Electric Hot Water Heater Keeps Turning Off

[Tony Lee]

Two weeks ago my wife and I moved into our new house and we are now having problems with the Electric Hot Water Heater. The hot water was intially too hot so I turned down both thermostats to around 130F. Now the water heater keeps turning off for no reason I can tell. The first time this happened I reset the circuit breaker and the heater turned back on. It was fine for 2 days (during which we used a normal amount of hot water) and turned off again. Now resetting the circuit breaker doesnt work – I also tried resetting the hot water heater thermostat but it still wont turn on. The water heater is less than 2 years old – Im suspecting the circuit breaker might be bad? Any suggestions?

[Tim MembrinoParticipant]

Tim: In your post, you mentioned re-setting the breaker. Is that the breaker on the upper therrmostat, or one in your electrical panel? If it was the one in your electrical panel, I suspect that you will find the ECO has been tripped (the little thingy on top of the upper thermostat with the little red button). Push the button in firmly , and see if you can hear an audible click. If it clicks, it is an indication that the water had gotten dangerously hot, and had tripped the ECO (Energy Cut Off). The best thing to do is to replace th lower thermostat (the one located at the bottom of the heater. If the problem continues,replace the upper thermostat and check for a shorted heating element. Lots of luck…Be careful around electrical appliances….Bud.

[Tim MembrinoParticipant]

Before I did anything else, I would check the lower element. The most likely thing is that it is partially shorted, which would overheat the water, and also trip the circuit breaker. : Two weeks ago my wife and I moved into our new house and we are now having problems with the Electric Hot Water Heater. The hot water was intially too hot so I turned down both thermostats to around 130F. Now the water heater keeps turning off for no reason I can tell. The first time this happened I reset the circuit breaker and the heater turned back on. It was fine for 2 days (during which we used a normal amount of hot water) and turned off again. Now resetting the circuit breaker doesnt work – I also tried resetting the hot water heater thermostat but it still wont turn on. The water heater is less than 2 years old – Im suspecting the circuit breaker might be bad? Any suggestions?

[Tim MembrinoParticipant]

: Before I did anything else, I would check the lower element. The most likely thing is that it is partially shorted, which would overheat the water, and also trip the circuit breaker. : : : Two weeks ago my wife and I moved into our new house and we are now having problems with the Electric Hot Water Heater. The hot water was intially too hot so I turned down both thermostats to around 130F. Now the water heater keeps turning off for no reason I can tell. The first time this happened I reset the circuit breaker and the heater turned back on. It was fine for 2 days (during which we used a normal amount of hot water) and turned off again. Now resetting the circuit breaker doesnt work – I also tried resetting the hot water heater thermostat but it still wont turn on. The water heater is less than 2 years old – Im suspecting the circuit breaker might be bad? Any suggestions?

[Tim MembrinoParticipant]

Question: I attempted to clean out my electric hot water tank. To do so, I first shut off the water supply to the tank. I then connected a water hose to the drain on the bottom of the tank — let it completely drain, and then tuned on the water supply to run clean water through the tank. I then shut of the water supply and drained the tank again. Now, I cannot get hot water. I checked the breaker and also the reset on the tank. They appear to be fine. Anyone have a suggestion as to why I cant get hot water?: Before I did anything else, I would check the lower element. The most likely thing is that it is partially shorted, which would overheat the water, and also trip the circuit breaker. : : : Two weeks ago my wife and I moved into our new house and we are now having problems with the Electric Hot Water Heater. The hot water was intially too hot so I turned down both thermostats to around 130F. Now the water heater keeps turning off for no reason I can tell. The first time this happened I reset the circuit breaker and the heater turned back on. It was fine for 2 days (during which we used a normal amount of hot water) and turned off again. Now resetting the circuit breaker doesnt work – I also tried resetting the hot water heater thermostat but it still wont turn on. The water heater is less than 2 years old – Im suspecting the circuit breaker might be bad? Any suggestions?

[Tim MembrinoParticipant]

: Two weeks ago my wife and I moved into our new house and we are now having problems with the Electric Hot Water Heater. The hot water was intially too hot so I turned down both thermostats to around 130F. Now the water heater keeps turning off for no reason I can tell. The first time this happened I reset the circuit breaker and the heater turned back on. It was fine for 2 days (during which we used a normal amount of hot water) and turned off again. Now resetting the circuit breaker doesnt work – I also tried resetting the hot water heater thermostat but it still wont turn on. The water heater is less than 2 years old – Im suspecting the circuit breaker might be bad? Any suggestions?Being that this is a new house,you have an air bubble in the top of your hot water heater.Youve also burned your top element.Replace the top element and then bleed the air off by turning on your hot water valve at your sink,THEN turn on your electric power after about ten minutes or the time it takes to drink a beer.

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