I have a 3 year old electric hot water heater. In the last few weeks it seems to shut down. If I go outside and turn the power switch off and then on again, the heater comes back on again. What could be causing this? It is not on a circuit breaker, but on a screw in fuse box with an on off switch. After getting it to come on again it works for a couple days and then it turns off again until I flip the switch again. Could it be the thermostat on the Heater is sticking, and the sudden burst of power is kicking it back on. How would I check this? Any ideas would be most welcome.
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I had a WH doing a similar thing, but in my case it was kicking the thermal overload on the heater itself. Turned out to be a corroded element. In your case, there could be a problem with the supply wire itself, perhaps where it's connected to the heater.
There's some sparkies that lurk around here that I'm sure will get you pointed in the right direction.
Thanks for replying, I am sure it has something to do with the elements. I suspect one has burned out and the other is getting over heated and kicking the over load off. I will tackle the problem tomorrow. I think the hardest part will be clearing away all the stuff in front of the WH closed door :). Will let you know how I make out. Thanks, Spotblev
Turns out it was the power switch at the fuse box. It was arcing and shorting out. I replaced the whole box and got rid of the old screw in fuses. The electrician at the parts store backed way up when he saw those old screw in fuses. He helped me get what I needed. Thanks again. Everything is working great now.