Repair: Elect Hot water heater?

[wilsonkori]

I have a Rheem Elect Hot Water heater that is about 11 years old. The
hot water it puts out is not so hot anymore. I am wanting to replace
the elements and possibly the thermostats too. I have never done this
before. Have any of you? Any tips would be appreciated.




--
wilsonkori

 

[Ken]

wilsonkori wrote:

I have a Rheem Elect Hot Water heater that is about 11 years old. The
hot water it puts out is not so hot anymore. I am wanting to replace
the elements and possibly the thermostats too. I have never done this
before. Have any of you? Any tips would be appreciated.

Most electric hot water heaters are simple to fix if that is your
problem. The easiest way is to first turn off the power to the unit,
disconnect one of the wires to the elements, and using an ohm meter
determine which element is open. If you find an element open it is
unlikely that you need to replace the thermostats as well.

Turn off the water supply to the water heater and drain the water in
the tank to a level below the height of the bad element using the valve
on the bottom of the tank. (Opening a faucet in the house higher than
the hot water heater will help drain the water from the tank.) Unscrew
the element with a pipe wrench or other wrench and pull out the element.
Buy a replacement of the same wattage and physical size at HD or
Lowes. When installing the new one make sure your gasket area is clean
and it might be wise to put some pipe dope on the threads of the
element. (You do not want a leak when the water is again turned on.)
Once the water level is again covering the elements and the wiring has
been replaced, apply power.

 

wilsonkori wrote:

I have a Rheem Elect Hot Water heater that is about 11 years old. The
hot water it puts out is not so hot anymore. I am wanting to replace
the elements and possibly the thermostats too. I have never done this
before.

www.waterheaterrescue.com has information.

It's possible the overtemperature safety has triggered on the
thermostat, and simply pressing its reset button may solve
everything. Use an insulated stick (plastic pen, chopstick) to press
the button so you don't come near any exposed high voltage. The
thermostat can allow excessive temperature if it's set too high or
even too low, so keep it within the recommended range.

A thermostat is easy to replace, but before working on a water heater
for any reason, turn off the circuit breaker, and make sure it's
turned off by taking voltage measurements at the screws connected to
the wiring on the thermostat. When replacing the thermostat, be sure
to get all the wiring right by make a sketch, taking a picture, and
labelling each wire.before removing anything.

Measure the resistance across each the heating element. This can be
done at the thermostat, unless a wire is loose or shorted. The
resistance should be roughly 10-20 ohms, but between either screw and
ground (bare metal on heater) it should be nearly infinite. Heating
elements are more likely to short to ground rather than open up.

Rheem heating elements screw out, and hardware stores and plumbing
supplies sell a socket wrench just for them. A regular mechanic's
socket may not be deep enough to clear the end of the element
assembly. The cheapest replacement element is just a rod bent in half
at the middle, but better elements are much longer, to spread the heat
over a greater area so they run cooler and are less likely to have hot
spots that boil the water. They're folded over to fit in the heater,
and the very best elements are not only bent over but are also bent in
an "S" to be even longer. Some premium elements are covered in
stainless steel or plastic.

Always drain the heater before removing an element. Turn off the
water supply, and open a hot water valve in the house to let air into
the tank to displace the water. Always turn off the electricity
because a heating element can burn out in a minute if powered and
exposed to air (Sandhog brand elements are an exception)...
Similarly, be sure the tank is filled completely with water before
turning on the power.

Many times when a heating element goes bad in an old tank, the anode
rod is gone and the tank is about to leak. 11 years is about time for
this if the anode hasn't ever been replaced, so don't be surprised if
you need a new heater.

 

[PeterD]

On Mon, 10 Nov 2008 07:03:10 -0600, Ken <Ken@invalid.com> wrote:

wilsonkori wrote:
I have a Rheem Elect Hot Water heater that is about 11 years old. The
hot water it puts out is not so hot anymore. I am wanting to replace
the elements and possibly the thermostats too. I have never done this
before. Have any of you? Any tips would be appreciated.





Most electric hot water heaters are simple to fix if that is your
problem. The easiest way is to first turn off the power to the unit,
disconnect one of the wires to the elements, and using an ohm meter
determine which element is open. If you find an element open it is
unlikely that you need to replace the thermostats as well.

Before you kill yourself, TURN OFF THE FRIGGIN' POWER!

Turn off the water supply to the water heater and drain the water in
the tank to a level below the height of the bad element using the valve
on the bottom of the tank. (Opening a faucet in the house higher than
the hot water heater will help drain the water from the tank.) Unscrew
the element with a pipe wrench or other wrench and pull out the element.

Some elements are bolted in with three or four bolts.

Buy a replacement of the same wattage and physical size at HD or
Lowes. When installing the new one make sure your gasket area is clean
and it might be wise to put some pipe dope on the threads of the
element. (You do not want a leak when the water is again turned on.)

Or use the new gasket for bolted in elements.

Once the water level is again covering the elements and the wiring has
been replaced, apply power.

Generally the thermostats do not fail, and need not be replaced. In
fact, if you were to replace both elements and thermostats, you may be
better off replacing the entire heater, as at 11 years, it is likely
to be ready to spring a leak anyway... <bg>

 

[Claude Hopper]

wilsonkori wrote:

I have a Rheem Elect Hot Water heater that is about 11 years old. The
hot water it puts out is not so hot anymore. I am wanting to replace
the elements and possibly the thermostats too. I have never done this
before. Have any of you? Any tips would be appreciated.




If it's that old might as well trash it and buy a new more efficient one

and downsize if you don't need one that large. No sense maintaining 50
gallons of hot water when you only use 25 gallons or less at a time. You
might even look into tankless point of use water heaters.



--
Claude Hopper

? ? Ľ

 

[Dave]

"wilsonkori" <wilsonkori.35dc2e3@homeimprovementbanter.com> wrote in message
news:wilsonkori.35dc2e3@homeimprovementbanter.com...

I have a Rheem Elect Hot Water heater that is about 11 years old. The
hot water it puts out is not so hot anymore. I am wanting to replace
the elements and possibly the thermostats too. I have never done this
before. Have any of you? Any tips would be appreciated.


Buy a new water heater. If you look over your homeowner's insurance, one

thing that virtually all policies exclude is water damage from a failed hot
water tank which is over some predetermined age, often 5 years. Believe me,
it is UGLY when a hot water tank springs a leak and 40 or 50 gallons of
water leak out. Murphy's law dictates that this will most likely happen
while you away from home for an extended period.

I wonder if there's any reason other than planned obsolescence why
manufacturers can't build a tank of stainless steel or at least galvanized
steel which won't rust. I know the cost would be higher but they'd last
virtually forever.

 

[PeterD]

On Mon, 10 Nov 2008 18:58:58 GMT, "Dave" <dspear99ca@yahoo.com> wrote:

"wilsonkori" <wilsonkori.35dc2e3@homeimprovementbanter.com> wrote in message
news:wilsonkori.35dc2e3@homeimprovementbanter.com...

I have a Rheem Elect Hot Water heater that is about 11 years old. The
hot water it puts out is not so hot anymore. I am wanting to replace
the elements and possibly the thermostats too. I have never done this
before. Have any of you? Any tips would be appreciated.


Buy a new water heater. If you look over your homeowner's insurance, one
thing that virtually all policies exclude is water damage from a failed hot
water tank which is over some predetermined age, often 5 years. Believe me,
it is UGLY when a hot water tank springs a leak and 40 or 50 gallons of
water leak out. Murphy's law dictates that this will most likely happen
while you away from home for an extended period.

I wonder if there's any reason other than planned obsolescence why
manufacturers can't build a tank of stainless steel or at least galvanized
steel which won't rust. I know the cost would be higher but they'd last
virtually forever.

I had a water heater with a non-metalic tank once. Was fine until it
caught on fire! The sad realization was that had we not caught the
fire when it first started, it is likely to have spread totally before
burning through the tank!

Now, a stainless tank I could see... Most tank damage is however due
to the effects of a blown element, the voltage from the element to the
tank causes it to quickly eat a hole in the tank.

 

[jakdedert]

PeterD wrote:
<snip>

Now, a stainless tank I could see... Most tank damage is however due
to the effects of a blown element, the voltage from the element to the
tank causes it to quickly eat a hole in the tank.

I haven't found that to be the case, although most of my experience is
with gas heaters. Those perforate at the bottom, near the burner. I
did have one that perforated at the top, near the flue, but that was due
to bad welding at the factory. I was able to solder it a couple of
times before it became unfixable.

IME, most electric water heater problems are due to sedimentation. That
can be mitigated with a good periodic cleanout; but they all eventually
wear out.

Yeah, stainless would be good, at least for electric units. For gas, it
might be good as well; but when you overheat stainless steel, it
becomes...'not' stainless and subject to rust. I've had that happen to
a couple of pieces of cook wear that boiled dry....

jak

 

[Dave]

"PeterD" <peter2@hipson.net> wrote in message
news:29dhh4tcvvk9a7krrkg1m0juo4flvc8slt@4ax.com...

Now, a stainless tank I could see... Most tank damage is however due
to the effects of a blown element, the voltage from the element to the
tank causes it to quickly eat a hole in the tank.

The technology exists to prevent this. Ground fault detection circuitry has
been available in the marine industry for decades. When you consider that I
just got a flyer advertising an entire Dell desktop computer for $299, the
price of this circuitry would be, at most, a few dollars added on to a hot
water heater. Given the enormous number of hot water tanks sold annually,
economy of scale would keep it cheap.

As far as prevention of galvanic corrosion / electrolysis, if I had a
stainless steel tank I wouldn't be averse to checking and periodically
replacing a sacrificial zinc anode. Come to think of it they could put
screw-in zinc anodes into a regular hot water tank too which would
completely negate any galvanic potential if the zincs were properly
maintained.

Dave

 

[Paul Hovnanian P.E.]

wilsonkori wrote:

I have a Rheem Elect Hot Water heater that is about 11 years old. The
hot water it puts out is not so hot anymore. I am wanting to replace
the elements and possibly the thermostats too. I have never done this
before. Have any of you? Any tips would be appreciated.

--
wilsonkori

If you go through all the trouble to drain the tank and replace an
element, put in a new sacrificial anode as well. These usually rot away
(as intended) by the time a water heater reaches a decade old.

--
Paul Hovnanian mailtoaul@Hovnanian.com
------------------------------------------------------------------
Your mouse has moved. Windows must be restarted for
the change to take effect. Reboot now? [OK]

 

[Yukio YANO]

wilsonkori wrote:

I have a Rheem Elect Hot Water heater that is about 11 years old. The
hot water it puts out is not so hot anymore. I am wanting to replace
the elements and possibly the thermostats too. I have never done this
before. Have any of you? Any tips would be appreciated.




It still gets hot, so both the thermostat and Heating Element are doing

their jobs ! Your problem appears to be the need to replace the "Dip
Tube" !!! This is a Plastic Insert that feeds the "Cold water IN to the
bottom of the Tank" When this fails , cold water "IN" short Circuits to
the "Hot Water Out port" resulting in very little "HOT Water" out. Your
local Plumbing and Heating Store is VERY familiar with this ! "The
middle shelf in row *** "!Labeled "DIP TUBE" ~$4.00! At 11 years you
might consider replacement. Energy-Efficient Electric Hot-Water Heaters
!! You're kidding ! The only losses are in the piping, so Instant
heating might help, but off-peak Electric heating might be more practical

Yukio YANO

 

[jakdedert]

Yukio YANO wrote:

wilsonkori wrote:
I have a Rheem Elect Hot Water heater that is about 11 years old. The
hot water it puts out is not so hot anymore. I am wanting to replace
the elements and possibly the thermostats too. I have never done this
before. Have any of you? Any tips would be appreciated.




It still gets hot, so both the thermostat and Heating Element are doing
their jobs ! Your problem appears to be the need to replace the "Dip
Tube" !!! This is a Plastic Insert that feeds the "Cold water IN to the
bottom of the Tank" When this fails , cold water "IN" short Circuits to
the "Hot Water Out port" resulting in very little "HOT Water" out. Your
local Plumbing and Heating Store is VERY familiar with this ! "The
middle shelf in row *** "!Labeled "DIP TUBE" ~$4.00! At 11 years you
might consider replacement. Energy-Efficient Electric Hot-Water Heaters
!! You're kidding ! The only losses are in the piping, so Instant
heating might help, but off-peak Electric heating might be more practical

Yukio YANO

Probably good advice, save one point; most electric water heaters have
two heating elements (in fact every one I've seen). When one
element--especially the bottom one--goes out, water doesn't get hot very
fast.

jak

 

[DAVIS55]

11yrs. old, it's a safe bet to replace the heating elements w/o worrying
about wasting your time and money. I've seen heating element deteriorate
and still yield continuity, I've also seen where calcium and mineral
deposits give a false reading. The process is pretty straight forward.
Turn off the water, drain the tank, disconnect the wires to the
elements, screw them out, teflon the new one and reverse procedure.
It's also and excellent time to drain and flush the tank (while the
elements are out, bigger chunks don't go through the regular drain). I
wouldn't worry about the dip tube until the heating elements are
replaced as what you've described doesn't indicate a bad dip tube (you
really don't want to deal with that 11yr. old can of worms if you don't
have to, one step at a time).
Tip: Your going to get wet, don't fight it. Have lots of towels and/or
a mop handy. used




--
DAVIS55

 

[Peter Hucker]

On Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:19:57 -0000, PeterD <peter2@hipson.net> wrote:

On Mon, 10 Nov 2008 07:03:10 -0600, Ken <Ken@invalid.com> wrote:

wilsonkori wrote:
I have a Rheem Elect Hot Water heater that is about 11 years old. The
hot water it puts out is not so hot anymore. I am wanting to replace
the elements and possibly the thermostats too. I have never done this
before. Have any of you? Any tips would be appreciated.





Most electric hot water heaters are simple to fix if that is your
problem. The easiest way is to first turn off the power to the unit,
disconnect one of the wires to the elements, and using an ohm meter
determine which element is open. If you find an element open it is
unlikely that you need to replace the thermostats as well.

Before you kill yourself, TURN OFF THE FRIGGIN' POWER!

Which part of "first turn off the power to the unit" didn't you understand?


--
http://www.petersparrots.com http://www.insanevideoclips.com http://www.petersphotos.com

A young boy went up to his father and asked him," Dad, what is the difference between potentially and realistically?" The father thought for a moment, then answered, "Go ask your mother if she would sleep with Robert Redford for a million dollars. Then ask your sister if she would sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars, and ask your brother if he'd sleep with Tom Cruise for a million dollars. Come back and tell me what you learn from that."

So the boy went to his mother and asked, "Would you sleep with Robert
Redford for a million dollars?" The mother replied, "Of course I would! I wouldn't pass up an opportunity like that!"

The boy went to his sister and asked, "Would you sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars? "The girl replied, "Oh my God! I would just love to do that! I would be nuts to pass up that opportunity!"

The boy went to his brother and asked, "Would you sleep with Tom Cruise for a million dollars?" "Of course", the brother replied. "Do you know how much a million could buy?"

The boy pondered that for a few days, then went back to his dad. His father asked him, "Did you find out the difference between potentially and realistically?"

The boy replied, "Yes, sir. Potentially, we're sitting on three million dollars, but realistically, we're living with two sluts and a fag."

 

[Peter Hucker]

On Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:28:36 -0000, PeterD <peter2@hipson.net> wrote:

On Mon, 10 Nov 2008 18:58:58 GMT, "Dave" <dspear99ca@yahoo.com> wrote:


"wilsonkori" <wilsonkori.35dc2e3@homeimprovementbanter.com> wrote in message
news:wilsonkori.35dc2e3@homeimprovementbanter.com...

I have a Rheem Elect Hot Water heater that is about 11 years old. The
hot water it puts out is not so hot anymore. I am wanting to replace
the elements and possibly the thermostats too. I have never done this
before. Have any of you? Any tips would be appreciated.


Buy a new water heater. If you look over your homeowner's insurance, one
thing that virtually all policies exclude is water damage from a failed hot
water tank which is over some predetermined age, often 5 years. Believe me,
it is UGLY when a hot water tank springs a leak and 40 or 50 gallons of
water leak out. Murphy's law dictates that this will most likely happen
while you away from home for an extended period.

I wonder if there's any reason other than planned obsolescence why
manufacturers can't build a tank of stainless steel or at least galvanized
steel which won't rust. I know the cost would be higher but they'd last
virtually forever.

I had a water heater with a non-metalic tank once. Was fine until it
caught on fire! The sad realization was that had we not caught the
fire when it first started, it is likely to have spread totally before
burning through the tank!

Now, a stainless tank I could see... Most tank damage is however due
to the effects of a blown element, the voltage from the element to the
tank causes it to quickly eat a hole in the tank.

How on earth did something full of water catch fire?


--
http://www.petersparrots.com http://www.insanevideoclips.com http://www.petersphotos.com

Do you know what a Jewish dilemma is?
Free ham.