Yesterday while running hot water it was very hot --almost boiling. I have a 40 gal. electric water heater. Does this mean a stuck thermostat and how do I change it?
- posted
13 years ago
very hot water
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- posted
13 years ago
Did you ever watch the TV show Mythbusters? They contested a myth that a hot water tank could explode with so much force that it would launch like a rocket through several floors and out the roof. They disabled the thermostat and safety relief pressure valve and at about 320 degrees F inside, the tank launched as expected. And this was using only the heating elements in the heater, no external heat source.
My point is; If you don't know how to change a thermostat you should probably seek local professional help and not trust the advice from the lunatics in this news group.
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13 years ago
It could, it may also be a loose thermostat or rust between one of the thermostats and the heater. You can kill the power to the heater, verify that it's dead, then open the two thermostat covers and inspect them, then decide how to proceed
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13 years ago
formatting link
I'd really like to have their job.
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13 years ago
Good boi!
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13 years ago
So it was 350 PSI not degrees. So much for my memory. I never saw that video. They redid the myth bust by building a two story structure with a roof. And not some small shack, this was a fairly good sized structure to better represent a real house. This is what was complained about by their fans prompting them to redo the stunt. The heater blew around the same PSI and went through the first floor and through the roof. It would have gone through more floors than that considering the heater rose to a few hundred feet after it left the roof. And yes I would give up drinking to have their jobs.
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13 years ago
Possibly... as someone else said, it might just be loose and not pressing up against the tank (but seems strange that it suddenly happened all on its own without outside influence).
My tank has two thermostats, upper and lower. You unscrew the cover plates, unscrew the terminals, unclip the thermostat modules. Replacement is the reverse operation; it's trivial to do. The upper thermostat also has an emergency cut-off for the entire heater, the lower one is just the 'stat, but they're standard modules (Home Depot etc. sell them).
If you have a multimeter, you can work out which one is bad and avoid replacing both (but I think my local farm supply place has replacements in pairs for about $20 - and if one's gone bad due to burnt contacts then chances are the other's getting a little long in the tooth, too)
cheers
Jules
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13 years ago
On Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:27:07 +0000 (UTC), Jeff The Drunk wrote Re Re: very hot water:
That wasn't a nice thing to write.
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13 years ago
Almost boiling, so you mean steam is spitting out, you used a thermometer and its near 212f, or is it just hot like maybe 140f. If near 160-212 turn it off at the breaker now, Is the saftey valve leaking. There are 2 thermostats by turning them you should be able to feel which one is cutting off at to high a temp, turn both down. If you have a gas supply now is the time to consider switching as Ng for me is 60% cheaper. There have been units that the saftey valve froze, the unit would not stop heating and it went through a ceiling, roof and landed far away, that is fact. If its old and in fact near 212 I would junk it as its had alot of extra stress.
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13 years ago
It isn't when the sarcasm wasn't received by the reader (as in your case).
Besides that, there really are some lunatics in this group including me. But I'm a lunatic with a lot of work history in HVAC and home repair/ remodeling.
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13 years ago
I agree, not all that nice. But, I agree with the general message. If not the "tone".
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13 years ago
It's a total waste of energy to store 40 gallons of hot water 24/7/365. Multiply that by 300 million people. Americans are the most wasteful pigs on earth.
Get an oil or electric tankless demand water heater. I have 2 small electric point of use electric tankless and love them. They only run when you draw water.
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13 years ago
Could be a stuck thermostat, but it may also be a bad element and it needs to be changed.
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13 years ago
In my experience, when that happens, one or more of the elements is toast, and the unit is about to fail. The heater boils the water, then shuts off. If restarted, same thing happens after a few hours. It's happened to me twice, both times at around 16 years (age of waterheater), so I replaced the water heater. However, it might just be the termostat. Easy to replace, but how old is the water heater?
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13 years ago
On Jul 29, 12:25=A0pm, LSMFT wrote: Americans are the most wasteful
PLONK! Oh wait. Already did. Back in the bozo bin with you!
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13 years ago
The truth hurts the guilty!
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13 years ago
Really? How so?
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13 years ago
2nd most wastefull , China is the #1 user, so we need to be #1 again.
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13 years ago
Speak for yourself, pig. Most of the rest of us real Americans have the sense or knowledge to set the thermostat, or get hot water on demand. Anyone who would let their hot water get that hot is absolutely clueless, and should turn in their keys to the alt.home.repair washroom, immediately. And then go live somewhere that's better.
Steve