Water Heater Wiring

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Tiger Electrical

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Northern Illinois
I don't run into many electric water heaters in this area, so I'm wondering if this is wired right. It's a 67 gallon 236VAC with a 2500W upper & a 2000W lower. It's wired with four conductor 12ga flex (BX). The four wires are connected in two pairs on one 30A two-pole breaker. I didn't open the heater JBox to see what the connections are, so I changed the 30A breaker to a 20. I'm curious if this is how they're normally wired. Seems like two 15A 240V ccts would be a better way to go.

Dave
 
Tiger Electrical said:
I don't run into many electric water heaters in this area, so I'm wondering if this is wired right. It's a 67 gallon 236VAC with a 2500W upper & a 2000W lower. It's wired with four conductor 12ga flex (BX). The four wires are connected in two pairs on one 30A two-pole breaker. I didn't open the heater JBox to see what the connections are, so I changed the 30A breaker to a 20. I'm curious if this is how they're normally wired. Seems like two 15A 240V ccts would be a better way to go.

Dave
Click to expand...
usually we just run 10/2 on a 30A 2 pole breaker to a disconnect by the unit and then to the top of the unit were the connections are made.
 
Usually I just join the pairs in the water heater J-box and run 10/2 back to a single 30.

It sounds like some one had set it up for off peak metering at one time.
 
Rewire said:
usually we just run 10/2 on a 30A 2 pole breaker to a disconnect by the unit and then to the top of the unit were the connections are made.
Click to expand...

Save time and money run the 10-2 straight to the water heater. Install a lock out on the breaker.
 
Tiger Electrical said:
I don't run into many electric water heaters in this area, so I'm wondering if this is wired right. It's a 67 gallon 236VAC with a 2500W upper & a 2000W lower. It's wired with four conductor 12ga flex (BX). The four wires are connected in two pairs on one 30A two-pole breaker. I didn't open the heater JBox to see what the connections are, so I changed the 30A breaker to a 20. I'm curious if this is how they're normally wired. Seems like two 15A 240V ccts would be a better way to go.

Dave
Click to expand...

The four wires are connected in two pairs on one 30A two-pole breaker.


Isn't that parallelling #12?
 
stickboy1375 said:
Only if they are connected together at both ends.
Click to expand...


True! But,Is the breaker listed for 2 wires under each pole? LOL
I wonder if each element was being fed seperatley?
4500 watt elements is all I've ever seen.
Both of those added up to 4500. Each controlled by it's own t'stat.
Could be.
 
I appreciate all your responses very much. It didn't seem like it was right. This is an old unit and I suspect the plumber wired it with whatever he had. The pairs were wire nutted with only one wire on each pole of the breaker but who uses nuts at 30A?...plumbers & carpenters. When I rewire it I'll see if it was a parallel situation.

Dave
 
Tiger Electrical said:
Split bolts.
Click to expand...
:grin:
Seriously?

Do they even fit in the little wiring compartment of the typical residential water heater after properly insulating them? I use a wire nut certainly up to #10, and sometimes even with #8. Can't say as I've ever seen anyone split-bolting a #10.
 
mdshunk said:
Everybody I know. What do you use?
Click to expand...


sk_1_g_noninswirejoint_1_ld.jpg

This:)
 
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