Ok. So for some strange reason for the past two weeks the longest shower you have been able to take is like 5 minutes. You used to be able to take 30 minute showers with no problem but now not so much. So what do you do? Do you call the plumber that is going to charge you $100 to even get in his truck and come out to your house? Or do you try to fix your hot water heater problem yourself?
So here we go. The first thing you will need to do is to figure out which element on your hot water heater as gone out. Easy, right? Yes and no. The problem is, if you are like most people, your element is in the tank. Also keep in mind that most of the time you can not tell if an element is good or bad by just looking at it. You will have to make a small investment in an ohm meter.
I got this multi meter for $8
You will also need an element remover tool.
This was like $5 (the screw driver was mine, you will need your own)
So now you total investment (so far) is like $13. Now what?
You will need to trip the breaker for your hot water heater. Most of the time they are marked in the box, some times they may not be. The hot water heater in our house is on 2 30am breakers. The next thing you will need to do is determine which element is bad. You do this by disconnecting one wire from the element on your hot water heater and testing the continuity (that’s why you need the ohm meter).
Now just so you know, every element that I have ever replaced that was bad was the bottom element. For some reason they always seem to be the ones that burn out the fastest. I don’t know why that’s just they way it has happened for me.
Once you have determined which element is bad you will need to get a replacement element. Now for the most part the elements are pretty much universal. The only thing you need to be sure of is if you are dealing with 110v element or a 220v element. The bottom element in my 50gal hot water heater is a 220v. I would venture to guess this is the case in medium to large hot water heaters.
Now need to drain the hot water heater. First, and this is very very important, you need to turn the water off to the hot water heater. Some times there is a shut off valve that goes directly into the hot water heater, sometimes you have to shut off the main to the house. Some times in older homes you need to shut off the water at the street. Then you will need to connect a (standard) garden hose to your hot water tank.
After that you will just open the valve and let it drain. You can also open the pressure relief valve to help the drain time. I often make a trip to the local Menard’s to kill time. Trust me when I tell you, you do not want to remove an element with water still in the tank…it causes a mess.
Just make sure you get the right element (110v vs 220v) keep in mind that sometimes the elements may look different but as long as you stay in the right voltage they will work.
This is the new element. You will need to make sure the gasket is in place just above the threads.
Like this.
Then, using you element removal tool you just turn the old element out (to the left, just like a screw) and turn the new element in.
Be sure to put back all your wires, don’t worry about which wire goes to which screw it’s all the same.
Then turn of the water. Go open a faucet at the sink (for the hot of course) and let all the air out of your system. Next you can turn on the breaker to your hot water tank. Now wait about an half an hour and you should have hot water. So how did you save $450? Well as I said most plumbers will charge you $100 just to go to your house. Now after that they can charge what ever they like. $100 diagnostic, 2 hours to change the element (upwords $150) and $100 for parts. I paid $8 for the multi meter, $5 for the element tool, $16 for the element and approx $21 for water and other miscellaneous. That’s a total of $50. $500 for the professional plumber – $50 for the DIY’r = $450 saved!
Until next time,
Scott