Test Water Heater Element Thermostat

If you want to test a thermostat on an electric water heater you will also need to check the heating element.

Test water heater element thermostat.

Test the water heater thermostat testing the water heater thermostat involves the checking of the heating element also. Now sometimes you use the hot water tap to only discover cold water coming out. Turn the water heater circuit breaker off inside the main service panel. How to test an electric hot water heater thermostat step 1.

Common residential dual element water heaters are 240 volts. Both thermostats control two different heating elements for the heater to function. Remove the upper and the lower access panels with a phillips screwdriver. When shopping for a water heater thermostat you need to know how many elements the water heater has and the voltage.

If the data tag is missing you can identify single element vs dual element by the number of access panels on the water heater. If the opposite thing happens that means your thermostat has defected. To look at the faults in the upper thermostat you need to turn off the lower one. You can find the voltage written on the end of the heating element.

When it goes bad you don t have any hot water at all. Start by checking the thermostat terminals for the supply of power. If the water is hot enough at appointed temperature the meter won t show reading. If you get the reading of 240v on terminal 1 and terminal 3 then the power is on but if you get no readings then the power is off.

Testing water heater thermostats is important in locating water heater problems. Pull away any insulation that is. To look for faults you will need to use a screwdriver. This is important especially as open and grounded heating elements result in inaccurate tests.

Connect the multimeter pin ends on point 1 2 as shown in the picture below. In this case also check the current at the high limit switch. The upper thermostat controls both the upper and lower element. The access panels are on the side of.

Check the power supply of the thermostat. If the water is cold the multimeter will point near zero. This is when the upper thermostat has a problem. Before you proceed further with the process of testing the heater thermostat take a screwdriver and the multimeter.