The lower element on my sears water heater is not working -- it looks as if one of the wires has melted. I'd like to replace it but im wondering how difficult it is to do. Can anyone let me know?
Also, i have a upper element part but not a lower. Are these interchangable or do i need to buy a lower element.
thanks for any help.
They are not difficult at all to replace. Just make sure you have the power turned off first. And you will have to drain the tank on some models. Might not be bad to just go ahead and drain yours. I do not think they are interchangeable.
how old is the tank? you may find it filled with gunk / sediment. check brefore installing new element
If a typical electric hot water heater,
turn off power at the fuse box turn off water to the unit open hot water faucet in basement or kitchen connect hose to drain spigot on tank and then put hose in floor drain drain tank to level below element remove element wires remove element: some require a special wrench, easily obtained at store caulk thread of new element with pipe dope suitable for high temps remount element reconnect wires close drain valve turn water back on when water comes out of faucet, turn off faucet check for leaks turn power back on
There should be a label on the unit indicating size/wattage of element. Stick with those recommendations/limits. If you are in doubt, take old element when you buy new one.
It's this simple: 1-2 hours depending on your skills and problems along the way.
When our 11-year-old electric water heater finally needed a replacement element, I called a plumber. It was some of the best money I have ever spent.
Our situation made for an interesting comparison: We lived in a starter home tract where literally EVERY home on our block (six months from vacant lots to fully built and occupied) had the EXACT, same furnace and water heater.
Our water supply passed through a water softener before going anywhere else in the home. Our neighbor did NOT have a water softener.
In the 11 years that passed before I needed a new element, my neighbor replaced 3-4 of them in his heater.
The circumstances were such that I didn't have the time off from work sufficient to LEARN and tackle my first water heater replacement. I hired a
30-year-experienced plumber.This hapless guy hammered and beat on the tank but, after several hours and trying everything he knew, he called and told me he couldn't remove the offending element; it was "fused" into the tank.
Since he had already spent too much time messing with the old tank, and our three daughters ("tweens") had only recently "discovered" hot water, I told him to replace it with a new, larger heater. Done.
Allow yourself plenty of time when it comes to extracting the defective element in the event that you have a similar situation. Good luck!
According to :
If one of the supply wires has melted, you may just need to cut it back to good wire and reattach. Use emory cloth or sandpaper or something abrasive to clean the terminal contact - a poor connection is probably why it melted in the first place. Don't forget to turn the power off first!
If the existing wire becomes too short, grafting on a chunk of suitably sized wire with wirenuts or replacing it will work. Get suitably rated wire from an electrical supply store. Eg:
10ga stranded (THHN I think, tell them what it's for. Regular 90C-rated wire should be okay).Franz gave full and detailed instructions on how to replace the element. I'd only add: while the element is out of the tank, inspect the tank through the hole for sediment, and if there is lots, remove it. If you have a wet/dry shopvac, it'll make it easy - find a piece of tubing just small enough to go through the hole, and duct tape it to the shopvac hose. A chunk of garden hose will work, but you want it as big as possible (sometimes the sediment is rather, er, "chunky" ;-) yet still fit through the hole.
They're often interchangeable. You can check the parts list or online sources, or compare the one you have with the one you pull out. Or, perhaps it will have visible part numbers on the outside flange, so you can check before you have to take the tank out of service for repair.
buy a cap for the drain valve, its highly likely to leak. start early in morning and be prepared to buy a new tank if it doesnt go well
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