Dual Element Water Heater Troubleshooting

A wiring diagram is a simplified conventional pictorial depiction of an electrical circuit.

Dual element water heater troubleshooting.

Collection of water heater wiring diagram dual element. Some repair kits come with a socket that fits the heating element. The upper element heats the upper portion of. Short hot shower bad bottom water heater element.

Before checking any electrical parts of a water heater shut off the power to the heater s circuit by turning off the appropriate breaker in your home s service panel breaker box. As with gas water heaters dual element electric water heaters feature a number of safety devices. A dual element water heater is a two thermostat system an upper and lower that heats water in its tank one element at a time. Electric water heaters are high voltage 240 volt appliances that are dangerous to work with when the power is on.

If your water heater is around 15 years old or more and is experiencing problems such as noises issues producing hot water or issues with maintaining a consistent temperature you should consider replacing the unit. Cold water enters and remains at the bottom of the water heater. So our hot water is plenty hot but we run out in just a few minutes. As we re about to show in detail one can test a water heater heating element by a simple procedure using a continuity tester or a volt ohm meter a vom.

An electric water heater that s leaking from the bottom is typically because of normal condensation a leaking electric heating element gasket or a small amount of water being expelled through the overflow pipe because the t p valve is opening to release excess pressure in the tank. Remove the gasket that seals the heating element to the water heater tank. If the water within the tank reaches a dangerously high level a switch called a high limit switch will automatically cut the power to both elements. Many modern homes come with dual element water heaters.

A dual element water heater uses two heating elements controlled by two separate thermostats. A new water heater should last at least that long. Remove a flange type heating element by removing the four screws holding the element in place. The upper thermostat takes first priority heating the water to a preset temperature before powering up the lower thermostat to heat the water to its final temperature.