Thermostat Trips Electric Water Heater

First off your electric water heater can actually trip 2 different safety features.

Thermostat trips electric water heater.

Electric water heaters have a lower and upper thermostat one for each heating element. Diagram of electric water heater. The thermostats are responsible for controlling the heating elements. The most likely cause of the limit switch tripping is a bad thermostat.

Usually when the upper thermostat goes bad you will have no hot water at all while a bad lower thermostat makes itself known when there is only a small amount of hot water before the tap water goes cold. A red button located on the water heater itself just above the thermostat that trips when the water temperature exceeds 180 f the reset button is sometimes referred to as the eco emergency cut off or high limit switch. Electric water heater red reset button tripping troubleshooting guide about the author based in colorado springs colo jerry walch has been writing articles for the diy market since 1974. We highly recommend hiring a licensed plumber take care of any repairs on your water heater.

Electric water heaters have 2 thermostats and 2 heating elements. Water heaters have a limit switch that keeps the water from exceeding 180. Most electric water heaters have 2 heating elements. How a bad thermostat causes your water heater reset button to trip.

A diy plumbing water. When the water has cooled off the thermostats kick on the heating elements to heat the water. Burnt out heating element. An electric hot water heater has two thermostats controlling two separate heating elements one in the upper half of the tank one in the lower half.

There is an upper and lower thermostat element pairing as seen in the diagram below. Has this ever happened to you. This helps protect you from getting burned or scalded by the excessively hot water. One on top and one on the bottom.

When the water reaches 180 the limit switch a little red reset button on the water heater trips. Your water heater trips the circuit breaker in your house. How to easily repair fix troubleshoot an electric water heater that trips the circuit breaker or blows fuses little or no hot water. Okay with that out of the way let s look at the possible problems that are causing your electric water heater to trip your breaker.

And once the water has. There s a good chance that the water in the tank is dangerously hot and since the problem is usually caused by a failed component it won t get better until the bad part is identified and replaced. So you go and reset the circuit breaker.