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Posted by Jazz on August 22, 2006, 9:03 pm
loved the DOS joke... lol!
I bought two elements today, called rheem customer support and they
told me what to get, i also bought the tool used to screw them in
(since they are screw in). Figured id replace bouth.
I was thinking "the heater is 12 years old, ill just buy a new one" but
the installed price was like over $700, so I fugured I would try this
one first...
Yeah, my dad told me about the "quick draw" mehtod, but all the same i
think I will drain it, in case there are any sediments...
if you guys dont hear from me by this weekend, it went well... if it
was a disaster, ill prob be back.
thanks again!
Jazz Mann
PS... yes, tennessee valley authority. Honestly, he has worked there my
whole life and retired recently,... and still, to this day, I cant tell
anyone what my dad does or did... i always jut say "He works for TVA"
that either stumps them or they nod in understanding... either way they
stop asking.
mm wrote:
>
> >I am a computer guy, not a handy-man, so forgive the stupidity of my
> >question...
> >
> >I have a Rheem 40 gallon water heater.
> >240 volts, 4500 wattage, model number 81V40D C ...
> >
> >My dad, a water heater inspector for TVA,
>
> Tennessee Valley Authority?
>
> > tells me the top element is
> >probably bad (We have some hot water, but runs out pretty fast now... i
> >trust his judgement since he has done it for over 25 years).
>
> I don't know what the symptoms are when the top element is bad, but
> when I had the same symptoms as you, it was the bottom element. I
> figured that out by using a volt-ohmmeter. Sometimes called a
> multi-meter. They have them at Radio-Shack for under 20 dollars. If I
> recall what they sell, I wouldn't get the cheapest little one with a
> needle movement, but the next one up, which happens to be digital.
>
> (Nothing wrong with an "analog" meter, one with a needle, but the
> cheap one they sell is just too small. Digital meters do have
> advantages, though, such as usually auto-polarity. Even when
> measuring a DC voltage, like testing a battery, you don't have to have
> the red on positive and the black on negative. It will just show a
> negative sign if you connect it backwards. Some digital meters have
> auto-ranging, but one can live without that....)
>
> >So I go to home depot to grab a new element, and I am seeing screw in,
> >twist in, walk in, fly in, run in, etc... :^)
>
> As someone said, if you take the cover panel off (to check which one
> you need, and if you need the heater or the thermostat -- neither are
> hard to replace) you'll see if you want screw in or bolt-in.
>
> OTOH, if you went to a Rheem dealer, he would know. OT3H, who are you
> going to believe, the dealer or your own eyes? I doubt the dealer
> would make a mistake, but if you see 4 screws arranged in a square
> around the element, it's bolt in. If there are no screws, it's screw
> in. That is, the whole element screws in.
>
> The easiest way to check the element to see if it is bad is to turn
> off the breaker for the water heater, use the scale of the voltmeter
> that is higher than 220 volts AC to measure the voltage between the
> two screw terminals on the element (always measure voltage before
> measuring resistance, to see if it is safe for the meter to measure
> resistance).
>
> When you see that there is no voltage, use the continuity setting,
> the buzzer, to see if the heating element is continuous from one screw
> to the next. Aha, but since the water is fairly cold by now, both
> thermostats may be on, so if one heating element is bad, it is still
> in parallel with the other heating element maybe, probably, so you
> need to disconnect one wire from the heating element, and then measure
> the continuity of the heating element. It will show as bad now if it
> is bad. You can also use any of the ohm scales, especially the lowest
> one, to measure ohms. If the heater is good, it will show zero or
> close to it. If the heater is bad, it will not change from when the
> probes are not touching anything. The reading will be blank, or
> dashes, or something like that. You can verify the meter is working
> by connecting its two probes right together and it should say zero or
> very close to zero.
>
> If it is not the heating element, again (remember that the power is
> still off. At least you were supposed to have turned it off) then put
> the two probes on the two screw connectors of the thermostat, which is
> a square thing with a dial on it right next to the element. Same
> thing as above. Since the water is cold now, at least cold enough
> that the heater should be heating, the thermostat should be closed.
>
> >can someone just tell me what to get and where to get it? Pretend I am
> >your stupid son and feel sorry for me and hook me up. My dad just says
> >"Buy a new hot water heater, they dont cost much" but I dont have time
> >for all that, guests arrive in about 10 days.... I know all i will have
> >to do is turn the breaker off, let the water cool, drain the tank, and
>
> Because I didn't know I could get heating elements at a hardware
> store, I got up early and went to the AOSmith dealer in town (I had an
> AOSmith heater iirc) and he sold me what I needed, and because I talk
> a lot (as you can see here) I said something like this, and he said
> there was no need to drain the tank, which is time-consuming and
> wastes water and hot water. IIRC, he had me turn off the main water
> supply to the house, hot and cold, then open the lowest HOT water
> faucet in the house, the basement sink. Some water will come out, but
> after a few minutes, no more will. Because if new water can't get in
> the other end, water can't come out this end. Air pressure, growing
> vacuum, etc.
>
> Then go to the water heater, have the new element ready, the wires
> disconnected from the old element, remove the element and as quickly
> as possible put the new element in and start screwing it in or bolting
> it on.
>
> That's what I did and I didn't lose more than 2 or 3 tablespoons to a
> quarter cup of water. Not positive because some went into the
> insulation inside the water heater, but it was very little. Because
> of turning off the water to the house and opening the hot water
> faucet, there was no pressure so the water idn't come out with force
> and there was no problem putting the new element in, which there would
> have been I guess if the water pressure were on.
>
> >pull (or twist, or unscrew) the element out and slap a new one in
> >there...
> >
> >However, I dont have an ohm meter.... i mean, does the average guy have
>
> You could use the USB port. Just go into DOS, or Command I guess it
> is called, and type "voltmeter". That will measure the voltage at the
> first USB port. Wait a second.... No, that was just a dream I had
> once. You need a separate meter.
>
> >one of these lying around? Ive replaced light fixtures and ceiling
> >fans, but the more i read the more people seem to freak out about the
> >water heater still haveing power in it even after turning it off at the
> >breaker... what gives?
>
> It's the air conditioning where this happens because there are two
> breakers powering the AC, but you really shouldn't be doing anything
> electrical more than changing a lightbulb wihtout a meter. Maybe you
> turn off the breaker and a helpful family member turns it back on.
> Maybe you develop geriatric dyslexia and turn off the wrong breaker.
> You need someway to see the electricty, and the meter is the best way.
>
> Never measure ohms until after you have measured voltage. There
> should be no voltage when you are measuring ohms.
>
>
> >anyway, thanks in advance!
> >Jazz Mann
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