An elderly neighbor claims she has a water heater problem because she has a very limited amount of hot water available for use. I said I would check on it for her and here's what I did/didn't find:
- It's an electric 40 gal. water heater with upper & lower 4500w elements.
- Both heating elements continuity checked ok with one lead at a time disconnected.
- The thermostats are 90-150 degrees and both set at 140.
- With the hot water running, the lower thermostat & element kicked in within a few seconds.
- With the water still running for a minute or two, the top element kicked in while the bottom one turned off.
- After another minute or two the water went lukewarm.
- During the reheat process the above sequence reversed - top first, then bottom.
Assuming that the process was correct and everything working, I thought of sediment in the tank. I hooked up a hose to the drain faucet and ran it into a bucket. The water was full force and clear.
I asked her if this was a new or old problem. She said the tank was about 10 years old and had worked fine until a month ago.
I'm stumped. Any other thoughts?
Bob