Hot water heater question

Scott L · 11-18-2006, 12:44 PM

This is our first winter in our townhome, the hot water barely lasts a full shower in the morning (didn't do this in the summer). I figured one of the elements needed changing so I bought a tester and opened up the hwh panels to find this:

bottom panel
top panel
model #

Looks like the top one is just a dummy one to save on electricity use? The bottom one tested out fine, just wondering if it's common practice to have that at the top.

Also if I wanted to put a working one up there how can I get access to the power wires? Thanks for any help.

DougR · 11-18-2006, 05:58 PM

That's a 50 Gallon Tank............
do you take hour long showers??

Do you know how old the unit is?

Is there a Drain at the Bottom?

Did you try increasing the Thermostat Setting (Pic #1)

It shows 125 degrees!

It was wired up Properly....DON"T Mess with the Wiring !!

( it Only has ONE Heating Element )

Bob Graz · 11-18-2006, 06:10 PM

Looking at the pic of the thermostat and given the position of the screw, it looks like it could possibly be less than 125 degrees. It's hard to call though from a pic.
I would do two simple things. I'd open the drain a bit and see if any sediment is released.
I'd bump up the temp a bit and see what impact that has on your volume of hot water. I agree, don't even think about messing with any wiring.
I have a 50 gal tank, set to about 135 degrees and it supplies plenty of water for 5 people. If I try to go lower than about 135 degrees I do not get sufficient volume of hot water. By the way, my drain valve started slowly leaking a few weeks ago. Drain valves on hot water heaters tend to be a weak point due to cheap plastic valves. I went to Sears and spent $1.99 and put a shutoff valve that you would buy for an outside faucet or hose. It was rated for 160 degrees. A bit of plumbers tape on the threads, carefully thread new shutoff valve on threads and bingo, fixed.

Steve_Pannell · 11-18-2006, 07:47 PM

Good advice on the sediment issue.

I've had water heaters where the bottom element was actually embedded in sediment and it had to try to heat the water through all that sediment. The water never really got as hot as it should have and it was costing a fortune because the element was on for longer periods.

If the sediment is very bad it can be cleaned out through the element hole after draining the tank and removing the element. It's a real pain in the neck if it's really bad.

Your water heater could possibly be converted to a 2-element unit by a professional but it would probably be cheaper to just buy a new water heater.

Scott L · 11-19-2006, 10:25 AM

ahh it's probably the sediment. I'll attach a hose to the release valve and see what's what, thx guys

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mylan · 11-19-2006, 12:06 PM

Make sure you turn the power off to the heater or you will burn out the element.

Scott McGillivray · 11-19-2006, 12:38 PM

To quote the comedian Gallagher, Why is it called a Hot water Heater when you don't need to heat hot water?

Steve_Pannell · 11-19-2006, 02:13 PM

Quote:

To quote the comedian Gallagher, Why is it called a Hot water Heater when you don't need to heat hot water?

You'll notice in my post I called it a "water heater".

JohnRice · 11-19-2006, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Make sure you turn the power off to the heater or you will burn out the element.

Probably a good idea.

Also, and this can be pretty critical. As was mentioned, the drain valve on the heater is usually very cheap, and the design of them doesn't work very well when trying to shut them off with hot water flowing through it. They often use an O-Ring in a configuration where the ring comes out of its seating, and it then won't shut off. So, shut off the cold water supply line to the heater, there should be a metal valve right above the heater, first, then open the drain valve, the open the metal supply valve a bit and drain a few gallons through thhe valve. Shut off the supply (since it is all sealed, it will still virtually if not completely stof flowing), close the drain valve and then slowly open the supply valve to let the tank repressurize.

Be aware a little air will probably get in your water line and faucets will spit the first time you turn on thhe hot water after doing this. It's not bad maintenance to do this every few months.