Water Heater Top Or Bottom Element

Only the water in the top of the tank is being heated.

Water heater top or bottom element.

A dual element water heater uses two heating elements controlled. How electric water heaters work. With two element designs one element heats the water at the top of the tank while the second element heats the water within the bottom of the tank. In an electric water heater the bottom heating element is the workhorse since it is at the bottom of the tank where cold water enters from a dip tube that extends down through the tank.

How to diagnose a water heater element problem. The upper heating element really only contributes when there is a high hot water demand and only serves to heat water in the upper portion of the tank. Many modern homes come with dual element water heaters. Typically the lower element goes first but that s not always the case.

When an electric hot water heater s elements short out or burn through cool water is the result. Turn on the hot water tap at a sink and check for the following scenarios. How to set the upper and lower thermostats on dual element water heaters. Most water heaters have two heating elements one near the top of the tank another located further down.

No special tools required. Long tepid shower bad top water heater element. If the water in your home doesn t get any hotter than a lukewarm temperature try turning up the heat if that doesn t solve the problem it s possible that 1 of the heating elements in the water heater is malfunctioning or broken. In most water heaters the top heating element controls the thermostat and will still work even if the bottom element fails.

Electric heaters feature fewer parts than gas models but a basic understanding of how two element models function can reduce the time needed to diagnose a problem. Electric water heaters use either 120 or 240 volt power 240 volts is more common to energize metal heating elements that protrude into the water heater tank through the side wall. This is a sign that the bottom element has failed. So provided the top heating element is working it can still.

Standard electric water heater operation electric water heaters operate by use of either one or two direct immersion heating elements controlled by either thermostats or a microprocessor control module. Cold water enters and remains at the bottom of the water. Is the water hot for a short time before running cold. Single element water heaters have one element mounted at the bottom of the tank controlled by a single thermostat and high limit switch.

If the electric water heater produces the same old hot water temperature but the quantity seems drastically reduced we suspect that the bottom water heater element has burned out.