Electric Water Heater Thermostat Wiring Diagram – When you find that your electric water heater is not working, first try resetting the breaker by pressing it and then turning it on. Then open the lid of the top element of the water heater tank and press the red reset button.
If pressing the red reset button does not cause the water heater to restart, check for 240 volts at the upper thermostat terminals 1 and 3 (see wiring diagram below) using a CAT 3 or CAT 4 voltage tester or multimeter. If no electricity, check the junction box where the circuit wires are connected.
Electric Water Heater Thermostat Wiring Diagram
No hot water at all or is it running out faster than usual? If the hot water runs out faster than expected, the problem is most likely a bad bottom heating element or a bad bottom thermostat. Even a faulty upper thermostat can also prevent the lower heating element from turning on.
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If you see water dripping from the water heater tank, it’s time to replace the water heater. The tank is not subject to repair, only replacement. When installing a new water heater, I recommend installing a pan underneath to prevent future flooding.
Electric water heaters should have a plastic container, while gas or oil water heaters should have a metal container underneath.
Several things can cause an electric water heater to stop working. A tripped or damaged breaker or loose electrical connection will prevent the electric water heater from operating. The circuit breaker at the boiler location may trip or become damaged. The controls of the water heater itself can be switched off or damaged. Finally, one or more of the electric heating elements in the water heater may burn out.
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These symptoms are easy to check and test; However, this means running on live electricity. If you have no experience working with live electrical circuits, I recommend calling a professional electrician.
The order of operation of a standard household electric water heater with a tank of two heating elements is as follows: When the tank is full of cold water, the upper heating element is turned on first. When the water temperature rises to a level that satisfies the upper thermostat, the upper heating element will turn off and the power will drop to the lower heating element thermostat.
The upper thermostat has a built-in dual switch that switches back and forth between the upper and lower heating elements as determined by the upper water temperature.
The lower heating element will remain on until the water temperature reaches the lower thermostat setting and turns off.
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When you turn on the hot water faucet in your home, the hot water comes from the top of the tank, travels through the pipes in your home, and flows out of the faucet or shower. When this happens, the cold water enters the bottom of the water heater tank through the immersion tube and lowers the temperature of the water there as it refills.
The lower heating element will heat the water until the water at the top of the tank starts to cool. When this happens, the upper heating element will turn on and the lower heating element will turn off.
The bottom heating element tends to die faster than the top element. When only the top heating element is running, you will still get hot water, but the hot water stored in the tank will be used up faster than when both heating elements are running as designed.
If the upper heating element fails, then the lower element will not be able to turn on and you will not have hot water.
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According to the manufacturer’s instructions, regularly draining the tank can help the heating element work more efficiently and last longer.
The upper thermostat has a red reset button that turns power off and on to both heating elements when it gets too hot. The bottom thermostat only regulates the temperature for the bottom heating element.
My first step was to check for 240 volts using my Wiggy voltage tester. Non-contact voltage testers are not good for use on water heaters as you can get wrong readings.
I would test the voltage first at the upper heating element thermostat at terminals 1 and 3 which are on the opposite top of the rack.
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If there is no power to the thermostat, I would check for 240 volts in the built-in junction box at the top of the water heater where the mains power comes from. Remove the cover and remove the connected power cable. Disconnect the cable connector and check for voltage between the two hot wires. You should wear insulated electrical gloves while doing this.
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If you have 240 volts in the water heater junction box, then the problem with a non-working electric water heater is most likely internal. The cover on the side of the water heater must be removed so that the voltage at the controls can be checked.
However, before I check the voltage at the control terminals and elements, I will press the red reset button located in the upper compartment behind the cover. If there is an insulating block or protective plastic cover inside after the outer metal cover has been removed, pull it out and save it for replacement.
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Resetting the red hot load button may be all it takes to get the water heater working again. However, the question remains, why does the thermal overload turn off? It usually shuts off when the temperature gets too high. Maybe the thermostat is bad or the temperature is set too high?
With power on and after pressing the reset button, use a voltage tester or Cat III or IV volt-ohmmeter to check for voltage at the screw terminals of each heating element. Only one heating element should be on at a time unless the water temperature is high enough to turn off both thermostats.
In this case, take a hot shower or wash clothes in hot water to get cold water into the tank, which will turn on one heating element and the other. First check the voltage of the upper heating element. While it is off, check for voltage at the lower element.
If you get the voltages of each heating element in the correct order, the problem may be a bad heating element. If you don’t get the voltage in each element, the problem may be a bad thermostat.
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I had the unique experience of wiring a new electric water heater for a customer. I turned on the water heater, flipped the breaker to heat the water, and checked to see if it was working properly. Not that
Shortly after the boiler is first switched on, the circuit breaker trips. I took out my Amprobe ammeter and placed it on one of the wires connected to the water heater breaker in the electrical panel. The water heater draws twice as much current (amps) as it should.
During my research, the excess heat in the top heating element also kicked in, meaning the water was overheating.
In short, the upper thermostat assembly is defective and is causing both heating elements to operate at the same time. Usually only one heating element is on at any time.
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I contacted the manufacturer and they sent me a new replacement thermostat module free of charge. Still, to get my customers to work, I went to the big box store and bought a universal electric water heater thermostat that fits my customer’s water heater perfectly.
Replacing the water heater thermostat is not difficult. The first thing is to take pictures of the electrical connections before you take anything apart. Then loosen the screw terminals and pull the wires from each screw terminal. Instead of moving the wires completely to the side, I prefer to leave them in the original position as much as possible to make it easier to connect to the new thermostat.
It would be nice if you could remove one wire from the old thermostat before removing it and install it into the new thermostat before installing. However, the cable is not always long enough for this.
It is not necessary to drain the tank of the electric water heater to replace the thermostat. The tank should only be emptied when replacing the heating element.
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Use a Cat III or Cat IV volt-ohmmeter to test the heating element before attempting to remove it. Turn off the power to the water heater at the circuit breaker. Confirm that the power is off with a voltage tester. Disconnect the two heating element wires.
Set your volt ohmmeter to measure resistance on the lowest scale (R1) and connect one probe to the other
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