HOW TO HOOK UP POWER TO AN ELECTRIC HOT WATER HEATER

[@pamelasfauxpaintingatl228]

My plumber ghosted me so I decided to tackle my water heater myself. Thank you so much for this simple demonstrationand explanation! I'm almost finished power was the part I was worried about. But now I am confident I can finish my water heater adventure!

[@rajeshgajjar3774]

Hi Mr. Tim you explain very well . Thanks for explaining highly appreciated. God bless you and your family.

[@jeremenelson5734]

Great video. Thank you. It is much appreciated to have a no nonsense person be very clear and precise with the instructions. Instead of trying to be a comedian or beg for likes. The best how to I've seen in awhile. Thanks again!

[@melvinfreeman3353]

❤ thanks for this helpful video 🎸 🥁🥁

[@alb4619]

Thank you for providing the best, common sense “how to” that I have seen in a long time.

[@Josh-gi2no]

Great video man. Thank you. Clear, concise. You’re the man.

[@richardross119]

Great in depth yet concise explanation. Saved me a ton of worry.

[@richardjames299]

How do I hook up the tires and on an Elec Hot water heater. From the thermostat to the element ?

[@jimlawson1953]

I really like your no bullshit approach. Good job.

[@samfarmer3160]

Finally found someone that could actually help and knows what he’s talking about. Thank you sir.

[@PLUMBINGWITHTIM]

Welcome aboard

[@handydigits1846]

Everyone how said great job or thanks for the help…good luck and the guys who actually fix it appreciate the work.

[@macleanclassics]

Just to note if you are using your white (neutral) as a hot wire, you need to tape it with black or red tape on both ends... marking it as a hot wire. You'll fail inspection here if you don't.

[@bryanjones3429]

Just as I’m saying to my self why did this person wrap the white wire with black electrical tape I read this comment lol😂

[@MikeHawkPEN15]

Lol you won't fail inspection....

[@macleanclassics]

@@MikeHawkPEN15 you are right, you won't fail... but they will make you wrap it here.

[@danpena4472]

I had hooked up the red to black and thought it was wrong, I see there is not difference . Thanks for the great video!

[@davebrittain9216]

Just saying, if I was asked to inspect that I would fail it. Reason being you have cut up the insulation outside of the cable clamp. You should be able to see intact insulation protruding from the inside of the wire clamp. The wire clamp should only be holding onto completely intact insulation.

[@MichaelMammon]

I was actually going to say the same thing. I thought he might clean it up at some point, but obviously never did. The way he left it would be failed as a potential shock hazard.

[@metrius98]

Thank you I just did this for the first time and you helped me out a lot. I’m a maintenance tech 🤙🏽

[@captainkangaroo4301]

Can you attach the ground wire to the green screw inside the compartment or do you need to use the one on the outside like you did or does it matter?

[@robs.8692]

Great video! Could explain where the wires are connected into the panel? And it's correct connections.

[@nikkilovetheyardsale-again2608]

This man hands is his resume. Thats what i do when people ask for my resume 😂 i just show them my hands. All the cuts, rough skin, bruised nails, and overall toughness shows you how much we work 😅

[@rickeykeeton4770]

Is it code to not use conduit of some sort with the power wire to the water heater?

[@Cees-u2]

What tool you used to tighten green screw down

[@michaeltrader7366]

You just made my life easy! Thank you….

[@richeyrich6855]

Thank you so much for your help and providing this video.

[@Sean-Aviation]

Great video. Thanks a lot. With the Rheem, the green ground is buried inside the box. Do I need to hook up the top or the top metal plate is grounded ?

[@thomasbliska8919]

What was the outcome? Going through this now. I assume you left it buried?

[@bornfree3124]

Excellent man, great video position throughout, i think a 6 yr old could follow this, new sub here.

[@BigAlWillis]

Should the ground light up with a pen test light? I helped a friend swap a very old rusted water heater. The breaker is double breaker & it's a two element 40 gallon tank but the wires are black, white & a ground like it's 110v wire. Well, when we turn the breaker back on my pen tester lights up for black & the bare ground wire, but ' not ' the white wire. I think it originally had a 110v tank but I don't get the double breaker if it's 110v.

[@jordanpaul3701]

Thank you 🙏🏼 just had too reassure myself I did It right thank you

[@JimGlass-q7i]

What amp breaker should be used with this water heater? 2 pole 30 amp.

[@EricVirtueable]

Finally, someone put a decent video.

[@mikedurkin9737]

Don't learn electrical from a plumber people.... While the water heater will power on with this install, it's sloppy work. The wires should always be twisted together using lineman's pliers before you wire nut them. The insulation should be intact past the strain relief. Use a tic tester to test for power if you don't know if the circuit is live, especially if you're coming to KZbin to learn how to do this. 220VAC will hurt real bad if you mess up. Your wires were literally touching together when you said you weren't sure if you hit the right breaker.

[@roscoejones4515]

Not to mention: that bare Romex into the junction box is unacceptable.

[@christinagurchinoff1517]

​@@roscoejones4515I'm just learning but every video talks about the "bare copper wire" when discussing electric water heater installation. Electricions included. 🤷🏼

[@nickgamble4544]

You don't need to twist the wire together with linemans unless you hot a limp wrist. But other than that I agree with what your saying

[@c.5376]

​@nickgamble4544 hahaha bro. Electricians. Im dead!!!

[@TaylorSmith-no4qi]

As long as you do a pull test after twisting the wire nut on and everything is secure then twisting wires together isn't necessary, unless you have 3 or more wires in one connection. Sloppy work though

[@RicheVerunque]

Thank you so much Tim for sharing this video. I bought the house almost a year ago so I don't have any idea about all these stuff. I am currently looking for a possible solution to the problem with my water heater. Those similar wires you hooked up got burnt. My question is, is it still safe to rehooked them or should I buy a new water heater? Thanks in advance for your reply.

[@Rafa25260]

My 240 cable has an extra cable. It has white red black and ground. The white is not connected to anything and it has a wire nut on it. My water heater is not running what do i do with the extra wire?

[@williammills8953]

Thank you for the great video. I only have one issue. I think I dry fired my element. I forgot to let the air out of the lines. So I don't think the tank filled the whole way. I have one question. Do you think I only fried the top element?

[@eddiew.6485]

Mikey Pipes sent me.......Subscribed!

[@PLUMBINGWITHTIM]

Awesome welcome aboard

[@cohenkevinloriqueen818]

I want to post that I am not a CERTIFIED electrician but will give you might take on 40 years of electrical experience on residential ( and have worked in the maintenance field in an industry for 30 years) There is no neutral wire used on a hot water tank 240 volt in the USA.. Just 2 hot wires (120volts each).. since it is ac (alternating current).. the two hots suffice as the neutral ( i know its super confusing).. So most hot water tanks call for a 30 amp 2 pole breaker and 10 gauge wire ran from the Breaker to the tank.. Most installs will have a black wire, white wire and a ground wire.. Hook the black wire up to one of the wires in the hot water tank, and the white up to the other wire at the hot water tank ( you cant get these backwards)...Make sure you hook the bare ground wire up to the green ground screw..Yes, the white wire will be hooked up to the 30 amp breaker on one of the 2 screws ( doesn't matter which one).. Mark the white wire at the breaker with black tape so that everyone knows that the white wire is HOT (and not a neutral- this is a common tactic used by electricians and supported by the NEC code)..NOTE... of course, if you are using an extremely large hot water tank or an extremely small hot water tank, then a 30 amp breaker and 10 gauge wire wont be used.. here is an example www.electrical-knowhow.com/2020/04/KW-Power-Calculation-for-electrical-water-heaters.html

[@JorgeGomez-vo9hk]

Muy bien esplicado gracias por compartir tu sabiduría 😊

[@johnmoorhead8078]

Thank you, your video was most helpful

[@harrydoherty8299]

wrap red or black tape around the white wire to show it a hot lead and not a common wire. this is required by code . this should be done on both ends of the white wire .

[@MrGaborseres]

Cool 😎 👍.... You helped me out bro 🤜💥🤛

[@randomthoughtstoday]

@PlumbingWithTim I have a Kobalt Voltage Meter that goes red when i put it near bathroom sink and shower handles, how come?

[@tylermoss9305]

Question - the rhreem model also has a grounding strap on the inside. Is it OK to tie right into that?

[@robdylan2541]

hello I am installing mine as well. I am just wondering what wire and breaker I need to buy?

[@steveseeling844]

Thank you!! This is a great video

[@agelesspuma]

What happens when you have red, black, white, and ground coming out of the house wiring? Which do you connect to the heater

[@120poppy]

This is just a suggestion made by an electrician when reconnecting old incoming wires to the new water heater You should cut off the old wire leads if enough slack is present, this way you have a nice clean connection for your new wire nuts.

[@ebgwd]

I twist my wire before I put the wire nut on to make sure they are tight before the nut is installed.

[@Walter-ts1vu]

thanks for the valuable information.

[@EricthaRedd]

I understand white and black wires are positive wires. My question is, in the breaker box, does the uninsulated bare wire connect to the neutral bus bar or the ground bus bar?

[@d.7304]

Tim i see a double breaker 240 breaker behind door of fuse box my father passed away about 5 months ago and my mom and i are on our own learning as we move forward. I have a black positive and a white that was on the old one but dont know how it was hooked up exactly i dont see a ground with them not sure where dad had a ground hooked too this hot water heater worked for almost 30 years amazing! Anyway i got white & red together & then 2 blacks together and the ground scree is inside the little compartment with the rest of wires im asking if all would be OK to run a ground wire from the green ground screw to the main cold water pipe we have the old type of metal pipes in this house Im hoping you get this and it doesnt take 4ever as we have gone 8 days without and moms too old to do all the extra work when you font have water you know she doesnt deserve all thats happened in the last 10 days 1st was the ice maker on frig started leaking 2nd i had surgery 3rd the hot water tank was wet at bottom and no hot water 4th she pulled in the driveway put in park ooened the gate and tried to proceed in drivijng in but there was No drive gears on her vehicle so a transmission rebuild is added to all this stress and her dr. Said yesterday her blood pressure is really high and he wants to see her again in another 2 weeks I cant LOOSE my mom right now shes a strong woman but being without my father after they spent 59 years together her will was still strong but all from the last 10 days and 4 issues with all bad news has pushed her from her strong wills and just WORE HER DOWN from the STRESS OF IT ALL Im HOPING YOU CAN HELP ME to ASSURE & RELIEVE THE STRESS AND EXTRA WORK FOR HER AND FOR ME TOO AND MAYBE FINALLY ALL WILL FLOW SMOOTHLY and ALLOW us and our Health to gain our Strengths Again!!

[@bexaminer1]

I have black and white from the home wire and black and red from the water heater. I connected the two blacks together and then the red from the water heater to the white from the house. I immediately saw some smoke. I pulled them apart immediately. Are the wires from the house wire reversed?

[@dinabeach9135]

What size wire are you using for the 40 amp hot water.

[@joseglez4741]

Good video and explantion !! not to much BS straigh to the point good job

[@haitaoli6723]

Thanks for the video. Nice and clear

[@GabrielSBarbaraS]

I think the incoming wire needs to be in conduit , at least were I live , it does. ( either EMT or flex pvc )

[@IamtheActionman]

Thank you so much for sharing this. Very helpful

[@pedropereira8924]

Great video, thank you!!!

[@Niloolooloo]

Great video. Easy to follow. So so helpful. Thank you Sir!

[@PLUMBINGWITHTIM]

Thank you

[@joelynn2874]

If you're going to film you got to have your camera on you have to go to make a video going to have a camera on if you're going to hold the screwdriver you got to hold it you got to hold the screwdriver that you're holding

[@antonanonymous.369.]

I'm confused as to why there are 4 wires running from the breaker box inside my house to my garage water heater I'm not sure who wired it to begin with but I'm lost here because of the extra wire I have left after hooking it up....

[@MAGAMAN]

I'm pretty sure that wiring is illegal in most places. The wiring should be in conduit if it is not against the wall, or in some places, if it is exposed at all. Hell, Chicago requires wire to be in conduit even if it is inside the wall. Most people who follow this will be wiring their water heater illegally. You are also required to have an emergency power shutoff in most places, if the breaker is not within a certain distance. With wire nuts, it is a good rule of thumb to twisted them until the two exposed parts of the wires start to twist around each other. This ensures the wire nuts are securely attached. This guy barely made them snug, which can come lose much easier.

[@sekseemarcuskidd]

Good tips Tim hope you doing well bud

[@rosyyy2011]

What is that adapter called? I can’t find it

[@GaryYoung-eq1ph]

What size clamp is yours they sell about 3 different sizes?

[@reylagarto6573]

👉😎👍🏼. good job

[@MichaelJohnson-ux7pe]

Ok Tim first off nice info on this subject, now a question for you. How can I tell if the wire is a 10 gauge or 12 gauge wire? We live in an older mobile home and need to replace water heater. Can you help? Thanks

[@mikedurkin9737]

If your wire is in an colored sleeve, which it most likely is, orange will be 10 gauge, yellow is 12 gauge, and white is 14 gauge. If it is not in a colored outer sleeve, the gauge of the wire will be printed in tiny little letters on the wire.

[@MichaelJohnson-ux7pe]

Yea this is older mobile home and all the wiring in the breaker box is white and is almost impossible to read. As far as i can tell it's 12GA with a double 20AMP breaker for water heater. Wire is ran through the studs but are also clipped to the studs and cannot pull. Any suggestions?

[@meadorsmanor]

Wonderful explanation. Thank you sir.

[@huck3265]

When you connect to the breaker, does the white and black go to the screws on the breaker. What about the neutral side? I'm doing my build and I'm good with 120 but the 220 has me a little confused about the neutral on a 10/2 wire to a double pole

[@cohenkevinloriqueen818]

no neutral on a hot water tank 240 volt.. Just 2 hot wires.. since it is ac (alternating current).. the two hots suffice as the neutral ( i know its super confusing)..

[@huck3265]

@cohenkevinloriqueen818 thank you for the information

[@cohenkevinloriqueen818]

huck3265.. thank you.. im sure you got it done by now but im going to post again above to help others

[@seanobrien499]

Great vid bud thanks

[@sloopjohnb.24]

Now, should I skin the lines or no?

[@vcronaz30]

Super helpful!

[@andresdelacruz2815]

Thank you SR : good video very informative

[@MadroscMysli]

What about the green wire? What is that for?

[@GaryYoung-eq1ph]

Is liquid rubber better than the best tape!?

[@carlosh448]

Can we use wago they have 10 awg ?

[@mr.boniato6402]

What if the wire coming off the wall is too short, how can I extend the wire?

[@loislows1970]

gracias ahorre mucho dinero electric men. y el calentador. trabaja perfecto gracias

[@y.elkadiki1955]

Good video thanks 👍 If a short is encountered (braker trips) due to a skinned hot wire leaving behind a blackened cover of the wire housing at the top of the heater. What is the procedure or any further precautions should be followed to reconnect the wires again? Thanks.

[@spoonstir8675]

Did you get any reply? If you have a dead short ( breaker trips) just cut off bad part of wire and reconnect

[@timodonnell38]

Mikey pipes sent me here.👍

[@PLUMBINGWITHTIM]

Right on my new friend

[@Just-KingTut]

Good info, hack execution--- @davebrittain9216 stated correctly, and the ground wire was fastened incorrectly. 8:08-It was obvious that the cover plate could not align properly, and just as he says "beautiful", the cover plate bends up as he finishes tightening the screw at a 60 degree angle.

[@ricodinero4926]

great vid. the first time i install a water heater i went nuts trying to find out what colors go together, lol.

[@jeremenelson5734]

Haha same thing for me today. Must have watched 10 different videos

[@mitchelroan8596]

So what he was trying to say is that the white wire becomes hot.So you grab the black wire and the white wire.You tape it with black tape and when you connect to your panel on your breakers, you connect the white and the black to your 20 breaker with double face.Or else you're gonna get a short if you connect the white wire to your neutral.

[@grungebox]

Hi- my electrician ran a cable with 4 wires. How would I hook that up to a water heater that only needs 3 wires?

[@PLUMBINGWITHTIM]

The green is always going to be a ground that will hook up you the green ground screw. 2 of the remaining wires will your power that will hook up to your heater. The last wire should be capped off

[@grungebox]

@@PLUMBINGWITHTIM thank you!!!

[@bman6502]

@@PLUMBINGWITHTIMso basically, you’d cap the white neutral and not connect it with the ground?? So black and red are power, green goes to ground and white is capped??

[@Mike-01234]

Lots of homes that have Aluminum wire for large appliances even today it's still legal to use AL wire for water heaters because it's not branch wiring. I had a plumber replace my water heater he used yellow wire nuts and the connection was poor. Found my breaker tripped and black mark up the wall the AL wire burned back into the wall lucky it tripped the breaker my house would have burned down. The plumbing company sent an electrician I told him I want a disconnect box at the water heater that way AL and CO wire are connected using LUGS that are approved for both AL and CO wire. If you run into AL wire when you connect a whip from a new water heater that has copper wire don't wire nut use a disconnect.

[@truthunveiled100_]

Shouldn't you use conduit for hot water tanks on that electric line

[@GaryYoung-eq1ph]

If u skin a line can u tape it?

[@toddphipps5496]

Great presentation.

[@arobjavan9481]

I did the connection just as you said and water heater was working fine but one time i touched the wires and it started melting the connection and smoke started and the twist connection caught on fire. Any ideas ?

[@whitneykaypayton9743]

Can you help guide me on my tankless water heater

[@PJM454]

This will work but not pass inspection or insurance requirements. The wire needs mechanical protection up to the water heater (armour, liquid type, conduit, etc). The white wire is not a neutral in this case, it has been designated as a hot wire caring 120 volts so you should mark or wrap it in black, red or blue electrical tape at both termination ends (tank and panel) to identify it as hot so there is no confusion for anyone working on it. I would flip that ground screw upside down and terminate the ground wire inside the termination box just to be able to close that termination box up tighter so no debris or moisture finds its way in (don’t really care for this design of hot water tank having the termination box on top where pipes feed in and are usually soldered but no fault of video). Lastly I would use lineman pliers to twist the wires together before putting wire nuts on as they sometime only catch on one wire and the other pops out.

[@shaundonovan2193]

Thank You. Nice job too

[@gato6100]

Can a electric water heater fail and eletrecute someone ? Is there a code compliance that must be followed to prevent electricution if it fails?

[@narcissistinjurygiver2932]

where can i get a replacement conductor cover?

[@sheltermutts4185]

My front load washer is next to the water heater and has a pretty violent spin dry. It vibrated one of the hot wires out of the wire nut where it sprang up against the metal cover. One day I touched a ground wire for an electric anode rod to the cover and KAPOW! Now I use a wire nut AND electrical tape. Fortunately it didn’t get me, and it didn’t ruin the water heater. But I made a mess of the wires under that cover. Thanks for the video.

[@rickeykeeton4770]

I always wrap wire nuts with black tape.

[@jesserodriguez9021]

I have a red, black and one white. the white was connected to the ground on the water heater. Is that possible to have a white wire as ground?

[@thenexthobby]

Anything is possible, but hopefully you didn’t guess, and verified with a meter.

[@jesserodriguez9021]

@@thenexthobby I finally checked with a meter. The white was ground. I guess they use quite as ground back in the 50s 👍

[@slikrik6098]

I recently hooked up mine It heats water great but after a lot of use the reset button water heater flips

[@arghoknot]

Learned many, many years ago from Gallager, that it's a water heater and not a hot water heater. As he said, why would you want to heat hot water?

[@peagolfer]

Tomic connector... Not adaptor. And that Romex should be in Greenfield, Flexible metal conduit so its protected. And always twist your wires together before you put your wirenut on. And always make sure the insulation on your feed wire is in past the pinch point of your tomic connector before tightening

[@chief3bearsbrunelle766]

1st great video on what you are showing . How would you go about adding a 30 Amp for electric. I've done plenty of electric work and do understand things like shutting down main power and danger of electric > but never wired for a water heater. The house is 18 century completely rewired and including circuit breakers and panels up to date . There also has never been a expansion tank wondering if it's necessary - just hot water gas water heater i would like to convert to electric -- there are no boilers just space heaters. I do know how to use a electric meter.

[@PLUMBINGWITHTIM]

Thanks for watching

[@D00M719]

I believe needing an expansion tank varies by local code. Where I am, no expansion tank was required. As far as converting the unit from gas to electric read this qr.ae/pvx3h6

[@D00M719]

Also adding the power source for an electric water is as simple as connecting the water heater to a 10/2 nmb wire going to a 30 amp double pole breaker in the panel. Hope that helps although I realize this was asked 7 months ago

[@johnh9507]

If our service panel is not insight of our water heater we have to have a disconnect

[@timothyduffie6920]

I'm getting a weird switch between 110v 66v 33.7v and oddly 56v running through my sink faucet

[@thenexthobby]

Somewhere there’s one or more neutrals and grounds miswired, on one or more of your lines.

[@dennywires]

You need an electrician asap your plumbing fixtures should have no voltage across them. You have a grounding issue. Hot water heater not bonded, water meter no grounded or so on.

[@timothyduffie6920]

@@thenexthobby it shocked my hand and is fixed now thanks for your concern and reply

[@fritzs1207]

my heater was installed year ago . All the sudden my wires at the electric heater made big bang and the wire smoked . i disconnect everything , any idea why this happened ?

[@PLUMBINGWITHTIM]

Moisture

[@billwh79]

Great information.

[@BashIssac]

Why two 40ampbreaker for eco, tankless water heater

[@pauldow1648]

Cover is not sealed because ground wire does not let the two halves of the cover close together properly.

[@midnighshark]

Long question made shorter: Is it a hasard to connect only the ground and leave lets just say for an easy to understand exemple: Both hot wires in their own nuts ( so 4 hot wire nuts total ) NOT touching ( The item wouldnt work ) but the ground is connected, and is the only wire connected. Thats a bit specific but i need this knowledge, i though it be more simple to ask that rather than explaining several pages of why i need to know this lol :)