Water Heater Top Or Bottom Element

How to diagnose a water heater element problem.

Water heater top or bottom element.

A dual element water heater uses two heating elements controlled. Turn on the hot water tap at a sink and check for the following scenarios. How to set the upper and lower thermostats on dual element water heaters. In most water heaters the top heating element controls the thermostat and will still work even if the bottom element fails.

However the water heater won t run efficiently and likely won t produce enough hot water to satisfy your families needs running on just the top element. Cold water enters and remains at the bottom of the water. When an electric hot water heater s elements short out or burn through cool water is the result. Only the water in the top of the tank is being heated.

If the electric water heater produces the same old hot water temperature but the quantity seems drastically reduced we suspect that the bottom water heater element has burned out. No special tools required. Standard electric water heater operation electric water heaters operate by use of either one or two direct immersion heating elements controlled by either thermostats or a microprocessor control module. Many modern homes come with dual element water heaters.

Hot water heaters are an important home appliance that heat water for use in your sinks dishwasher washing machine and shower. Typically the lower element goes first but that s not always the case. Electric water heaters use either 120 or 240 volt power 240 volts is more common to energize metal heating elements that protrude into the water heater tank through the side wall. The upper heating element really only contributes when there is a high hot water demand and only serves to heat water in the upper portion of the tank.

Most water heaters have two heating elements one near the top of the tank another located further down. You can often tell if a water heater element has failed by turning on the faucet in a sink. Long tepid shower bad top water heater element. If the water in your home doesn t get any hotter than a lukewarm temperature try turning up the heat if that doesn t solve the problem it s possible that 1 of the heating elements in the water heater is malfunctioning or broken.

Single element water heaters have one element mounted at the bottom of the tank controlled by a single thermostat and high limit switch. In an electric water heater the bottom heating element is the workhorse since it is at the bottom of the tank where cold water enters from a dip tube that extends down through the tank. Is the water hot for a short time before running cold. Electric heaters feature fewer parts than gas models but a basic understanding of how two element models function can reduce the time needed to diagnose a problem.

This is a sign that the bottom element has failed.