Electric water heater thermostats are a fairly simple devices that can fail from time to time.
Dual element water heater thermostat settings.
A dual element water heater uses two heating elements controlled.
How to set the upper and lower thermostats on dual element water heaters.
When power is initially turned on to the unit the upper element is energized and heats the water in the upper third of the tank see figure 1.
If you set the top element too much higher then it will be used most of the time and the bottom element acts more as a pre heater.
Testing is the only option if you want to determine whether or not one or both of them has failed.
If the heater produces a small quantity of hot water check the lower thermostat and heating element.
A rheem water heater leaves the factory with the temperature preset at 120 degrees fahrenheit but you can adjust the temperature on the thermostat anywhere from 90 degrees fahrenheit up to 150.
Thermostat setting on dual element heater.
See testing electric water heater elements for more information.
If all else fails the heating element may be failing and needs to be replaced.
Again you lose some time to pre heat the water.
The standard residential electric water heater control circuit consists of a manual reset high limit switch an upper thermostat lower thermostat two heating elements and wires.
When you turn on the faucet neither element will turn on because the cold water is going into the bottom of the tank.
If the problem continues the heater likely has a defective thermostat or heating element.
The upper thermostat takes first priority heating the water to a preset temperature before powering up the lower thermostat to heat the water to its final temperature.
The upper thermostat doesn t detect the cold water and the lower thermostat won t turn on until it cools from 140 degrees to 130 degrees.
If the thermostats are okay you need to test the water heater elements.
Having them used evenly will spread out the minimum time to replacement.
Whenever your elements do go or whenever you.
Gas and electric water heater temperatures are set at the factory but can be adjusted for your own preferences with only a couple of tools.
But i wouldn t go through too big of an effort to change the settings on an old water heater.
If you have already set the temperature and are saying to yourself i have no hot water or not enough of it there are a few factors that may be affecting the heat.
Many modern homes come with dual element water heaters.
Press the button then wait about 10 minutes for the water to warm.