The home water heater is a very important plumbing device responsible for all hot water needs. The water heater has many features including valves, vents, and electrical components. The storage tank models have a reservoir for holding the heated water. Storage tank models and tankless models all have pipes supplying the water heater with hot water and other pipes taking hot water from the water heater. One of the most important features of the storage tank water heater is the reset button. The reset button is located on top of the emergency cut off (ECO). The ECO switch is a failsafe component that automatically shuts down the water heater when it overheats the water. The recommended temperature setting of any water heater is 120 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature cannot cause scalding but it's hot enough to prevent bacterial growth. The ECO switch is usually attached to the upper thermostat. Sometimes the water heater keeps tripping the reset button. In other words, it keeps shutting off automatically. There are many possible reasons why this could be happening and we are going to discuss all of them below.
Gas powered hot water heaters come with one thermostat but DC electric water heaters usually have two thermostats; one at the bottom of the hot water storage tank and the other one in the middle of the tank. The thermostat is supposed to turn of the heating element when the water reaches the desired temperature. But sometimes it fails to do its job. If one or both thermostats in your water heater malfunction, then the water will continue heating even after reaching the set temperature. The ECO will detect this problem and shutoff the water heater automatically. You should call a professional plumber to inspect and replace the faulty thermostat in your water heater if it keeps tripping the reset button.
The heating element is the electrical component responsible for heating the water in your storage tank water heater. A water heater has as many heating elements as its thermostats. As implied above, the heating element is controlled by the thermostat. If there is an electrical short in one or both heating elements, then they can continue to receive power even after being turned off by the thermostats. This means that they will continue heating the water past the desired temperature. This will cause overheating and the reset button will trip. Faulty heating elements should be replaced as soon as possible.
The ECO switch can also be faulty. This can be due to old age, general malfunction, or repeated overheating and tripping. If the ECO switch is damaged, it can keep tripping the reset button for no reason at all. And although a faulty ECO switch will not overheat the water, you should still replace it immediately.
The reset button can also be faulty. It can send false feedback to the ECO switch causing the system to trip repeatedly. The faulty reset button should be repaired as soon as possible.
A short in the electrical system or loose wiring can cause additional power to flow through the water heater unchecked. This can cause overheating problems causing the reset button to trip repeatedly. If your water heater keeps tripping the reset button, have the whole unit inspected and repaired to ensure proper and safe functionality.