hot water heater

[s1120]

I just moved into my moms house for a few months till my house is done, and I have a bit of a problem there. The hot water is HOT [img]/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] Comes out boiling. I went down to turn it a bit lower, and did not see any way to do it. I am used to gas hot water heaters, and you just need to turn a diel, but this is electric, and there is no dial. How do I turn it down?Thanks

[egon]

Chances are there is opening somwhere and if you open up the insulation you will find someting to regulate temperature.

Egon

[s1120]

There is a rectangle panel on the side, that says to kill power before opening. Could it be under there?

[Stoneheartfarm]

That would be where I would look. Most electric water heaters that I have seen have two metal panels on the side. One high and one low. These are each held on with 2 screws. First turn off the power. (This is important since these things usually work off 220, and I get a might squeemish at that voltage). Then, remove the screws and panels and pull back the insulation underneath. There should be 1 or 2 thermostats, mine are black with red and a white knob. Just turn the knob toward the cooler range, put the whole thing back together and turn on the power. One or both thermostats will have the adjustment knob.

It's possible that one or both thermostats is defective. They eventually wear out and start sticking. (The last one I cut apart had points in it.) If it sticks in the "on" position, you will definitely get real hot water, and it might get hot enough to pop the pressure valve. Try turning down the dial first.

It's been awhile since I opened up a water heater, and the innards might have changed since then, but I bet its still pretty close.

SHF

[Mike_Dumond]

That's it Paul, and as has been said, there might be two. One high, one at the bottom. Set the temp around 120 - 140 degrees on both. The top is for rapid recovery, (heats the top third), the lower one heats the rest of the tank. They will not work at the same time, as the bottom will only work when the top reaches the set temp.

The most common problem with the termostats, is their either fusing open or shut. But, running a close second, is when they pull away from the tank, or get a good size layer of rust between them and the tank. Only way to tell if they are regulating is with a voltmeter. If you're not comfortable working with 220, then call someone who is. It's a relatively tight space to be sticking two probes and your fingers in.

Personally, I'm betting that the temp is just set too high.

[Stoneheartfarm]

Hmmm, hadn't thought about scale and rust, never had that problem. I've had to change a couple of times, once due to a lightening strike. (Boy, did we have HOT water, almost steaming.) And once due to simple sticking.

SHF

[s1120]

Cool! Thanks guys. I am going to check when I get home. I would hate to have her burn herself with the water. The tank is the one that came with the house in '78 when it was built. It is BIG[150gal I think] It was setup to have solor hot water when new, but that system stopped working after a few years. Hope the tank is still good. Looks like a big job to replace it.

[Stoneheartfarm]

Um, I would consider replacing with something smaller. Say around 50 gallons. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img] You would find a great deal of difference. The insulation level on the new units is considerably higher than the old units. The water heater here is a new GE from Depot and it is so much better than the old one at the cabin. Night and day difference. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

SHF

[s1120]

<font color="red"> Um, I would consider replacing with something smaller. Say around 50 gallons </font color>

Ya, we have been thinking about that, but it has to wait a bit.

BTW, I did crack it open, and found the dial. Cranked it down a bit, and it seemed to make a difference. Still WAY to hot though, so I will do it agean tonight. Thanks for all your help. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Stoneheartfarm]

No problem. If you do decide you need to replace the thermostats, you might want to do the elements at the same time, especially if you have hard water. Last thermostat I bought was $15.00 to $20.00.

SHF