Had to replace water heater, when you turn on hot water it has a milkey look . Will this go away? #11 - Gail - 02/24/2009 - 15:56 home owner I need to know the tools required to replace a water heater element. Is there a specific tool for removing the old element? Thanks #10 - irvin nickerson - 02/24/2009 - 05:42 double trouble I have replaced the top t-stat and the water still gets HOT and kicks the hot water sensor off on the top T-sat.. I have ben told it could be the element causing this.. Don\'t se how it could be.. Any advice would be appreciated #9 - Still Confused - 02/18/2009 - 06:11 Limited hot water, ran some tests With the family complaining about running out of hot water, I opened the heater panels and took a look with a DVM. I found the textbook dual-element configuration. Since we had some hot water I knew the over-temp cutoff wasn't tripped, and it wasn't. I saw 240v on the bottom element, and none on the top. After turning off the breaker (and confirming no power), I loosened the wires to the heaters and measured their resistance. They're both 4500W; the top element reads 13 ohms, the bottom element reads open. So I'm off to find a replacement element, drain the tank, and swap in the new part. Thanks for the assist in getting started on this small project. #8 - David - 02/15/2009 - 18:16 inadequate hot water I've found that my hot water stays on for a short period of time. I later found that my circuit breaker trips. When i reset the breaker, sometimes it wont let me reset it. Or when i do reset it, i'll hear a knock coming from the hot water heater. Or it'll allow me to reset the circuit breaker, but the water doesnt stay heated as long as it used to. #7 - Jackson - 01/24/2009 - 09:42 ellectrition home/owner I have resurched your electric water heater problem. First the upper ellement heats up first reaching temp and tripping lower ellement to kick on maintaining temp, shutting down upper ellement . You would think it would be reverse because hot water rises.{WRONG}. This is not the way there made. The lower thermostat should be set slightly lower because when the upper ellement shuts down [hot] and sends power to lower ellement it will maintain temp. Hot water is taken from the top of the tank first, so to replenish it, It is faster for the top ellement to heat up first. Bottom ellemant to maintain it, with the cold water entering at the bottom, only after top ellement has finished heating.If these settings are wrong you will burn them up. Replace them. You have burnt them out. Replace both. Resset settings. #6 - steve - 12/01/2008 - 21:58 New Homeowners We just closed the deal on a 4-year-old house in Florida. Carol commented that the water was not hot enough and maybe the previous owners had turned the WH thermostat down. When I removed the cover and began to remove the F/G insulation I discovered a broken wire at the terminal and evidence of arcing and burning a plastic shield and the wire insulation. The wire is damaged at it's end and too short to reconnect. Can I add a short length of wire and a wire nut? Or shall I replace the heating element or the entire water heater? Or shall i call a plumber or an electrician? #5 - Dick n Carol - 10/29/2008 - 23:46 ? OK, so how do I change the element out once I know it's faulty? #4 - Niffler - 08/15/2008 - 13:15 maintenance what are the reading when you ohm out a heating element #3 - curtis - 05/22/2008 - 10:40 What would make the heating element "bad"? I have a regular electric hot water heater with a tank. I had to replace my old iron cold water tank with a new one that has a "diaphram". Now the hot water heating element went "bad". Is it because the new cold water tank has a diaphram and the water leve is not high enought to cover the heating element? #2 - Zee - 04/11/2008 - 06:32 Home owner Getting to old to remember . . . The heater element, when they go bad, they go to an "open", yes? New out of the box they should read "closed loop" on your VOM? Thanks, Old & Kickin' #1 - Gettin' Old - 09/19/2007 - 16:35 Looks like we have a dead element Hi C, Will go home at lunch time & test the element but I reckon it must be cactus as the power is ok but have to test it for 240 at the element of course..I seem to remember replacing one somewhere,possibily at the flats in Church La. Have a great "Sparky" day Love Dad. #0 - Harry - 09/09/2007 - 14:07 Name Title Comment To prevent automated Bots form spamming, please enter the text you see in the image below in the appropriate input box. Your comment will only be submitted if the strings match. Please ensure that your browser supports and accepts cookies, or your comment cannot be verified correctly.