TROUBLESHOOTINGMost common cause for improper electric water heater operation can be linked to heating elementfailure.
When troubleshooting an electric water heater with the incidence of “No Hot Water” or “Insufficient Amount of Hot
Water” Its always a good idea to checkthe heating elements first following the procedure on page15.
Common HeatingElement Failures Are:
1. Dry Firing. Element may be partially submerged in water or most likely, completely exposed with no water in
tank. In some cases sedimentor lime build up around an element can eventually cause an air pocket,and
within seconds, result in a dry fired element. At this point the elementbecomes inoperative. When element
replacement is required,be sure tank is full of water prior to energizing the water heater.
2. Grounded Element. An element with a short circuit to groundwill in most cases causethe circuit breaker in
the service panel to open or shut off. In some cases there may not be enough current drawfor the circuit
breaker to open.This will allow the heating element to be in continuous operation resulting in over heated
water, limited only by the ECO or Energy Cut Offlocated in the thermostat. Repeated actuation of the ECO
reset button on the thermostat usually is the result of a grounded element.
3. Sediment build up. Slowhot water recovery can usually be traced back to sediment orlime build up around
heating element. Sediment build up can also over time cause a dry fired element.
Illustration 1, below shows a common “Screw-In” type heating elementidentifying certain features commonly referred
to throughoutthis manual.
1-½ Hex
Screw-in Flange
Terminal Block
Screw
Terminal Block
Zinc PlatedCopper or
Incoloy Sheath
Element Rating Ink Stampe d
on side of Terminal Block.
Illustration 1
Typical Direct Immersion“Screw-In”
Type HeatingElement
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0642
4500W240V
RC02404524
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