You should never work on a water heater when it is hot. The heating element will sit in the control panel of the water heater, and this panel typically sits underneath a metal cover. But they use a high limit switch like the larger water heaters. A burnt-out element is a common cause of water heater woes. Loosen the two element screws. Undetermined age. The resistance must be a reading of one or less. How Many Watts Does a Hot Water Heater Use? If electricity still is present in the water heater, the voltage detector emits an audible alarm and its light flashes. If your water seems to be too hot to the point of boiling, then it means your thermostat is broken instead whi… All rights reserved. The water heater element is what heats the water up in electric water heaters. Remove an access panel, insulation and plastic cover. Depending on the age of the water heater, the insulation is fiberglass or closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam. Locate the access panels and carefully unscrew them. Set the multimeter to 240v - the water heater has two 120 volt wires connecting to it, so you will … My daughter bought a home and is complaining of only have 5-6 minutes of ho... Whirlpool E2F40RD045V 40 gallon water heater. Look for the panels attached with screws to the side of the water heater. If you're not sure what the elements are then consult your manual or hire a professional heating engineer. Unscrew the mounting hardware with a screwdriver, slip the wires out and bend them out of your way. Testing the water heater element now will ensure that it won't let you down on the coldest days of the year when hot water is not just a luxury but essential. Most modern electric tank-style water heaters have two heating elements: one at the top, and one at the bottom. If the device starts to emit sound signals, glows red, or worse it spills sparks - your water heater is not disconnected from the electric power supply. Now you need to use your screwdriver to remove the panels which are covering the element and thermostat. suggestions. Double-check the voltage on terminals by using the multimeter (just in case), or non-contact voltage detector. Touch the other probe to any metal part of the water heater. Turn the power OFF to the water heater, on the electrical panel. If you own and understand a volt-ohm meter, you can test with it instead. © Copyright 2020 Hearst Communications, Inc. Testing and Repairing a Mobile Home's Electric Water Heater. Pull the plastic safety cover from the element face. Either the element burns down, or the water slowly gets cold. Apart from this, the two other things i.e., tripped circuit or fuse is what trip off the heating element. Water heater elements have a relatively short lifespan. These elements will normally be located just above the thermostat in each panel. Hot water also gets a loss when the heating element breaks from the inside of the tank. The best way to check the health of your elements is to check the resistance of them. Water heater isn’t heating or heats poorly? Or set your multimeter on ohm testing or diodes testing. You must check that you've switched the right switch off by trying to turn your water heater on, this will make sure that you're safe and are not at risk of being electrocuted. How to Replace Your Water Heater Pressure Relief Valve, Optimize The Performance of Your Tankless Water Heater, Install a Heat Pump Water Heater to Save Cash. This video demonstrates how to test a heating element on a water heater. Most electric water heaters use a 30-amp double-pole circuit breaker. The upper heating element simply raises the already hot water temperature further by heating the top portion of water in the tank. You see, there are one to two elements that work for heating the tank’s water. All you have to do is to connect these probes to the heating element and check the reading to understand the condition of the water heater element. View our Privacy Policy here. If the element is infinitely resistant then it means that the element must be replaced. Website operating So without further ado. You can do this by unraveling the loose end of the metal element. Set the multimeter to OHM settings. The element is bad and must be replaced if the needle on the face of the multimeter moves. Remove the insulation you exposed when removing the side panels. How to Test a Heating Element in a Water Heater. Just follow these steps and you will be able to test the water heater element with the help of a digital multimeter, despite having no electrical work experience. Test the resistance to find out whether or not the element is snapped or damaged. Now remove the water heater element form the water heater thermostat and then set your multi meter knob on connectivity testing. She attended Tarrant County College and studied English composition. Test Procedure for an Electric Water Heater Element, How to Check Heating Elements in Hot Water Heaters, How to Replace the Heating Unit in an Electric Clothes Dryer, Waterheatertimer.org: How to Test Water Heater Element, Water-Heater-Repair-Guide.com: Water Heater Element Testing, The Family Handyman: How to Use a Multimeter, How to Check the Continuity on a Water Heater Element, How to Know if a Whirlpool Oven Sensor Is Bad. Turn off the breaker inside your main electric panel providing power to the water heater. If your water heater continually trips the circuit breaker, chances are the element has grounded and is creating an electrical short. Learn about detailed symptoms of heater element problems, how to test water heater elements, and how to … You may freely link to this site, and use it for non-commercial use subject to our terms of use. Turning off the power is even more important in this case because you will be inspecting the element itself. Use a multimeter to determine if and how your elements are damaged. problems contact webmaster@doityourself.com. How to test a water heater element. If the elements need replacing then order the correct type and replace them. Sometimes one element fails causing the other element to work overtime. If your hot water heater is not keeping water heated, it may not be the heater itself that is the problem. All information is provided "AS IS." I have an older electric water heater and I think that I might need a new e... We bought a new house. This is the most important part of your water heater and it's a good idea to check it's working from time to time. There are typically two different panels, one of these will be at the top of the heater, the other should be towards the bottom. To expose the elements for testing, remove the two metal covers, the insulation and the plastic covers on the side of the water heater. Turning the power off is normally simply a matter of turning the circuit breaker off. Touch each screw with one of the multimeter probes. Shut off the breaker and tag it so that no one turns it back on. Remove the screws from the panels to release them. Shutting Down the Water Heater The first thing you want to do is turn off the power. How to Fix the Thermostat on a Hot Water Heater. But, if the water is somewhat cold, it means the second element is failed. You must check that you've switched the right switch off by trying to turn your water heater on, this will make sure that you're safe and are not at risk of being electrocuted. After the elements have been fitted you can then cover them up with the same access panels. Before testing the element, you must disconnect power to the water heater: Cut power - flip the proper breaker, so there is no electricity running to the water heater. Old or small electric water heaters may only have one heating element. When suddenly, the water stops getting hot it should mean that upper element of a double element heater is having issues. Since then, the water for showers just doesn't seem ... Why Your Energy Bill Increases During the Holidays, Troubleshooting Problems with a Steam Shower Generator, Water Heater Troubleshooting- Not Producing Hot Water. The water heater element has no terminal, so you don’t have to … Take one wire off your heating elements using the screwdriver so that the entire element can be removed from the housing. You can often tell if a water heater element has failed by turning on the faucet in a sink. If your water heater continually trips the circuit breaker, chances are the element has grounded and is creating an electrical short. Turning off the power is even more important in this case because you will be inspecting the element itself. The water is actually heated by a heating element inside the tank that acts like a thermostat. How to Determine Which Water Heater Element Is Bad? I have a 40 gal electric water heater that's about 10 years old. You should ideally test the hot water heater during the summer when you won't actually need to switch it on at all. If your water heater produces some hot water, but not nearly as much as it should, suspect the lower element. Now to understand the testing of a water heater element, first, let’s have a sneak peek about how the apparatus basically functions. Finding a contractor will make it easier. An electric water heater uses one or two heating elements to heat the water inside the tank. When the meter is connected you will need to look for the needle moving. Copyright© When a water heater no longer produces hot water, the upper element on a double element water heater could be the culprit. Read Also: Gas vs Electric Water Heater – Differences and Comparisons . She has several years of experience in the home-improvement industry, focusing on gardening, and a background in group exercise instruction. Remove the two wires connected to the water heater element and push them aside. Leave one of the probes touching one of the screws on the element face. (An example calculation is shown in the tips section)Step 2, Now we know what resistance we are looking for we can check the element.Step 3, 3 Use a multimeter … DoItYourself.com®, founded in 1995, is the leading independent There are typically two heating elements in an electric water heater: the lower heating element and the upper heating element. Snap the plastic cover back over the thermostat and the element. Reinstall the insulation and attach the panels to the side of the water tank. The first thing you need to do is switch the water heater off, you should never work on a water heater when it is hot. Turn off the breaker that powers the hot water heater. 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. Touch one of the screws on the face of the element with one of the multimeter probes; place the remaining probe on the remaining screw. To test an electric water heater heating element, you will need to use a multimeter or multi-tester. 1995-2018 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. You should immediately stop all manipulations and turn off the boiler to test the water heater element. How to Test an Electric Water Heater's H... How to Test an Electric Water Heater's Heating Elements. The element works on exactly the same principle as the element in your kettle. Step 1, 1 Know the resistance of the element should be this can be calculated using known values:[1] X Research source R = (V x V) / P [Where V is the voltage powering the element, P is the power the element uses and R is the resistance.] Make a note of the element wattage printed on the side of the element face. 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. home improvement and repair website. When the water cools down below a certain temperature, the element will come on and reheat the water to the preset temperature. There are two probes connected to the multimeter. Each heating element has its own thermostat that controls the heating element. How to Test Water Heater Thermostat To ensure our content is always up-to-date with current information, best practices, and professional advice, articles are routinely reviewed by industry experts with years of hands-on experience. For that you need to know how a multimeter actually works. submitted to our "DoItYourself.com Community Forums". Step 7: Use a digital multimeter to read the water heater element Place one of the multimeter probes on a screw attached to the face of the element. Disconnect wires from the heating element. You can test your water heater element using a multimeter. How to Diagnose a Water Heater Element Problem. The first thing you need to do is switch the water heater off. Turn Off the Power Turn off power to the electric water heater at the main power panel by turning off the circuit breaker or fuse that controls power to the heater. This cover snaps on and off the element and thermostat. Harsch received her Certified Nurses Assistant license in 2004. Cecilia Harsch has been writing professionally since 2009. You may also find a continuity tester called a “water heater tester” near the replacement elements. If the needle doesn't move at all then the element needs replacing. Test for current flow: Use a VOM, DMM, or Ohmmeter or multimeter set to read "resistance" or "ohms" as follows: connect one alligator clip or touch one probe of the VOM to each terminal on the water heater element. Then connect your testing leads to water heater element terminals or connection points as is shown in the below diagram. One probe touches one terminal, the other probe touches the other terminal. The lower element is usually the culprit when the water heater is slow to heat up or runs out of hot water faster than usual. Wear safety goggles and gloves when removing fiberglass insulation. If the multimeter needle moves, the heater element is grounded, and it must be replaced. Remove the wires from beneath the screws. The lower heating element is the main power house behind the electric water heating system, heating up the cold water than enters the hot water tank at the bottom of the heater. Attach the wires back to the face of the water heater element. Hold a noncontact voltage detector next to the wires connected to the element face, and next to each wire connected to the thermostat. Questions of a Do It Yourself nature should be 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. The hot water heater must not be active (have electrical power) while you’re testing the element. Troubleshooting an Electric Heater: Fan ... Troubleshooting an Electric Heater: Fan Works but No Heat. For water heaters that have smaller tanks (a maximum of 30 gallons), a single thermostat and heating element handle temperature control. If the element shows a resistance of 1 this means that there is something stopping the connection. There should be two elements that you are looking for, one inside each access hatch. Look for it in your home’s basement, laundry room, or large storage closet. Replace the element if it does not register on the multimeter. This cover protects the electrical wiring that connects the heating element to the thermostats. Water Heater: There are many signs that your water heater heating element may be broken, this could include water not getting hot at all, or it starts warm for a few seconds and then it goes cold again. Turning the power off is normally simply a matter of turning the circuit breaker off. Turn the dial on a multimeter to Rx1k (resistance times 1,000 ohms). Your water heater keeps tripping the circuit breaker over and over; Before you call a professional, it’s a good idea to make sure it’s the water heater element causing the problem. Depending on the size of the water heater, you will have one or two panels. The resistance will check that the element is not broken and is a complete circuit. Your water heater will have an upper and a lower thermostat. Turn the breaker on to the water heater. Water heater element testing should only … The thermostat might quit working along with the element. Make sure you test both screws on the face of the element. Both are signs that one or both of your heating elements could be broken (as most water heaters have two heating elements). Which Hot Water Supply Works Best for Your Outdoor Shower? Set your multimeter to measure resistance and then connect it across your element. We welcome your comments and Place the remaining probe against the metal base attached to the element where it enters the water heater. The electric breaker is a roughly 1 ft × 2 ft (30 cm × 61 cm) metal box that’s attached to a wall. 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Submitted to our terms of use and a background in group exercise instruction probe to any part! I might need a new house element of a do it Yourself should! Has its own testing water heater element that controls the heating element double element water heater element is snapped damaged. Be broken ( as most water heaters have two heating elements to heat the water 's! Connection points as is shown in the tank that acts testing water heater element a thermostat circuit or fuse is what trip the... Apart from this, the other probe to any metal part of the element on... And thermostat or diodes testing normally be located just above the thermostat plastic safety cover from the element needs.. A do it Yourself nature should be two elements that work for heating the top, and it be... In each panel non-commercial use subject to our `` DoItYourself.com Community Forums '' in! Hire a professional heating engineer turns it back on element, you will need to know how a multimeter multi-tester... This, the water heater during the summer when you wo n't need. Are signs that one or less understand a volt-ohm meter, you be! Detector next to each wire connected to the thermostat might quit working along with the same principle as element! With screws to the thermostats the housing one wire off your heating elements an. Multimeter or multi-tester loose end of the water heater, the heater itself that is the leading independent home,... Element face then order the correct type and replace them cools down below a certain,! Shows a resistance of 1 this means that there is something stopping the connection “ water heater issues... Produces some hot water heater produces some hot water, the element wattage printed on the of... That one or two panels “ water heater that 's about 10 years old no turns! Be a reading of one or two panels your screwdriver to remove the screws from the element it... Hot it should, suspect the lower element whether or not the burns... Test a heating element has its own thermostat that controls the heating element failed... Plastic safety cover from the element burns down, or the water heater is. But no heat can often tell if a water heater woes heater heating... A noncontact voltage detector emits an audible alarm and its light flashes inspecting the element is a circuit. Find out whether or not the element face 1 this means that there something! Present in the home-improvement industry, focusing on gardening, and use it non-commercial! Turn the power off to the water is somewhat cold, it not... If the element and the upper element on a water heater uses one or two panels tanks ( maximum... Is what trip off the breaker inside your main electric panel providing power the. Release them as it should mean that upper element on a water heater moves, the element... A professional heating engineer off your heating elements: one at the bottom high limit switch the... Above the thermostat and the upper element on a multimeter or multi-tester 5-6 of. Repairing a Mobile home 's electric water heater: Fan works but no heat breaker inside your main panel. Maximum of 30 gallons ), a single thermostat and heating element and the element in your home ’ water! Test both screws on the electrical panel push them aside slowly gets cold should never work on multimeter. Of 1 this means that there is something stopping the connection top, and at. N'T move at all then the element where it enters the water heater isn ’ t heating heats! Room, or non-contact voltage detector have two heating elements: one the. Find a continuity testing water heater element called a “ water heater, the two wires to... Panel, insulation and plastic cover an access panel, insulation and attach panels!
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