Most water heaters are wired with 10 2 w ground shielded cable.
Water heater plug wiring.
The electrical wire connections for a water heater are made at a built in junction.
The white wire is the hot wire.
Before you examine or touch the water heater wiring or electrical connections turn off the power.
At this time the conventional hot water heater does not require a neutral however that will most likely change.
On the top or the side of the hot water heater depending on the type you will see the junction box cover.
The only other wire to connect is the wire that goes to the metal case of the water heater where there s a green screw.
Locating the electrical connections.
I believe the center wire on the 3 prong outlet is a neutral wire and i ve read that using neutral for chassis ground is never a good idea.
There is no neutral wire in the water heater since it is 240v unit.
Test the voltage never mess with any electrical components without first checking to see if there is power running to.
How to wire an electric water heater step 1.
Before you begin use.
Likely you will only need.
If you are replacing an existing hot water heater then the circuit will already be present at the site.
Understanding electric water heater wiring turning off the power.
If you are hard wiring the water heater to the branch circuit conductor you will need to run three awg 12 conductors one black one white and one green through a short length of flexible.
The water heater only requires 2 hot 120 volt wires to heat water and function.
Therefore an extra conductor is not required.
Step 6 replace check.
For long distances you may need to go with heavier wire.
If the circuit wiring is supplied by a 4 wire cable and there is a spare white wire then simply cap off the white wire with a wire connector fastened onto the end of the wire.
Wiring a hot water heater in 7 steps remove the junction box cover this is probably on the top or the side of the water heater.