Troubleshooting Water Heater

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Re: Troubleshooting Water Heater

Plumbers aren't supposed to wire them here. Not many EC's get the call for connecting the wires after it's installed.
 
Re: Troubleshooting Water Heater

Bless your hearts my children.
If there is a valve at the heater, I will change the element and dry the floor with my shirt. Like I said in an earlier post, I have changed hundreds of elements through out my short life. I had one job back in the eighties that I had to change over half the elements on the job because people would turn power on before water.
To each his own but I will never drain a tank knowing what I know. You can?t play around, you must be fast. Of course if I am going to make money I need to be fast, what you think?
;)
 
Re: Troubleshooting Water Heater

I'm working on a method to replace elemnts using telekenisis.
 
Re: Troubleshooting Water Heater

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posted March 10, 2005 07:11 PM
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Open the yellow pages and look under plumbtricians Right there next to plumbcarpenters /QUOTE] You must work for Chrysler if you know of these hybrid trades. No such thing as Carpenters or Painters anymore,Combined the trades to make Car-painters.
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Re: Troubleshooting Water Heater

have never been able to replace a lower element without spilling a lot (A LOT) of water. that is 4' of head. the hole is as big as an old milk bottle. i bet two gallons minimum. under pressure will not fall into drain pan, will get insulation wet, under drain pan, under carpet or lio and into the ceilings for that kick start to a real case of mold if not dried very quickly.

But the real reason to actually drain the tank, first under pressure, and then with with broken vacuum on hot side, is that there is a reason, besides age, for the element to have failed. Usually debris in the water , now built up to the level of the lower element. This helps get rid of that "stuff" (plumbing technical term).
there is also the possibility that there is an early indication of tank failure. I guess the contractor who hires fast eddie doesn't get that but pays the same. :cool:

paul
 
Re: Troubleshooting Water Heater

Paul that is a good point that I had never given any thought to. I work a lot around wells where the water is not there until after the power. The big problem comes when some one turns on the water heater before the air is let out. A house not more than a mile from here the cleaners had water so on comes the water heater with a warning tie wrapped on the breaker. They crawled under the house and turned the water heater on. The Plummer went to lunch and the Power Company came the cleaners started cleaning.

I guess all this to say that most I change are new.
 
Re: Troubleshooting Water Heater

Solved that problem in an area that was on wells only.Leave 1 wire off at the connection point on water heater,cap both ends.GC hooks it up after they have water and air let out.No need to burn them out.Not really sure who would be to blame if it happened,possibly blame the plummer for not filling the tank :eek:
 
Re: Troubleshooting Water Heater

I had a water heater that the lower element burned out, my employee drained and scooped out a ice cream pale of crud with a coat hanger and replaced the element. A month later i got a call and the element was bad again I went there and did a quick change out no draining, floor needed to be washed any way. That week got a call and they said that they only had warm water. well I'm thinking with this house of around 20 people showers and washer that it could not keep up to it all. I checked out the element and it was bad again so I said to myself whats another 2 hours and drained the water heater and looked inside the hole and saw alot of stuff so i took a shop vac and taped a garden hose to it and vacuumed it out good. I also got a pale of crud. I filled the water heater up turned on the electricity and I could hear water running when nothing was on in the house. put my hand on the pressure relief vale pipe and could feel the water running. this is a mobile home and the pipe goes thue the floor so I opened the scirding up and looked under the house and there was o hole 2'round and 3' deep were that water was draining in to the ground. closed the scirding up called the owner, told her to get a plumber and she got mad at me because I didn't notice the bad valve. most houses you would have water on the floor. Well in the end I wish I just paid a plumber to fix her problems I would be ahead. If it looks like a bad job it probably is.
 
Re: Troubleshooting Water Heater

I don`t know about you but I am an electrician.Not a plumber if there is proper voltage there I am done with it call a plumber :D I know a electrical contractor 1 man operation that went on a service call for a water heater problem.He changed out the element collected his $ and went on his way. months later was served a summons .After he left the element leaked 2nd floor of an old home,plaster and wood lath.Well the homeowners had gone on vacation and when they came home there was plaster and water everywhere.He was found at fault and paid big bucks.I`m not a brain surgeon so i leave that to the surgeons.I`m not a plumber so I leave that to the plumbers.Just a dumb old sparky and that`s what i will do ;)
 
Re: Troubleshooting Water Heater

Unless your license and insurance allows changing elements stsy away from them.Like Allen said ,if there is voltage to unit your job as an electrician is over
 
Re: Troubleshooting Water Heater

Penguin

animal-smiley-074.gif
 
Re: Troubleshooting Water Heater

Originally posted by jwelectric:
Fill a gallon milk jug full of water and turn it upside down, see how the water comes out? The same thing happens to the water heater. I have changed hundreds of them and never drain the tank.
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But the water does come out.
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When you tip a full milk jug upside down, the water will spill out because the milk jug is not rigid enough to resist atmosphere (the sides of the jug will flex, allowing atmoshpere to push the water out of the bottle). Try this same trick with a glass bottle. Of course, the size of the opening relative to the volume of water must not overcome the water's surface tension. Remember, you must hold the bottle perfectly upside down or air will be allowed into the bottle and this will allow the water to escape, which brings me to the next part of this. Hold the same bottle with the opening sideways, and the water will spill out. Likewise, I would have to see it to believe it; that you could remove the heating element from the side wall of any water heater and not have any water escaping.

Since the water would now be spilled out into the bottom tray of the water heater's jacket, soaking the insulation, and eventually causing rust, I as a homeowner would not be a happy camper.

Bob
 
Re: Troubleshooting Water Heater

Just as your glass jar when upside down the water heater tank will pull a vacuum and hold the water back. With a little practice one will learn to open the pressure valve and will know just when to close the valve. Have new element ready so when the old element comes out the new element goes in as fast as possible. The water that spills, if done correctly, will be less than 10 ounces and will quickly evaporate.
 
Re: Troubleshooting Water Heater

Leave brain surgery to the brain surgeons,I for one dont have plumbers crack and don`t want to see a plumber with a pair of kliens in his back pocket :D
 
Re: Troubleshooting Water Heater

I have for years questioned why licensing in most areas permit plumbers to replace water heaters but not electricians ,knowing full well that there will be electric involved ,but will not let us electricians change the water heater.Seems to me that there is far more of a safety issue from shock,fires,overloaded wires,bad connection,etc.involved.Only real plumbing skills needed is to be able to solder new copper,glue some pvc or cpvc or perhaps deal with some galvanized pipes.Basic plumbing is all that is involved.Yes the relief valve needs installed too.

What would be more dangerous a leaky pipe or an overloaded wire ? I think either trade could be given a test to qualify to do the other mans jobs here.Perhaps this is why we have so many handymen.
Should plumbers be using volt meters ? I am sure i am not the only electrician that has seen poor wiring jobs at the top of the units,often no connectors ,just wires hanging out and wire nuts.
 
Re: Troubleshooting Water Heater

Have new element ready and change quickly no draining required.
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Yopu only loose about a cup of water. easy to clean up.

One other item to keep in mind: The top thermostat acts like a DPST relay (three-way switch).
Another possible problem could be the hi-limit. It is located directly above the top-tstat. It has a reset button.

Good luck and let us know what you found wrong on your water heater.

OOPS! SPDT not DPST

[ March 13, 2005, 06:09 PM: Message edited by: tshea ]
 
Re: Troubleshooting Water Heater

Dang it why do we need a water heater anyhow ? ;) Just put the tub in the middle of kitchen floor and boil a few pots of water on that wood burnin stove.
 
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