How To Tell If Hot Water Heater Element Is Bad

Testing a Water Heater Element at a Glance

Tools: Screwdriver, digital multimeter, non-contact voltage tester (optional)
Step 1: Shut off ability
Step 2: Remove metal covers
Pace iii: Have out insulation
Stride 4: Locate heating element
Pace 5: Verify electricity is off
Stride 6: Cheque element with multimeter
Pace seven: Reassemble water heater

Amidst the several possible reasons your h2o heater isn't producing hot water, a faulty heating element is one of the near common. Fortunately, testing the heating element is ane of the easiest diagnostic tests y'all can do yourself. Y'all don't demand to drain the tank or mess with whatever gas, water or electric lines.

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Before yous shell out the big bucks for professional repair — or full replacement — of your water heater, accept the post-obit steps to run into if the heating chemical element is the culprit.

Signs of a Bad Water Heater Element

As like shooting fish in a barrel as it is to test the element, it'due south a good idea to know the most common signs of a bad heater element to determine whether testing it is even warranted. Symptoms of a bad heater chemical element include:

Lukewarm water
Small amount of hot water
No hot water
Hot water runs out faster than usual
Water heater'due south circuit breaker constantly trips

Nigh total-sized residential h2o heaters have 2 heating elements (meridian and bottom), but smaller water heaters may just take one. For water heaters with two elements, each one serves a slightly dissimilar purpose. Consequently, you can usually make up one's mind which element has failed based on the specific symptoms you're experiencing.

Symptoms of a Bad Upper Heating Element:

No hot water
Hot h2o doesn't reach the temperature assault the thermostat

Symptoms of a Bad Lower Heating Chemical element:

Small amount of hot water
Hot h2o runs out faster than usual

If you lot're experiencing whatsoever of these symptoms, y'all can exist adequately confident testing the elements won't be a waste of time.

Tools Required

Screwdriver
Digital multimeter
Not-contact voltage tester (optional)

How to Test the Chemical element

Gas water heater temperature control

Stride 1. Shut off the Power

Since testing the heater element involves working with electricity, it'due south important to turn off power to your water heater to ensure rubber working conditions. To do then, you lot demand to close off the circuit breaker that powers the h2o heater. This circuit breaker will be located in your dwelling'south fundamental breaker box, a ane-foot by 2-human foot metal box commonly located in the garage, basement or under a stairway.

The electrician who wired your abode should have labeled which breaker goes to your water heater inside of the billow box. Turn off the breaker that corresponds to your water heater past flipping information technology to the side marked "off." If the billow isn't labeled, either shut the power off to your entire home with the chief breaker (usually located at the elevation of the box) or turn off all the double breakers — those that have two breakers linked together.

Stride 2. Remove the Metal Covers

There should be one or 2 metal plate covers on the side of your water heater. These covers house the thermostat and heater element and are held in identify past 2 or more than screws that commonly have Phillips heads. Remove these screws with a screwdriver or power drill with the advisable fleck.

Step 3. Remove the Insulation and Plastic Covers

Almost h2o heaters have a layer of insulation and a thin plastic shield betwixt the metallic encompass and heater chemical element. The insulation can either exist a rigid foam or flexible fiberglass insulation. You should be able to remove foam insulation by hand in one piece, but information technology may have to exist pried or cut out in some cases. Fiberglass insulation may need to be carefully cut away with a utility knife.

The plastic shield is usually clipped into metal tabs on the water heater. It should snap out later pulling with light to moderate force per unit area. Intendance should be taken not to damage either of these components since they will be reinserted after your test has been completed.

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Pace 4. Locate the Heating Element

The thermostat and heating element should now be visible. The thermostat is often rectangular with several electric wires connected to screws on either side of it. It'south located higher up the heating chemical element.

The actual heating element is inside the tank. The visible portion is the approximately 1-inch square base (or "terminate indicate") with two screws that take electrical wires running to them. These two screws are where y'all will exist performing your test.

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Step 5. Verify the Electricity Is Off

Confirm the ability is off with a non-contact voltage tester or a multimeter. A not-contact voltage tester is a device shaped similar a pen that will illuminate or beep when in close proximity to an electrically charged ("alive") wire. Information technology merely needs to be placed about the electric wires running to the thermostat and heater element to decide the electricity is off. If it lights up or beeps, that means the wires are nonetheless live and the electricity wasn't properly shut off.

To examination with a multimeter, plough the dial to the setting for alternate current, which is normally displayed as "5~." Touch the red probe to 1 screw and the black probe to the other screw. You should not be registering whatsoever electricity. If you see a reading of 110 to 130, that means there is nonetheless electricity going to the h2o heater. Test once more after switching the probes around. Place the cerise probe on the screw where you had the black probe previously, and the blackness probe where you had the cherry probe. Doing then will help to ensure y'all're getting a reliable reading.

Step 6. Check the Heater Element With Your Multimeter

The functionality of a heating element is determined past the resistance in the circuit, which is measured in ohms (Ω). Turn the dial of your multimeter to the lowest ohms setting. Touch the red probe to the middle of one of the heating element screws and the black probe to the other screw. It doesn't matter which probe touches which screw when measuring the resistance.

If the heating chemical element is working correctly, your multimeter should read somewhere between x and 30 Ω. If the reading is beneath that (i.e., 0 or i), your heating element is faulty and needs to be replaced. Repeat this stride on the other heating chemical element if your h2o heater has two.

Step 7. Reassemble the Water Heater

Whether your heating elements are working properly or y'all replaced a faulty one, information technology'south time to reassemble your water heater. Reinstall the plastic encompass over the heating chemical element (if equipped), and reinsert the insulation. Finally, turn the h2o heater's breaker dorsum on. If you replaced a heater chemical element, yous might have to wait a few hours for the h2o to rut upwards then yous tin can confirm your repair was successful.