Water Too Hot: Electric Water Heater Troubleshooting

Read the written version of this troubleshooting here: www.searspartsdirect.com/diy/...
This video from Sears PartsDirect shows how to troubleshoot when your electric water heater is making your water too hot. Overheating can be a dangerous problem. Aside from possible burning, overheated water could be a sign of a short-circuited heating element or a malfunctioning thermostat. You should use caution and shut off the power supply to the water heater before troubleshooting an overheating problem. This video will show you how safely check continuity on the various parts and wires inside your water heater so that you can find the correct part to get your system up and running correctly.
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The video includes these parts and tools. Look up your model to make sure you get the right parts for your water heater.
Multimeter
www.searspartsdirect.com/part...
Heating element
www.searspartsdirect.com/part...
Thermostat
www.searspartsdirect.com/part...
Find parts for your water heater at:
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Or click here to schedule an appointment with a repair technician.
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Transcript:
Hi, this is Wayne with Sears PartsDirect. Today we're going to talk about an electric water heater that's overheating. Nobody expects their tap water to be scalding hot. For safety’s sake, your tap water should never be hotter than 120 degrees. But that's what can happen if your water heater has a shorted heating element or a broken thermostat. A thermostat that's stuck in the "on" position will cause the heating element to stay on constantly, overheating the water in the tank. Or, if the element breaks, it can make contact with metal inside the water heater, creating a short circuit. Electric current flows through the element to the metal, causing the element to heat constantly. We’ll want to check for a short circuit first because it creates a dangerous electrical shock hazard. If you suspect that you have a shorted heating element, do not touch the cabinet until you have turned off the circuit breakers. Do not turn the circuit breakers back on until after you have repaired the heating element or the wiring. We’ll use a multi-meter to check the elements for a short to the metal cabinet. If you don't have a multi-meter, you can find one at Sears PartsDirect.com. With the house circuit breakers shut off, remove the cover on the lower heating element. Pull the insulation and plastic cover up to access the heating element leads. Set your multi-meter to measure resistance. Touch a meter probe to one of the leads on the element and put the other meter probe on the bare metal frame next to the element. You should see a 1 the far left corner of the meter display indicating "no continuity". No continuity means that there is not current flowing to the metal cabinet. If you measure any resistance between the element lead and the metal cabinet, then the element is shorted and needs to be replaced. Be sure to check both sides of the heating element. If you don't measure continuity from the element to the cabinet, check the resistance through the element to see if it's okay. Touch one meter probe to each of the element leads. A good heating element will measure about 13 ohms of resistance. If you do measure 13 ohms of resistance through the element and "no continuity" to the metal cabinet, then you know that the heating element is okay. If you measure "no continuity" through the element, drain the tank and replace the element. This video will walk you though that process. Check the upper heating element for a short to the metal cabinet in the same manner. Replace the upper heating element if it's broken and/or shorting to the metal cabinet. If you don’t find a problem with the heating elements, then you know a broken thermostat is what’s causing the water to overheat. So which one do you replace? Unfortunately, there is no way to test the thermostats to see if they're turning off the elements when they’re supposed to. You can try replacing the lower thermostat and see if that resolves your overheating problem. If not, you’ll need to replace the upper thermostat as well. This video will walk you through replacing a thermostat. Well I hope this video helped you out today. Check out our other videos on the KZbin channel and if you like them, subscribe!

[@1010mero]

I bought this water heater kzbin.infoUgkx8G49mV71sAzUl9shXyLW-r3XgHH9EVh1 for use in my bus conversion. I installed it under my kitchen sink and it is fed by a high efficiency on-demand LP water heater. It is both a backup hot water source as well as a water saving device since we have hot water on demand rather than having to wait for the gas on demand water heater to finish its ignition cycle. I decided on this water heater due to the fact that it only draws 1300watts when it's ON instead of the 1500 watts that most Water heaters this size draw. In an RV a couple hundred watts can be a big deal. With very low standby losses, I don't have to worry about excessive power consumption. When propane is not available for our gas water heater, in conjunction with our low flow shower head there is enough hot water available to shower, albeit we won't be taking "hotel showers." Also very happy with the recovery rate of this water heater. Granted, it is quite small, but it does exactly what we need it to do.

[@maddie8715]

How to troubleshoot the thermostats. After determining the elements were not shorted, and with the water at 170 degrees, I turned the breaker on and then checked each element to see which on had current flowing to it through a bad thermostat. It was the bottom thermostat and the top was working properly. Hey, I know little about plumbing and electricity, but this logically made sense. You can also test the thermostats with the power off by checking continuity between the two posts on the thermostats. Unless your hand is over the temperature setting on the thermostat, there should be no current flow through the thermostat. So I replaced the bottom thermostat only and the hot water heater is now working properly.

[@jotorres17]

I love this Guy. Goes strait to the point. very educational. you have my support.

[@KatAndDog]

This series of videos are informative, concise, and thorough. Thank you for taking the time to make these. Very well executed.

[@oskee1334]

Thanks for the straight and informative video. I performed the tests in the video and the elements measured at 13 and 17 ohms. I think these are above the thresholds mentioned in the video but I have different brand water heater. And my water heater has a high temperature limit control on the upper thermostat. I just pressed the red reset button and now the water is average hot as expected.

[@huzayfakhan5208]

this guy has a personality!

[@kelleyknapp1499]

Water temperature 135 degrees and Rising. So I shut off the power check the elements and they were good. Turn the top thermostat higher it finally came on at 135 degrees because I heard it click. Turn it back down to 120 original setting. Went to bottom thermostat would not click when I raise the temperature then clicked off at about 95 degrees. Problem solved. Replace bottom thermostat. Works fine.

[@onlyhummingalong]

excellent thanks

[@sarblade]

Good video! I had an issue with my tank, it blew 2 lower elements out. The first one after 2 weeks of use of a newly installed heater, the second went after 3 weeks of replacing the previous. Ok, so know what's up? Of course each one happened on the weekend, and couldn't call the Rheem warranty department, so it was up to me. I did a voltage check, all good at 240. Then shut the power off for an element resistance check. Lower one blown. Upper was at 13.8 ohms. Replaced lower element with a spare I had. Checked it,13.7 ohms, all good. Now a continuity check across the poles on each thermostat, starting with the overheat protection breaker at the top thermostat. That was good. The upper thermostat, I removed and used a heat gun to check that it worked. It did. Checked the bottom one, it worked too. Re-installed everything, filled the tank, made sure all air out, then turned on the power. The top element started working. Bottom was off. After 20 minutes, the top shut off, the bottom started. After 1 hour, it still has not shut off. I'm now suspecting the bottom thermostat is not working like it should. I think that remaining on all the time, the lower element will blow out again. I'm going ot change the bottom thermostat. So there is a way to check your thermostats, if your patient.

[@45prowler]

Great video and helped me a lot! Thank you so much!

[@jameshunt7972]

Great video!

[@drumstix131]

Best KZbin video ever

[@CraneGuru]

Great video Wayne - - Question though.... I am not an appliance tech so I may be thinking crazy here..... You stated there is no way to test a thermostat. couldn't I rotate the setting on the upper between high temp and low temp and see which element is being supplied with voltage from L1. If I set the upper thermostat to the highest setting, then L1 should be providing power to the upper element - - If I go low temp and L1 is providing power to the lower thermostat, then that should indicate that the upper thermostat is good. Now - - If I have L1 at the top side (input) of the lower thermostat, I should be able to go to low temp setting and see if I have L1 to the element ( should be open circuit / no voltage ) - then rotate to highest setting and I should see voltage at the lower element. If I am overheating - - and L1 power is being supplied to the lower thermostat, then shouldn't that be my indication that my lower thermostat is the reason for the overheat ?

[@searspartsdirect]

Overheating can be caused by a stuck contact in either of the thermostats. A shorted wire or shorted heating element can also cause the water heater to overheat water. For safety, we recommending checking the elements and thermostats using resistance checks with water heater electrical power disconnected. We don’t recommend that you conduct the live voltage checks that you’re describing because live voltage checks are dangerous. Checking live voltage can result in injury due to electrocution if not conducted properly using proper safety equipment such as insulated rubber gloves. Even if you performed that test, you could only determine which element was getting current through the thermostat cycling switch on the upper element. That test won’t necessarily point you to the failed element. We recommend that you disconnect electrical power and perform the resistance checks shown in the video to diagnose the water overheating problem. If you’re not able to determine which thermostat is at fault using those tactics, then we recommend replacing one thermostat to attempt to fix the water overheating problem. If the water heater still overheats the water, replace the other thermostat. The thermostats aren’t very expensive for most water heaters. You have a 50 percent chance of guessing right and the added expense of buying the second thermostat is worth avoiding the safety risk of live voltage checks. We hope this information helps. If you need more assistance, let us know.

[@TheeRocker]

@@searspartsdirect It's usually the lower Thermostat, but not always ;) Good points on this video... Keeps people safe :D

[@irenealameida604]

I pressed the red reset button while it had power and noticed smoke coming out of the water heater. Can I still replace the elements and the thermostats?

[@Angels-Tube]

Very informative but you went too fast on measure resistance on the altimeter and I can't zoom in to see where to put the dial.

[@melaniep.117]

No way to test the thermostats??? Turn up the thermostat dial to high, measure current across heating coil terminals with voltmeter. Now turn thermostat dial all the way down and see if voltage drops to zero (also you can hear a clicking sound).

[@hjc4604]

Most voltmeters won't measure the CURRENT. You'd need a clamp on meter to check current which would be about 20 amps. Even if the element is open you would read 220-240 across the elements terminals when the thermostat supplies it. And while it might switch when you are turning the knob, it may not when it is relying on the bi-metal disc to switch it.

[@TheeRocker]

@@hjc4604 very good ;)

[@poopandfartjokes]

You mention measuring current and the next sentence you mention voltage. Not sure if you should be poking around mains if you’re using current and voltage interchangeably.

[@stevestewart7246]

let's replace both thermostats just for the hell of it. Duh!!!

[@CraneGuru]

Steve - please see my comment above - - - Am I thinking right ??

[@CraneGuru]

I am not an appliance tech so I may be thinking crazy here..... The video stated there is no way to test a thermostat. couldn't I rotate the setting on the upper between high temp and low temp and see which element is being supplied with voltage from L1. If I set the upper thermostat to the highest setting, then L1 should be providing power to the upper element - - If I go low temp and L1 is providing power to the lower thermostat, then that should indicate that the upper thermostat is good. Now - - If I have L1 at the top side (input) of the lower thermostat, I should be able to go to low temp setting and see if I have L1 to the element ( should be open circuit / no voltage ) - then rotate to highest setting and I should see voltage at the lower element. If I am overheating - - and L1 power is being supplied to the lower thermostat, then shouldn't that be my indication that my lower thermostat is the reason for the overheat ? If I am overheating and the top element is still receiving L1 voltage, then wouldn't that tell me the top thermostat is bad ??

[@cherieboe2392]

REPLACE ALL OF IT THEN YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY ON A OLDER HEATER....

[@LCAPLS88]

Slow down pal. What's your hurry?

[@whitegoosejuvy]

This is not the way to troubleshoot an electric water heater. The guy doesn't understand electricity! 1 ohm on your meter represents continuity buddy you need to remove the wire and then check. Or just let someone that knows what they are doing give the speech!

[@andrewford80]

Scary

[@DavidCornewell]

The "1" he showed in the video did not indicate 1 ohm. It was to the far left to indicate an open circuit. I'm not sure why multi-meters do that, but the video accurately showed what the meter says when there is no continuity. a 1.0 on the right side of the display would have been 1 ohm.

[@DH4Hobbies]

Another apprentice trying to play Journeyman. Just relax buddy, and learn well