Any electricians in the house?

[kwelz]

I am having a problem with my water heater. The internal safety keeps popping every day or so. I will go to take a shower, do dishes, etc and have no hot water because at some point in the night the stupid thing popped.

Has anyone seen this before? Is there an easy fix?

[kwelz]

Is the pope Catholic?

[Lee Indy]

you own a multi meter?

[MookNW]

Could be a bad element

[Lee Indy]

test the pwer at the safety switch while running your hot water. if it spikes when the element kicks on replace the element.

[landrvrnut22]

99% of the time this happens, the element has corroded inside, and needs replaced. It is fairly simple, drain the water, new element out, run to Home Depot, pop new element in, and refill.

[sabretom]

Ditto.

So easy a caveman can do it.

[BBsound]

or if it is over 10-12 years old replace it before it floods your house.

[kwelz]

I have replaced elements before. The thing is, this house was bought new in 07. Didn't figure it would be needed this early.

[landrvrnut22]

If you have well water with a high mineral content, they don't last very long. You could also check your anode, to see if it has deteriorated. It is supposed to be the sacrafical metal, but it can get caked with minerals, and then the elements become the sacrafical metal.

[kwelz]

True enough. I should have checked that first. With all the other shit my builder ****ed up I would not be shocked if this water heater was out of a mobile home made in the 50s

[williejc]

If you have two elements--top and bottom--and are replacing top element, take this step to avoid burning out the top element when you put power back on: before throwing the switch, let water run from several hot water faucets. Why? To purge top of tank of hydrogen and/or oxygen gas. Where do the gases come from? They are dissolved in water and bubble out while tank is filling up. They do not originate from breakdown of H2O. I learned this trick the hard way.

Williejc

[yosel]

Replace the controls, not the element. If the heater heats the water and pop-ups off every few days it is one of the controls. They are located inside the metal doors on the heater. They are inexpensive to purchase and easy to replace. Be certain to get an identical match as there are many different styles.

Replacing the element is not a bad idea, but you need a special socket wrench to do it. If the elements are no good after only two years you should plan on replacing them before they burn out. Depending on your water quality two years is a very short time to have elements go bad, but it is possible.

[lethal dose]

To answer your 2nd question... yes. The pope is, in fact, catholic.

[hickuleas]

You either have a burned out heating element or a malfuctioning thermastst. When changing these out first shut electrical power off and shut cold water supply. Elements become insulated with calcium and minerals and in time don't heat water properly. Also with electric shut off check for loose wire which can cause high amp draw. It is a good idea to periodically drain tank to prevent sediment build-up.

[Bobert0989]

Hire an electrician... lol.

And how can you be so sure that the Pope is Catholic? Does he go to mass?

Only time I see him on TV, he's just standing up in front of all those people, talking a language I don't know. Lol

[rjacobs]

My semi-educated guess(i.e. I have dealt with this and every other possible water heater issue before) is the elements. IF they are corroded they cant sense the temp of the water and thus dont shut off properly which causes them to heat the water too hot leading to your over temp safety popping. Mine were doing this as well as the pressure relief valve was leaking so I replaced the elements, but several weeks later the pressure relief was still leaking(although not nearly as much) so I replaced it and all is good. The inside of the pressure relief was also caked in calcium. So besides the actual controls I have a brand new water heater for like 35 bucks.

I have a water softener to keep the calcium build up to a minimum, but my buddy has to replace his elements at least yearly cause hes on well water and they just get all caked with calcium so fast.