How to Change a Heating Element in an Electric Water Heater

Use a water hose when draining your water heater.

Water heater elements turn on and off continually to maintain the proper heat required by the thermostat setting. Because of the constant flow of electricity through the element, they can burn out and fail. Some water heaters require elements at the top and the bottom of the tank to maintain the heat of the water. Water feeds into a water heater through a tube that empties into the bottom of the tank. This design can cause the lower element to fail more often than the upper element. When changing a heating element in an electric water heater, test the bottom element first.

Things You'll Need

• Water hose
• Phillips or slotted screwdriver
• Element wrench
• Towel
• Heat-resistant silicone grease
• Replacement element

Instructions

1. Turn off the breaker inside your breaker panel that supplies electricity to your water heater. The water heater is supplied electricity through a 30-amp double-pole breaker.

2. Turn off the cold water supply line to your electric water heater. The supply line is located above the water heater and the valve turns clockwise to close it.

3. Screw a water hose to the drain valve located at the bottom of the water tank. Place the other end of the hose over a floor drain or outside your residence. Be careful when draining the water -- it could burn your skin.

4. Turn on a hot water faucet inside your residence and turn the drain valve counterclockwise to open it. Allow the water heater tank to drain completely.

5. Remove the screws holding the access door to the side of the electric water heater. Lift the door away, exposing the insulation behind it. Pull out the insulation to expose the thermostat and heating element. Depending on the size and the manufacturer of your water heater, you may have two access doors on the side of your water heater with an additional heating element behind the second door.

6. Pull off the plastic cover from the face of the thermostat and heating element. Loosen the two screws on the face of the heating element and remove the blue and yellow wires from beneath them.

7. Slide an element wrench over the exposed portion of the heating element. Turn the element wrench counterclockwise to remove the heating element from the water heater tank.

8. Clean the heating element opening with clean water and dry the area with a towel to remove any dirt and grime.

9. Coat the replacement element gasket provided with your new heating element with heat-resistant silicone grease. Slide the gasket over the metal tubes of the heating element and all the way to the base pass the threads of the element.

10. Install the new element into the water heater, turning it clockwise using the element wrench. Place the yellow and blue wires underneath the two screws on the face of the new element and tighten the screws. Snap the plastic cover back onto the heating element and thermostat.

11. Close the drain valve turning it clockwise and remove the water hose. Turn the valve on the cold water supply counterclockwise to refill the water tank. Turn on all the hot water faucets in your residence and once a steady stream of water flows from all the faucets, turn them off.

12. Turn the electrical water heater breaker back on inside your breaker panel. Push the red "Reset" button on the thermostat above the heating element to restart the system.

13. Replace the insulation over the thermostat and heating element. Reattach the access door to the side of the water tank.

References

• InspectAPedia: How to Test & Replace Bad Electric Water Heater Heating Elements
• Water-Heater-Repair-Guide.com: Replacing hot water heater element
• "Plumbing 1-2-3"; Steve Cory; 2005