Water Heater Top Or Bottom Element

Hot water heaters are an important home appliance that heat water for use in your sinks dishwasher washing machine and shower.

Water heater top or bottom element.

So provided the top heating element is working it can still. A dual element water heater uses two heating elements controlled. Standard electric water heater operation electric water heaters operate by use of either one or two direct immersion heating elements controlled by either thermostats or a microprocessor control module. How to diagnose a water heater element problem.

However the water heater won t run efficiently and likely won t produce enough hot water to satisfy your families needs running on just the top element. Electric heaters feature fewer parts than gas models but a basic understanding of how two element models function can reduce the time needed to diagnose a problem. Single element water heaters have one element mounted at the bottom of the tank controlled by a single thermostat and high limit switch. How electric water heaters work.

Only the water in the top of the tank is being heated. When an electric hot water heater s elements short out or burn through cool water is the result. If the electric water heater produces the same old hot water temperature but the quantity seems drastically reduced we suspect that the bottom water heater element has burned out. In an electric water heater the bottom heating element is the workhorse since it is at the bottom of the tank where cold water enters from a dip tube that extends down through the tank.

Cold water enters and remains at the bottom of the water. Electric water heaters use either 120 or 240 volt power 240 volts is more common to energize metal heating elements that protrude into the water heater tank through the side wall. This is a sign that the bottom element has failed. In most water heaters the top heating element controls the thermostat and will still work even if the bottom element fails.

You can often tell if a water heater element has failed by turning on the faucet in a sink. With two element designs one element heats the water at the top of the tank while the second element heats the water within the bottom of the tank. Long tepid shower bad top water heater element. How to set the upper and lower thermostats on dual element water heaters.

Turn on the hot water tap at a sink and check for the following scenarios. Is the water hot for a short time before running cold. Many modern homes come with dual element water heaters. Typically the lower element goes first but that s not always the case.

No special tools required.