Hi, we have a 40 gallon electric hot water heater in a small apartment above a garage on our property. When we bought the house, the HWH would occasionally stop heating water and I'd have to hit the red reset button on the tank, at which point the water would heat again for a while, only to trip the reset button again sometime later. There were some spare parts near the HWH that lead me to believe that the prior owner had the same issue and tried to remedy the problem through some homeowner repairs (these obviously didn't fix the problem).
A few months ago, I bought a new Rheem 40 gallon electric unit and installed it myself, happy to be rid of the problem. Well, after a few weeks, I noticed that the water wasn't hot any longer, and sure enough, the reset button on the brand new unit had been tripped. I've researched the usual root causes for the reset button being tripped, and since this same issue occurred on the old unit as well as a brand new unit, I'm inclined to believe that the issue is outside the HWH. My question for the brains on this forum – what else could it be, and how do I troubleshoot? The two most logical theories I can come up with are:
Thanks!
A few months ago, I bought a new Rheem 40 gallon electric unit and installed it myself, happy to be rid of the problem. Well, after a few weeks, I noticed that the water wasn't hot any longer, and sure enough, the reset button on the brand new unit had been tripped. I've researched the usual root causes for the reset button being tripped, and since this same issue occurred on the old unit as well as a brand new unit, I'm inclined to believe that the issue is outside the HWH. My question for the brains on this forum – what else could it be, and how do I troubleshoot? The two most logical theories I can come up with are:
- The wires from the panel to the HWH are compromised somehow – perhaps the wires got nicked somewhere along the way. If this is the case, is there any way to test the wiring to prove this theory out? Or is my only option to replace the wiring (this will require opening up a lot of finished walls, so it'll suck).
- The HWH is tucked into a closet and is in a pretty tight space. Perhaps the ambient temperature causes the high limit switch to trip? Is there any way to test this theory (crank the heat way up in the apartment and see what happens?)?
Thanks!
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