How To Tell If Your Water Heater Element Is Going Out

Sometimes however this problem can be fixed by adjusting the thermostat in your unit.

How to tell if your water heater element is going out. Utilize a camera or smartphone to take pictures of any water leaks. A leaking water heater should be replaced but be sure to look into the problem before wrongly placing the blame. It is very important to make sure the power is off. You can see if the pilot light is out by removing the cover of the water heater and inspecting the light.

This is where you ll want to visually check for any signs of rust or corrosion. Turn off the circuit breaker supplying power to the hot water heater. All the tests that you will perform will be done with the power turned off. The most obvious one is if the water heater element is damaged.

Generally the ideal temperature for hot water is between 120 and 140 degrees. Water heater element testing is a very simple process. The pilot light will ignite your water heater s burner and if it goes out there is nothing to heat the water. Because of this you should keep a check on the water heater element quite often.

There are just a few easy steps to figuring it out. Puddles it might seem self explanatory but part of a water heater s job is to keep the water inside the tank and the pipes. The fittings that come out of the water heater are usually an alloy that can cause premature corrosion with the copper or brass fittings. Lack of hot water no hot water.

This video will definitely help i. Remove the two wires connected to the water heater element and push them aside. 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. Unscrew the mounting hardware with a screwdriver slip the wires out and bend them out of your way.

A damaged water heater element doesn t heat the water properly and you may end up with luke warm or cold water coming out of your tap. See the article on shutting down an electric water heater for more information. Go to the main panel and turn off the breaker for the hot water heater it should be marked on the legend. 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.

If you elements do turn out to be bad you are going to have to follow all of the shut down steps.