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Water heater element diy

TeamScam

TeamScam

Miki Dora status
Jan 14, 2002
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Have you ever replaced the element (s) in your electric water heater?
My 40 gal has two, one has gone up and it is the first one, so I need, or at least ought to change both I've been told. I won't save > $1300 if my house burns down, but it's pretty basic. It's been two days of cold showers, and I won't go all into the trouble we've been through trying to get someone to replace the whole thing in a timely manner. How bad an idea is this?

I've connected and swapped out various fractional motors on my old shop tools, but I'm always right there when I use them. The electric water heater will be alone locked in a small utility closet in my garage buried under surfboards and lumber. Out of sight, and hopefully out of mind.

Anything you could help me consider from your own experience, anecdotally as well.
 
GromsDad

GromsDad

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When I bought my house there was an abandoned 20 gallon electric hot water heater in the crawl space under the kitchen. The wiring in it had fried and the tank insulation around the element connection in an area the size of your hand was burned. The prior homeowner had just disconnected it and left it there. How it didn't burn the house down is beyond me. I'd be inclined to replace the whole heater rather than fixing the old one. A basic 40 gallon electric water heater is under $500.
 
Will there be snacks

Will there be snacks

Miki Dora status
Mar 18, 2011
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Hotel Coral Essex
I think there's an anode rod in there too. I always thought both the anode and heater element just screwed into the tank. Might be worth changing that out too if u take a go at this. How old is the unit? What brand?

Also, this doesn't have anything do with the repair, but I'm a fan of WH in the garage. If the thing starts leaking it doesn't fugg up yo house. Same with clothes washer.
 
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Bayview

Bayview

Billy Hamilton status
Dec 21, 2009
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Yes. Three times. Bradford white. Pretty basic.

are you certain it’s the elements? Upper lower or both?

find a manual and get a voltmeter, follow troubleshooting.
 
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PJ

PJ

Gerry Lopez status
Jan 27, 2002
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Sometimes a 220 volt water heater has two 120 volt elements in series, each dropping or consuming 120 volts. in our office since we pay commercial electric rates which includes a monthly surcharge for the maximum demand over any 15 or 30 minutes during the month we disconnected one element and ran it on 120 volts. Since we just wash our hands here it was able to provide adequate HW. You might be able to connect 120 volts to your one good element to get at least something temporarily.

Yes - should be a sacrificial anode in there too which is good for a couple of years. Sometimes replacements are available in different metals such as Zinc or Magnesium - depends on the chemistry of your local water - a plumbing shop should know or see what Home Depot is selling if they sell them - even if it doesn't fit at least you'll know what to buy. Sometimes you have to cut to length. Be sure to hold the heater well as you loosen/tighten it so you don't stress your piping.

Draining it out - should be done every year or so depending on usage. For instance with 4 people at home I used to use up an anode every 2 years - with just my wife and I home now I think I can go 3 years - maybe more on Anodes. There will be a lot of crap in the bottom of the heater. Calcium maybe. The crap will encrust the elements - see YouTube. If you turn off the water supply and open up a HW tap or other connection to let air in you can drain it out with its bottom drain valve. You would think that all the crap would come out right away but it does not. It only comes out at the very end. Then you flood a couple gallons in hard to stir it up, drain again, over and over about 5-6x until it comes out clear. Using gravity this takes a long time and my heater is on the basement slab so the sink is higher so I was using 5 gallon buckets at the end or a drill powered pump which got hot and took forever too. This year I used my air compressor. Cut the end off of a washing machine water supply hose, and put an air chuck on it, connected it to a hose bib then shut the compressor off at about 60 psi and opened up the hose bib, pressurizing the system. Man the water flew out of there! I have to use the compressor to blow out the lawn sprinklers in the fall anyway so now I can just run the air hose through the kitchen and dining room into the basement and do both things at once.

Also - there may be two top connections that are really the same. You make one of them the cold water connection by sliding a Dip Tube into it all the way down near the bottom of the heater. This means the entering cold water goes to the bottom and you get your hot water off of the top. The thermostat is usually about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom in height. Even though it is set for 120 degrees and maintains the temp at 120 it really functions almost as a level control in that the cold water goes in the bottom and the cold layer starts to climb to the top. When it reaches 1/3 of the way it starts the heat 100%. And hot water heaters use a LOT of BTU's all at once. For a short time but a LOT at once.
 
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Pico

Pico

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Personally water heaters and dryer elements and stove pilots I replace. It aint Rocket Scoence. Eewtoob
 
Pico

Pico

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PJ said:
Sometimes a 220 volt water heater has two 120 volt elements in series, each dropping or consuming 120 volts. in our office since we pay commercial electric rates which includes a monthly surcharge for the maximum demand over any 15 or 30 minutes during the month we disconnected one element and ran it on 120 volts. Since we just wash our hands here it was able to provide adequate HW. You might be able to connect 120 volts to your one good element to get at least something temporarily.

Yes - should be a sacrificial anode in there too which is good for a couple of years. Sometimes replacements are available in different metals such as Zinc or Magnesium - depends on the chemistry of your local water - a plumbing shop should know or see what Home Depot is selling if they sell them - even if it doesn't fit at least you'll know what to buy. Sometimes you have to cut to length. Be sure to hold the heater well as you loosen/tighten it so you don't stress your piping.

Draining it out - should be done every year or so depending on usage. For instance with 4 people at home I used to use up an anode every 2 years - with just my wife and I home now I think I can go 3 years - maybe more on Anodes. There will be a lot of crap in the bottom of the heater. Calcium maybe. The crap will encrust the elements - see YouTube. If you turn off the water supply and open up a HW tap or other connection to let air in you can drain it out with its bottom drain valve. You would think that all the crap would come out right away but it does not. It only comes out at the very end. Then you flood a couple gallons in hard to stir it up, drain again, over and over about 5-6x until it comes out clear. Using gravity this takes a long time and my heater is on the basement slab so the sink is higher so I was using 5 gallon buckets at the end or a drill powered pump which got hot and took forever too. This year I used my air compressor. Cut the end off of a washing machine water supply hose, and put an air chuck on it, connected it to a hose bib then shut the compressor off at about 60 psi and opened up the hose bib, pressurizing the system. Man the water flew out of there! I have to use the compressor to blow out the lawn sprinklers in the fall anyway so now I can just run the air hose through the kitchen and dining room into the basement and do both things at once.

Also - there may be two top connections that are really the same. You make one of them the cold water connection by sliding a Dip Tube into it all the way down near the bottom of the heater. This means the entering cold water goes to the bottom and you get your hot water off of the top. The thermostat is usually about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom in height. Even though it is set for 120 degrees and maintains the temp at 120 it really functions almost as a level control in that the cold water goes in the bottom and the cold layer starts to climb to the top. When it reaches 1/3 of the way it starts the heat 100%. And hot water heaters use a LOT of BTU's all at once. For a short time but a LOT at once.
Click to expand...
JC GFY!!;)
 
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TeamScam

TeamScam

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Thank you.

My neighbor said he and I could do it, and offered but, sheepishly, I didn't intend for that level of generosity when I picked at his knowledge (which as a homebuilder as well as owner was plenty). We're both super busy as most of us are this time of year, I'm paying > $1300 to have it done as soon as the guy can do it, Saturday. :foreheadslap:

Time for a cold shower before work.

:socrazy:
 
$kully

$kully

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Pico said:
Personally water heaters and dryer elements and stove pilots I replace. It aint Rocket Scoence. Eewtoob
Click to expand...
I just had the igniter on my oven go out in the middle of cooking for thanksgiving. Have a home warranty still so I used that for the repair and looked over the repairman’s shoulder which I don’t think he appreciated. But it took him about 15 min to do and didn’t look like rocket science
 
keenfish

keenfish

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I can't take a cold shower. I'd go to the YMCA if I had to. Hope you have hot water soon!

I'd pay the money to get a whole new unit if it was me rather than monkey with trying to fix it but that's just me.
 
$kully

$kully

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keenfish said:
I can't take a cold shower. I'd go to the YMCA if I had to. Hope you have hot water soon!

I'd pay the money to get a whole new unit if it was me rather than monkey with trying to fix it but that's just me.
Click to expand...
Ice baths are all the rage these days! What would Laird do?
 
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Pico

Pico

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When I was forced to cold shower for a few days once I would toddle across the street and jump in the ocean. Then when I came back and showered it wasn't near as brisk.
 
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B

Bob Dobbalina

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Feb 23, 2016
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My landlord fancies himself a handyman.

He replaced the ignighter/heating element in the oven fairly painlessly. I had to wait weeks for the part to arrive for him and for him to make his way over to my house to install it. It took him about 30 minutes.

He replaced the water heater yesterday.
-"Hi, when is a good time to swap the water heater out this week?"

ME: Monday-Thursday 7:30-3:30

-3pm Wednesday"Water heater is being replaced today. Water will be off. Should be done by 5pm".
The water was not turned back on until nearly 8pm last night.....
Kids had a lukewarm bath.
Lame.
Barely an acknowledgment of why that might be irritating.


I completely understand why people just pay for people to do stuff.
 
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