I wired up the hot water heater using 10.2 and a 30amp double pole.
It does not seem to be drawing any current. I don't hear any noise.
I checked the voltages and everything seems fine.
I opened up the thermostat access panel and the thermostat was already set to between 125 and 150. Closer to 150. Could it be that the little plastic indicator washer was set wrong? Should I crank it?
I hope you had a hot water faucet (not the tank drain) running steadily before you turned on power, to prove that the tank was full of water first.
Did you check both access panels. Each element has its own thermostat.
The upper thermostat selects between upper element (temp low) and lower element (temp attained). The lower thermostat selects on (temp low) or off (temp attained).
You can try twisting the thermostat screws a little each way but do not leave them above 140 without hanging around to do several actual temperature tests using a thermometer at a faucet.
This is a series circuit-
240v to 'stat to heater element. One or more of these three components is an open circuit, unless they also have an overtemp switch in there somewhere.
After turning off power you could check the heater element resistance: (240^2)/4800w=12 ohms.
With the breaker on, check voltage at the breaker where the wires connect to it. You're looking for about 240 volts between the black and white wires.
If there is no voltage between black and white, the breaker is likely bad.
If the voltage is correct, above the top thermostat there is often a smaller high temperature limit thermostat. It likely has a black and red connected to the top terminals. (This is the same black and red you connected the black and white of the 10/2 to.) Check for 240 volts at the top terminals, if present, check the bottom terminals. If the voltage is absent, there is usually a red reset button on this thermostat, sometimes they are tripped from the factory. Press fairly hard, if it 'clicks' (it's unmistakeable), check for 240 volts at the bottom of this thermostat again.
Sometimes, the high temp limit and the top element thermostats are sort of a two-in-one type of unit. One of the bottom screws of the high temp limit likely has a wire on it, the other might have a sort of busbar, or link, to the top element thermostat.
When you're all done, there should be 240 volts across the 2 screws of the top element when the tank is cold. Once the top part of the tank is warm, the top element thermostat will switch power to the bottom element, and its thermostat.
Heater now works. It had to move the breaker down one slot. Then I got 240 across the breaker screws.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
DIY Home Improvement Forum
3.1M posts
319.5K members
Since 2003
A forum community dedicated to Do it yourself-ers and home improvement enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about tools, projects, builds, styles, scales, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more! Helping You to Do It Yourself!