Anyone have a ballpark guess on how many minutes of hot water my 50 gal water heater should output? Both thermostats are turned almost all the way up and the water is very hot initially. But after two 8-10 minute showers, it’s ice cold.
The unit is a Bradford White was professionally installed about 5 years ago and I’ve drained the tank completely every year. So, I’m little surpised the elements or themostats would be bad.
Also, the elements are rated at 4500 watts. With the correct themostat, would it possible to replace these with 5500 watt elements ? (My previous unit was 5500, so the circuit is fine.)
Any thoughts on this one?
Thanks!
Edited 1/14/2009 12:21 pm ET by Corrib
Replies
A bad dip tube could cause the symptoms you mentioned.
Depends on your shower heads. A "water saver" shower head uses around 2GPM. You of course mix that with cold water, so the actual draw is on the order of 1-1.5 GPM. I'd guess you should be able to use about 25 gallons out of the tank before it starts getting cool, maybe 35 before it becomes unpleasantly cold, with the elements not working. With the top element working (as it normally should) you can extend those numbers by 5-10 gallons.
You can only replace the elements with larger ones if the wiring in the heater is rated for the larger elements.
You should be able to find the expected recovery time specs
for instance, a 90˚F rise, in the product literature
or just google your make and model.
Gas units are faster than electric.
I have a new 47 gal electric rheem. It has a first hour delivery of 55 gal at 120 degrees.
Thanks for the ideas. I called the guy that installed it. He says there's a six year warranty, but just on parts. So I'd be looking at $150 minimum for a service call. I've got no problem with this, especially if it's the dip tube or something else. But, $150 seems like a lot to replace a thermostat or element. I'm comfortable changing the thermostats or elements. Would it make sense to change these first? Or should I just bite the bullet on the service call?
It's possible that it's a bottom thermostat. They're relatively cheap (under $20) and easy to change out (if you're comfortable with electrical stuff). Changing an element is a bit more difficult and more expensive, but still within the capabilities of a competent DIYer.It's unlikely to be an upper thermostat or element -- generally if they go out the heater goes cold (or overheats, in the case of the thermostat).But with an inexpensive multimeter you can diagnose most heater/element problems, so you don't have to Easter-egg.
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Dan,Thanks for the info and your comments.I do have a decent multimeter. What readings should be tested with the element and themostat?
Edited 1/15/2009 11:45 am ET by Corrib
First, turn the breaker off, of course (and if the breaker isn't in sight of the heater, put a piece of tape across the breaker, with a sign saying "Don't touch!"), then open up both access panels and check with the multimeter (set to something like 250V AC) on both of the top two wires on the top thermostat to be sure that the power is really off. Meter between them, and from each to ground to be sure.Also, just to be sure, meter between one of the contacts on the bottom element and ground. (Sometimes there's an "off peak" connection that bypasses the upper thermostat.)Once you've established that the power is off, switch to ohms and measure the resistance across the two elements. Each should measure on the order of 10-20 ohms, if I'm figuring correctly, and the two should measure the same within an ohm or two (assuming they're the same size). Also measure resistance between one of the element connections and ground -- you should see a resistance of at least 1000 ohms, probably much more.Important: Return your meter to a voltage range -- 250V AC or so. (It's not nice to meter voltage with the meter set to ohms!)Next turn the power back on. Measure (carefully!) the voltage on the top two terminals of the top thermostat. Should be around 240V. Turn up the top thermostat setting by 10 degrees or so (make a note of where it is so you can set it back) and check the voltage across the top element. If it's not 240V then the top thermostat is likely defective. Return the top thermostat to its original setting and check the voltage across the top element. If it's still "hot" -- 240V -- wait 10 minutes or so and check again, waiting for the top element to turn off.Once the top element has turned itself off, look at the bottom thermostat and element. There's one wire coming from above to the top of the lower thermostat, and another wire coming from above to the bottom element itself. Place one meter probe on one of these wires and the other probe on the other. You should measure 240V. If not (and the top element is still not getting power) then the top thermostat is likely defective. If you get 240V, turn up the bottom thermostat setting by 10 degrees or so (make a note of where it is so you can set it back) and check the voltage across the bottom element. If no voltage then the bottom thermostat is likely defective. Return the thermostat setting to where it was.
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Dan,I owe you a cold one.Thanks for posting such a detailed message. I can definitely follow those instructions and see what the problem is.
In addition to the other points, running a water heater at more than 120 degrees can be dangerous - 140 and up is really dangerous.Significant scald burns only take a few seconds _or less_ as the temp goes up.Given the conditions, I'm guessing a bad lower heating element.
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Maybe the in and out water lines are reversed.
Sounds like they pretty much covered it, but BTW - if you go look at the mfg web site they probably state the W/H output in terms of hot water gallons per hour