How to Test a Water Heater Element
There are few things more annoying than attempting to take a hot shower and only getting cold water. If this happens, you should know how to test a water heater element to determine if the element is the problem or something else in the water heater. Water heaters generally have two heating elements, an upper and a lower. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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1
Disconnect the electrical supply to the water heater. The most common way to do this is to turn the circuit breaker off inside the home electrical panel.
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2
Use a screwdriver to remove the access panels that cover the thermostats and heating elements. There will be two separate panels, one toward the top and one toward the bottom.
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3
Locate the heating elements inside both access areas. They are each located directly above the thermostat in each access area.
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4
Use a screwdriver to remove one wire from the water heater element terminal.
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5
Set the scale on your volt-ohm meter to the RX1 setting. You are going to test for resistance in the water heater element.
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Touch one probe to one water heater element terminal and the other probe to the next terminal. You should see some reading on the volt-ohm meter. If the needle on the volt-ohm meter does not move then the water element is defective and needs to be replaced.
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Test the other water heating element in the same manner as above.
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Reattach the access panels after you have tested each element. Reconnect the electrical supply by turning the circuit breaker back on to the water heater.
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Tips & Warnings
If the water is lukewarm or tepid, the upper heating element is probably the faulty one.
Always disconnect the electrical supply to the water heater before servicing the unit.
