How do I Wire a Richmond 6E50-2 Water Heater?
The Richmond 6E50-2 water heater has double 4500 watt heating elements. It is designed for fast hot water recovery, with a 50 gallon capacity. The installation is done in exactly the same way as a standard electric water heater, using the same plumbing and electrical wiring. The water heater is fairly small and is designed to be installed in areas of limited space, under counters, inside cabinets or mop-sinks. The Richmond 6E50-2 water heater is no longer produced by the manufacturer.
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Turn off the 30 amp breaker that is supplying power to the water heater. Remove the two screws holding on the cover plate. This is connected to the metal flexible electrical conduit on the top of the water heater you are replacing.
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Remove one of the wire nuts from the two wires. This is located inside of the wiring compartment that was revealed when you removed the cover plate. Test the wire for power using a multimeter electrical tester with its dial set to read alternating current voltage (ACV) at 750 volts.
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Touch the black wire from the multimeter to the green ground screw inside the compartment. Touch the red wire from the tester to the wire that you removed the wire nut from, to verify there is no power in the wires feeding the water heater from the wall. You should not see any voltage reading on the tester, if you do then the correct breaker feeding power to the water heater has not been turned off. Remove the second wire nut and repeat this step on the newly exposed wire.
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Remove the bare ground wire from the green grounding screw by loosening it with your Phillips screwdriver. The old water heater is now completely disconnected form electrical power. Remove the old water heater and install the Richmond 6E50-2 in its place.
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Remove the nut on the connector holding on the cover plate, from the old water heater, to the electrical conduit. Remove the old cover plate from the conduit. Remove the two screws on the top of the new water heater's electrical cover plate. Knock out the 1/2- inch round blank in the electrical cover with pliers. Attach the new cover plate to the existing electrical conduits' connector, using the nut you removed earlier.
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Attach the bare ground wire to the green ground screw in the electrical compartment and tighten it with your Phillips screwdriver. Connect the two remaining power wires from the conduit to the two wires inside the compartment with the original wire nuts you removed. Both of the remaining wires are 110 volt power and can be attached to either of the black or red wires in the electrical compartment.
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Adjust the wires and nuts in the compartment so that the cover will re-attach without putting pressure on the wires. Replace the cover with the two screws that hold it in place. Turn the water heater breaker back on once the water has been refilled in the water heater.
References
Tips
- Turning on the power to a water heater without water in it can cause damage to the heating elements, so be sure the water is refilled before turning on the breaker.
Warnings
- Always turn off, and verify there is no power on, when working on electrical equipment to avoid electrical shocks or electrocution.
Writer Bio
William Pippin is a resident of Las Vegas Nevada who has been in the electrical trade for over 20 years, the last 10 as a foreman running tracts, custom homes and commercial tenant improvements. Certified in Lutron Control Systems, Pippin also repairs Playstation 3 and XBox 360 consoles as a hobby.
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