Turned off wrong breaker, water heater sparked. Worried about further damage.

[Kageokami138]

Hi, fairly new to this home and I wanted to turn up the water heater. I turned off what I thought was the correct breaker but I made a mistake and turned off something else instead. When adjusting the temp on the heater it flashed and sparked, melting the screwdriver end of my swiss army knife and leaving a black mark around the dial of my heater as well as damaging the adjusting screw. I have found the correct breaker (I hope- the box is not well labeled) and turned it off until I can get a professional out but now I am worried about potential fires or even an explosion, though unlikely. Is there anything else I should do at this time? Am I being overly paranoid? And also is it likely my heater will be okay with minor repairs or did I likely blow the whole thing?

 

[Reach4]

Is there anything else I should do at this time?

I suspect you are being more cautious than necessary. I think you shorted across the power terminals. Did this trip the "right" breaker? In any case, you did not set up a future failure.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Kageokami138]

I suspect you are being more cautious than necessary. I think you shorted across the power terminals. Did this trip the "right" breaker? In any case, you did not set up a future failure.

Thanks for the response. No breakers tripped at all, which surprised me. Despite that I am fairly sure I have turned off the correct one now and feel much more secure of my safety until I get someone out here. What I am mostly worried of now is that I may have to spend a ton replacing the whole thing! Hoping it is just a minor fix on the temperature dial but really have no idea as I have never had anything like this happen before. It is also a bit concerning that something that major did not cause a trip in the breaker.

 

[Banjo Bud]

You probably just ruined your knife. But in any case, the thermostat is replaceable if you fried it. Cheap and easy DIY.

 

[Fitter30]

Every home owner needs a non contact ac voltage probe! You were lucky that you didn't get burned by molten metal or dead. This tool just have to touch the insulated part of the wire to see if it's hot. Even has a probe to stick in a reciprocal.
https://www.amazon.com/LIMITED-Volt...t=&hvlocphy=9023802&hvtargid=pla-568414131773
And one that has a reciprocal tester built in
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0152U89DC/ref=psdcmw_14244471_t1_B002JGQAQ6

 

[Kageokami138]

You probably just ruined your knife. But in any case, the thermostat is replaceable if you fried it. Cheap and easy DIY.

Thanks for the response, good to know it's not a huge fix!

 

[Kageokami138]

Every home owner needs a non contact ac voltage probe! You were lucky that you didn't get burned by molten metal or dead. This tool just have to touch the insulated part of the wire to see if it's hot. Even has a probe to stick in a reciprocal.

And one that has a reciprocal tester built in
QUOTE]

Thank you so much for this information! Needless to say I am not the most "handy" person, I have lived in apartments most of my life until now. I will certainly invest in these tools!

 

[Fitter30]

Thank you so much for this information! Needless to say I am not the most "handy" person, I have lived in apartments most of my life until now. I will certainly invest in these tools!

There are some hacks on u tube but can give u ideas on almost any problem. Mark the circuit breaker when u find where it goes. U will find numbers stamped on the metal between the two columns of breakers.