Testing the heating element in a water heater

Well it's easy to test if it's open, just use an ohm meter. The resistance on a working heating element will be close to zero ohms.

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe a heating element is either good or bad, there is nothing in the middle, it's either burned out, or it's good.

Actually wouldnt a reading of 0 ohms indicate a short? I thought the way a heating element worked was due to resistance to current flow. You definately dont want infinite resistance, as that indicates and open...but if i remember correctly a good heating element on my dryer, for example runs a few ohms resistance.

Please correct and cite me if im wrong...I could be..

Josh

SMS wrote:

If you have an open(no reading across the two terminals) on a VOM the element is dead, you should get a resistance reading, depending upon the wattage of the element. You could also apply 240 volts across the element for about two seconds, and you'll know if its heating. You need to check the thermostat on the heater, and if its a large tank it will have two elements and two thermostats

I'm quite sure "a few ohms resistance" is pretty damn near "close to zero ohms".

Sounds like you guys are in agreement here...

Rob

There is a very large difference between zero ohms and a few ohms, zero ohms would draw an infinite amount of current. The resistance should very low, i.e. around 12 ohms for a 3.8KW element supplied by

There is a very large difference between zero ohms and a few ohms, zero ohms would draw an infinite amount of current. The resistance should very low, i.e. around 12 ohms for a 3.8KW element supplied by