Home Page link

Electric water heater question

Home| Search | About
Login Password
Register Now! Lost Password?

Home Repair - - If it ain't broken, don't fix it. Otherwise look here. 

Page 1 of 3       1 2 3 > last >> Bookmark this page:  YahooMyWeb Yahoo!  Google Google  Windows Live Favorites Windows Live  del.icio.us del.icio.us  digg digg  Add to Netscape Netscape
Subject Author Date
Electric water heater question Doug 06-27-2006
If you were  Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options
Posted by Doug on June 27, 2006, 4:10 am


I recently had to replace a large 85 gallon electric water heater.
The orginal one, circa 1982 was being used on an off peak electric
meter. The lower element was wired to the off peak circuit, activated
from 11:00 PM to 6:00 AM by the meter. The top element cycled as usual
during the day.

When I got a replacement 85 gallon heater, I was unable to wire the
elements separately.

The original heater had four wires, two for each element, coming to
the top junction plate. The new heater had only 2 wires going to the
upper thermostat, which, of course, acts as the primarly switching
device for both upper/lower elements.

Another pair of wires could not be fished to the bottom element due to
the foam in place insulation between the tank and the metal jacket of
the new heater.

After checking with an electrician friend of mine, he sez that they no
longer make heaters like my old unit.Thus I had to wire the new unit
sans the off peak feature.

Is my electrician friend correct?
OR are new water heaters available that allow the elements to be wired
separately????

tnx,

Doug


Posted by buffalobill on June 27, 2006, 5:49 am
grainger catalog turn to page 3625 item 6E025 at
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/catalogPDF.shtml

Doug wrote:
> I recently had to replace a large 85 gallon electric water heater.
> The orginal one, circa 1982 was being used on an off peak electric
> meter. The lower element was wired to the off peak circuit, activated
> from 11:00 PM to 6:00 AM by the meter. The top element cycled as usual
> during the day.
>
> When I got a replacement 85 gallon heater, I was unable to wire the
> elements separately.
>
> The original heater had four wires, two for each element, coming to
> the top junction plate. The new heater had only 2 wires going to the
> upper thermostat, which, of course, acts as the primarly switching
> device for both upper/lower elements.
>
> Another pair of wires could not be fished to the bottom element due to
> the foam in place insulation between the tank and the metal jacket of
> the new heater.
>
> After checking with an electrician friend of mine, he sez that they no
> longer make heaters like my old unit.Thus I had to wire the new unit
> sans the off peak feature.
>
> Is my electrician friend correct?
> OR are new water heaters available that allow the elements to be wired
> separately????
>
> tnx,
>
> Doug


Posted by Doug on June 28, 2006, 12:54 am
wrote:

>grainger catalog turn to page 3625 item 6E025 at
>http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/catalogPDF.shtml
>
>Doug wrote:
>> I recently had to replace a large 85 gallon electric water heater.
>> The orginal one, circa 1982 was being used on an off peak electric
>> meter. The lower element was wired to the off peak circuit, activated
>> from 11:00 PM to 6:00 AM by the meter. The top element cycled as usual
>> during the day.
>>
>> When I got a replacement 85 gallon heater, I was unable to wire the
>> elements separately.
>>
>> The original heater had four wires, two for each element, coming to
>> the top junction plate. The new heater had only 2 wires going to the
>> upper thermostat, which, of course, acts as the primarly switching
>> device for both upper/lower elements.
>>
>> Another pair of wires could not be fished to the bottom element due to
>> the foam in place insulation between the tank and the metal jacket of
>> the new heater.
>>
>> After checking with an electrician friend of mine, he sez that they no
>> longer make heaters like my old unit.Thus I had to wire the new unit
>> sans the off peak feature.
>>
>> Is my electrician friend correct?
>> OR are new water heaters available that allow the elements to be wired
>> separately????
>>
>> tnx,
>>
>> Doug

Thanks for the info.
The specs for that Marathon heater do say that since all wiring is in
conduit, it can be converted for off peak seage.

However, my local Grainger store didn't have it in stock. If I had
wanted one, it would take about a week for shipping.
I had a leaking heater and needed a local suppy FAST.

However, next time I'll check into that.

Doug



Posted by on June 27, 2006, 1:51 pm
wrote:

>
>
>I recently had to replace a large 85 gallon electric water heater.
>The orginal one, circa 1982 was being used on an off peak electric
>meter. The lower element was wired to the off peak circuit, activated
>from 11:00 PM to 6:00 AM by the meter. The top element cycled as usual
>during the day.
>
>When I got a replacement 85 gallon heater, I was unable to wire the
>elements separately.
>
>The original heater had four wires, two for each element, coming to
>the top junction plate. The new heater had only 2 wires going to the
>upper thermostat, which, of course, acts as the primarly switching
>device for both upper/lower elements.
>
>Another pair of wires could not be fished to the bottom element due to
>the foam in place insulation between the tank and the metal jacket of
>the new heater.
>
>After checking with an electrician friend of mine, he sez that they no
>longer make heaters like my old unit.Thus I had to wire the new unit
>sans the off peak feature.
>
>Is my electrician friend correct?
>OR are new water heaters available that allow the elements to be wired
>separately????
>
>tnx,
>
>Doug


You just need too find the wire from the top thermostat to the bottom
one and wire a switch leg through your off peak equipment to that.


Posted by Jeff Wisnia on June 27, 2006, 2:08 pm
gfretwell@aol.com wrote:

> wrote:
>
>
>>
>>I recently had to replace a large 85 gallon electric water heater.
>>The orginal one, circa 1982 was being used on an off peak electric
>>meter. The lower element was wired to the off peak circuit, activated
>
>>from 11:00 PM to 6:00 AM by the meter. The top element cycled as usual
>
>>during the day.
>>
>>When I got a replacement 85 gallon heater, I was unable to wire the
>>elements separately.
>>
>>The original heater had four wires, two for each element, coming to
>>the top junction plate. The new heater had only 2 wires going to the
>>upper thermostat, which, of course, acts as the primarly switching
>>device for both upper/lower elements.
>>
>>Another pair of wires could not be fished to the bottom element due to
>>the foam in place insulation between the tank and the metal jacket of
>>the new heater.
>>
>>After checking with an electrician friend of mine, he sez that they no
>>longer make heaters like my old unit.Thus I had to wire the new unit
>>sans the off peak feature.
>>
>>Is my electrician friend correct?
>>OR are new water heaters available that allow the elements to be wired
>>separately????
>>
>>tnx,
>>
>>Doug
>
>
>
> You just need too find the wire from the top thermostat to the bottom
> one and wire a switch leg through your off peak equipment to that.
>

Yep, and if you can't bring the new leads down from the top of the tank
because of that foam insulation, I don't see why you couldn't use a hole
saw to make an appropriate size opening adjacent to the lower
thermostat's cover plate. You could install a standard cable clamp there
for that feed from the off peak meter.

I'm presuming your heater DOES have a lower thermostat and cover plate,
but the way they're cutting back on stuff fer all I know they've
figgered out how to get by without 'em already. <G>

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
"Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength."

Page 1 of 3       1 2 3 > last >>
Similar ThreadsPosted
Another electric water heater question.... January 10, 2007, 10:24 pm
Tankless electric water heater question July 8, 2008, 11:18 pm
Electric tankless water heater question on amperage September 27, 2005, 10:51 pm
Electric Water Heater Grounded to Copper Water Pipes? October 29, 2005, 6:04 pm
Hot Water Heater: Gas vs. Electric April 14, 2006, 8:46 am
Electric Hot Water Heater November 20, 2006, 8:59 pm
Has anyone taken apart an Electric Water Heater? March 22, 2007, 10:49 am
Electric water heater - repalced everything still no hot water September 18, 2006, 9:56 pm
Fuse box-electric H2O heater question May 30, 2006, 10:06 am
Electric space heater question December 23, 2008, 8:40 am

Contact Us | Privacy Policy

XML SitemapXML Sitemap