Joe Garfield
New Member
(I tried searching but didn't find anything that specifically addressed my problem)
I have a GE (Rheem) electric water heater. It was built in 2005 and is a 12yr warranty model. It is a 50gal dual element unit and it came with the foreclosed home I purchased in December. The upper and lower thermostats are set to about 140deg.
I live alone, don't take very hot showers, and showers are probably less than 10min, maybe a few min more for a 'long' shower.
I get hot water for maybe 1-2 minutes, then it turns lukewarm, and just getting cold (not ice cold) at the end of a shower. When I shower I start with a ratio of about 80/20 hot to cold, and within minutes I need full hot water. This has been consistent between showering downstairs in a makeshift shower (utility sink valves) during renovating, and now in my new bathroom upstairs (Kohler rite temp valve).
I have replaced both elements and the bottom thermostat. I just went to check the 'reset' button (it was not tripped) and I noticed the bottom of the tank (inside) is hot, the top is hardly warm.
I do not see a mixing valve anywhere in the house.
I don't really understand the function of the upper thermostat - could that be the culprit? I thought the upper thermostat is what tells the bottom to heat. It almost seems like a bad upper element but it was replaced with the lower element.
Thanks for reading and any thoughts
I have a GE (Rheem) electric water heater. It was built in 2005 and is a 12yr warranty model. It is a 50gal dual element unit and it came with the foreclosed home I purchased in December. The upper and lower thermostats are set to about 140deg.
I live alone, don't take very hot showers, and showers are probably less than 10min, maybe a few min more for a 'long' shower.
I get hot water for maybe 1-2 minutes, then it turns lukewarm, and just getting cold (not ice cold) at the end of a shower. When I shower I start with a ratio of about 80/20 hot to cold, and within minutes I need full hot water. This has been consistent between showering downstairs in a makeshift shower (utility sink valves) during renovating, and now in my new bathroom upstairs (Kohler rite temp valve).
I have replaced both elements and the bottom thermostat. I just went to check the 'reset' button (it was not tripped) and I noticed the bottom of the tank (inside) is hot, the top is hardly warm.
I do not see a mixing valve anywhere in the house.
I don't really understand the function of the upper thermostat - could that be the culprit? I thought the upper thermostat is what tells the bottom to heat. It almost seems like a bad upper element but it was replaced with the lower element.
Thanks for reading and any thoughts