Water Heater Lower Thermostat Problems

One common thermostat problem with electric water heaters occurs when the lower thermostat becomes stuck in the on position and doesn t cycle the lower element off properly.

Water heater lower thermostat problems. Check the heat setting on both. Turn off the power to the water heater in the service panel. The thermostats are less likely to be at fault than the elements. However they do go bad and testing water heater thermostats is still required.

Sometimes the element overheats and the water absorbs this heat. You can test them with the power off using an ohmmeter to measure resistance or with the power on using a voltmeter to measure voltage. Sometimes the dial is accidentally tweaked too high so this troubleshooting solution to fix your water heater is the first step in diagnosing a water heater overheating problem. On most residential models there will be both an upper and lower thermostat and they should be adjusted to the same temperature.

To test which of the thermostats might be defective allow the water heater to sit for about half an hour after running a generous amount of hot water. When this happens heat builds up in the upper portion of the storage tank which will eventually trip the reset button. Your water heater usually has two elements and two thermostats. The lower thermostat just controls the lower element.

Test the wires to confirm the power is off using a non contact voltage tester. Electric water heater. Electric water heaters have one or two elements and each is controlled by a thermostat. If the hot water heater is not working one of the thermostats may be bad.