2nd Water Heater Bottom Element Burns Out In 1 Year?
We have city water so it’s not as if there’s a lot of lime or crud. The tank is 4.5 years old. The first element burned out after 3 years and a year later the new element is burnt out again. Any clues to why this is happening ?
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January 7, 2010 @ 4:10 pm
The top element or top element thermostat may be bad.
The thermostats may not be in sync. both should be set at same temp.
Why not replace both elements and both thermostats. Otherwise you will have to spend a lot of time trying to figure out exactly what the problem is.
I have replaced a few of these for friends and myself and I always do that.
January 7, 2010 @ 8:04 pm
Sounds like build-up in bottem of tank. Turn power off and flush monthly. There is a drain on bottem of tank.Let 10 or 15 gals. drain monthly. This will help keep your tank clean
January 8, 2010 @ 12:32 am
City water is not free of sediment and lime. Hot water heaters do build up lime quickly and need to be drained frequently in some parts of the country. Lime builds up to the element and will burn them out quickly. as you remove the old element you will want to swirl it around in the socket to knock away and build up around the element, this will help lengthen it’s life expectancy. You may have bad luck because the heater is very young to be having these issues.
January 8, 2010 @ 2:53 am
City water is not immune to lime build up issues. If its the bottom element that seems to be failing,,when you remove the element,,try making a small “rake” to drag lime out of the bottom of the tank. This works best while cold water is running back into the tank to help wash out loose debris. A tool may be fashioned by taking a small piece of aluminum conduit about 30 inches long and flatten about 2 inches on one end. Then bend it at a right angle and insert into the element hole,,,and commence to scrape all areas that you can reach,,dragging the sediment out onto the floor. Be sure to do this only if you have a floor drain.
January 8, 2010 @ 2:58 am
It sounds like you may have sediment in the bottom of your tank. Just because you have city water you can still get build up. If your house is older and has galvanized pipes this will add to the problem. Try turning off the water and draining the tank with a hose, then turn on the water again to flush out the tank. Watch the water leaving the hose to see what comes out. if it’s rusty water then you have problems. Good Luck :>)
January 8, 2010 @ 8:46 am
If the element fails, it could be the zinc anode in the tank is dissolved. This anode, sometimes known as the sacrificial anode, reacts with the water to prevent the elements from corroding. There may be build up in the tank from minerals and sediment in the water that is insulating the element but if there was, you should have seen it when you replaced the element a year ago. I would replace the zinc anode before you replace the element. There is a good chance the tank may be ready to fail depending on how long the element has been failed. Typically, first the anode dissolves, then the lower element dissolves, and finally the bottom of the tank dissolves. All of this occurs in the lower part of the tank because the drop tube the cold water enters through comes into the top of the tank but dishcarges at the bottom.
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