How To Tell If Your Hot Water Heater Element Is Going Out

Utilize a camera or smartphone to take pictures of any water leaks.

How to tell if your hot water heater element is going out. 2 remove the rectangular shaped cover plate running. To test if a bad heater is causing your tripped breaker you can disconnect the copper tabs or wires from the spa pack to the heater element. Temperature does the temperature of your water seem off. This is where you ll want to visually check for any signs of rust or corrosion.

If you find a loose valve bottom drain valve or top release valve loose tighten it and that may have been the cause of the water heater leak. If your water doesn t seem to get hot enough or if it s too hot this could be a sign that your water heater is going out. The fittings that come out of the water heater are usually an alloy that can cause premature corrosion with the copper or brass fittings. How to tell if water heater is bad electric water heater leaking water if your electric water heater is leaking water turn off the circuit breaker and find where the water leak is coming from.

Generally the ideal temperature for hot water is between 120 and 140 degrees. Sometimes however this problem can be fixed by adjusting the thermostat in your unit. You can see if the pilot light is out by removing the cover of the water heater and inspecting the light. All the tests that you will perform will be done with the power turned off.

Find a replacement heater element. If the breaker stays on you ve determined that the heater is bad. Turn off the circuit breaker supplying power to the hot water heater. If you start to see water gathering on the floor it is a pretty sure sign that your water heater is not doing its job.

A good test to avoid replacing a functioning water heater is to drain a few five gallon buckets of hot water out of the water heater. Most units are hard wired directly into the home s circuitry so turn the breaker for the hot water heater to off at the home s main electrical panel. The pilot light will ignite your water heater s burner and if it goes out there is nothing to heat the water. Once disconnected turn the power back on.

Your water heater will usually have directions on how to relight it. By the third bucket if the water from your heater is still coming out rusty then most likely the water heater not the piping is at fault. Typically this is an easy fix.