Electric water heaters have been intended to perform for many years with little if any attention in the homeowner. Ideally, the whole process of obtaining hot water consists of turning on the suitable tap and waiting a few minutes for the heated water to make the trip from the reservoir tank to the faucet. When turning to the hot water tap does not produce the anticipated results, you may have the ability to repair, or at least locate, the issue yourself.
Turn off power to the water heater in the primary service panel. Never repair or service any electrical appliance while it is plugged in or getting power.
Set the multimeter to the appropriate transmission range. Most residential electric water heaters function on 220-volt current. But some smaller electric heaters use 110-volt circuits. Match the range setting on the multimeter to correspond to voltage on your heater.
User a screwdriver to remove the entry panels covering the heater’s power link and heat elements. Power connections are most frequently found on the cover of the heater near the water intake and output pipes. Upper and lower heating elements are found close to the bottom and top in the side of the heater.
Press and hold one of the multimeter’s probes from the bare ground cable of the main power connection. Insert the remaining probe alternately to the cable connectors to your black and red power leads. If you get any reading other than zero for both of the results, then stop immediately and contact an electrician. The presence of electric current after the power supply is shut off in the primary service panel signals an issue requiring immediate professional attention. If you have a reading of zero on both leads, then proceed to another step.
Set the multimeter reading selection to “Ohms.” The elements within an electric water heater generate heat by passing current through a conductor with a resistance set to coordinate with the heater’s wattage and voltage.
Determine the appropriate ohm reading for your own heating elements. The voltage and wattage ratings are published on the foundation of each heating element. These are numerical values followed with a “W” for watts and “V” for volts. You might need a flashlight to get a fantastic view of those readings. To find the anticipated opposition, measured in ohms, to get the element, use the formula, voltage times voltage divided by watts; the consequence of the calculation is that the anticipated ohm, or opposition, reading for your element. On a 240-volt/3500-watt element, for instance, the formula looks like this: 240 times 240 equals 57,600 divided by 3,500 equals 16.4 ohms. The opposition reading for this element needs to be 16.4 ohms on your multimeter.
Press one of the probes against each of the heat element’s connecting terminals, and evaluate the multimeter’s ohm reading together with the consequence of the calculation in Step 6. A variant of plus or minus 2 percent between the component’s calculated opposition and the multimeter ohm reading is ordinary. Bigger variations indicate problems with the element.
Press and hold one probe against the bare metal of the reservoir tank. Press the remaining partition temporarily contrary to each of the component’s connecting terminals. Any opposition reading other than zero indicates a brief and means the element ought to be replaced.
Press and hold one probe against the bare metal of the reservoir tank. Press and hold the remaining probe against the steel collar around the base of the heat element. Any opposition reading other than zero indicates that the presence of a brief. The heating element ought to be replaced.