Water Heater Too Hot?

[ioc]

My electric water heater seems to be running too hot this week. It does not seem to run out of hot water and then run off the top... it just seems to be too hot all around all of a sudden. It does not seem to be running excessively, though it's hard to really monitor that. Flow is good.

Element(s) or Thermostat (upper or lower?)

Thanks for any input.

[David Martel]

ioc,

Bottom thermostat might be sticking. Turn off the power. Spray thermostat wiper with switch cleaner. Move temp setting up and down a few times. Set temp. Turn on power. If that doesn't work then replace the thermostat.

Dave M.

[Phisherman]

[ioc]

Thanks for the replies.

I've been monitoring it's behavior throughout the day and it seems to be running fairly steady at just over 150 when I keep it set at just over 125. The thing is that, my well is pretty frigging cold and it usually only takes a few gallons of fresh water to drop that significantly... but it hangs in there darned hot for quite a while all of a sudden.

So... I guess you guys are suggesting the bottom thermostat... that's not too expensive.

Thanks.