Hey All,

Just a quick question for you to help me start tracking down a possible problem.

My hot water has changed temperature recently and I made no adjustments to the water heater. The temperature has gotten quite hot and sometimes even turning the faucet far over to cold water doesn't take the temperature down far enough to be able to take a shower without getting scalded.

I'm wondering what would cause this sudden increase in the water temp if I have done nothing to adjust it and make it hotter.

Thanks....any input is appreciated.
iamhistory

 

At every faucet? or just shower?

 

Every faucet.....I almost burned my hands the other day at the kitchen sink b/c the temp caught me off guard. I didn't expect it to be that hot. Even a turn over to cold water takes some time for the hot water to cool down b/c it's so hot.

 

Check the dial thermostat at the gas valve and make sure it's not been messed with. If the heater is fired up, turn the dial down to it's lowest setting and see if it shuts off.

 

The water heater is electric and the temp guage has not been adjusted. I am the only one who touches is and it is covered by a metal protection plate.

Could the water heater be going bad?

 

Sounds to me like the t-stat is either stuck or bad. Only way to check it is with a multi-meter.

 

Here's an update................

over the past few days the water got extremely hot, definitely too hot to put your hand under. It stayed excessively hot over the next couple days and then last night the hot water disappeared.

Now I'm taking cold showers with zero hot water at all.

What are some trouble shooting points to look for? I will buy a new heater if I have to because this one makes the hot water stink and I think it has caused my electric bill to skyrocket. But if I can hold off a while longer that would be best. A thermostat or heating coils seem like they would be a bit cheaper than a whole heater.

 

There are two stats -- upper and lower... Sounds like one is sticking. I hope the T/P valve is functional, or you could have even more serious problems. How old is the electric heater; and what is the condition of the anode rod? That will determine whether it's worth fixing or better to replace the entire unit.

 

radio.........the heater is 6 years old, the anode rod (I've been told) needs replaced b/c it has caused our water to STINK and all though I've already tried to replace it, it is a special order and NOT easily accessible for replacement. I bought the stuff, couldn't get the rod out and bagged the whole idea.

Now this morning I took the t-stat covers off and found a red "reset" button. I reset it and the heater sounded like it kicked on but I had to go to work and don't know if we have hot water or not. My wife will check this afternoon and if we don't I'm getting a new heater, if we do I'm going to monitor it for a few days to detect anymore problems.

Is there anything special I need to know if I replace this thing? I'll be doing it myself. I'm capable of the job but just haven't done a water heater before.

 

The red button was a manual reset high limit. It tripped because the water got too hot. Water heater thermostats are readilly avavilable & easy to replace. No need to replace the whole water heater.

 

Grady.......how do I know which thermostat is the problem? I have been turning off my breaker in the main panel to insure that the water does not continue to heat. I came home friday afternoon to a flooded basement b/c the heater kept heating the water, it came out of the pressure outlet and just kept flowing until I found it, turned off the power and got some of the almost boiling water out of the heater to lower the temp/pressure. I turned down both thermostats friday morning to their lowest setting to see what would happen with the water temp and reset the red button as I said, so apparently the change in thermostat temp didn't do a thing. It got so hot through the day friday that it ended up on the basement floor and I had a very hot heater.

This past weekend I just turned on the breaker an hour or so before we needed showers or when I knew the hot water might be used so we didn't run out. Then I turned it back off for most of the day. That's been working out ok but I plan on getting the root of the problem fixed to avoid any potential dangers.

How do I go about determining which t-stat needs replaced and what should I be aware of when I change it/them?

Thanks for the pointers/advice everyone. It's been helpful. Please keep it coming.

iamhistory

 

The only way is to test for AC voltage on the heater elements, one at a time, when the water is hot. The thermostats should be open, and there should be no voltage on either element... There's 240 volts on those terminals, so be VERY careful when poking around! If the stats are open, you will measure around 240 volts across the thermostat terminals. If the thermostat is closed, you will see the voltage across the heating element instead
Pete

 

I have always changed both. They are inexpensive & easy to change. Not worth the trouble of trying to determine which is bad. Just make sure the breaker is off & check for voltage before touching any wires.

 

Grady.....do you know what kind of t-stats I need to get to replace the current ones? Also, are they something that I can trust will be available and the correct thing at someplace like Lowe's or HD?

What special considerations/tricks of the trade should I know about before taking on the replacement task besides making sure the power is off?

Thanks all.......your input is helping out a lot.
iamhistory

 

Try your local ACE hardware... They usually have universal replacements--at least they had generic elements for my unit on the shelf. See if they have a match for yours.

 

Most places will have "universal" thermostats. If you want, you can either make a drawing of each or take some digital photos to take with you to the hardware store.