How to fix my electric water heater?

by Water Heaters on June 22, 2010

There is power going to my whirlpool electric water heater but it is not turning on. It is on a double 20 amp breaker and all the wires are correct. I pressed the red reset button near the bottom of the tank, this is the lower element right or the lower thermostat? When I press the red button nothing happens also the upper element has just a big silver nut and nothing else so it has to be the lower one right. there is no hot water and how do i tell what lower element to buy?


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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Breath on the Wind June 22, 2010 at 12:18 pm

I have to wonder how you know that there is power going to the heater when you do not seem to know that the elements can burn out (behind the big silver nuts) and need to be replaced.

Your breaker is a two pole 20 meaning it is 240 volts. If for some reason one "leg" of the voltage is out then the heater will not work. There should additionally be a disconnect switch near the heater. This should also be on. Sometimes there are fuses in a disconnect switch and these should also be checked. Both legs need to be checked as they come into and leave the thermostat or thermostats to determine if the thermostats are bad. And finally you will need to determine if the elements are bad.

Since you seem to be a little unfamiliar with the terminology and procedure I might suggest you get a qualified electrician to check out all the potential problems.

hollifieldrobert June 22, 2010 at 12:18 pm

you need to shut off power get ohm meter to check for continuity of element to see if one is bad

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