The Electric Water Heater

Water in an electric water heater is heated by two heating elements (in most cases). The most common reason for absolutely no hot water is a common one for most appliances... your circuit breaker has simply tripped, no big deal. Give your breaker box a look. If that’s not the cause then the heating elements may have failed and need replacement. Another possibility is the limit/reset switch on the thermostat is the issue. This critical part to your water heater can fail and need to be replaced, but it can also be affected by the hot water itself, particularly in some models.

Fixing it can be as simple as adjusting the desired water temperature setting on the thermostat for that particular heating element. On electric models, the thermostat is usually behind an access panel located on the side of the tank and in many models a layer of insulation may also be in your way. Unlike gas models, an electric thermostat is hard-coded as it were at the factory and not intended to be modified or changed at home but is occasionally necessary to do so. During the cold winter months, you may need to slightly raise the thermostat temperature since the hot water cools down quicker through colder conducting pipes as it travels through your home’s often metallic plumbing. Other possible reasons you are not getting hot water can be a faulty thermostat is complicating things, faulty element could be failing, loose wiring can happen, or even a water heater tank that’s too small for your new daily demands.

Most often, those calling in to plumbing companies for help and dealing with low hot water pressure have an older home with 1/2-inch diameter galvanized piping that enters and leaves the water heater. Since water pressure is automatically limited, the truly only solution unfortunately is to install modern 3/4-inch piping which allows more water to flow through. Sediments can build up, calcium-deposits, rust and the like inside your plumbing or sink aerators may contribute to your low hot water pressure.

Does your hot water appear rust colored? See rust and grit in the water? This is often a sign of corrosion of the anode rod or maybe even tank itself. If neglected, this corrosion and build up can get worse, and bad enough to ruin the water heater system.

Is it the Anode Rod? Replacing the anode rod is easy to do and can add years to your water heater, so it's worth checking into. If the water is not rust colored but dirty, "powdery" or discolored, it may be because of scale build-up on the heating elements flaking off or sediment that’s finding its way into the hot water outlet.

Most likely, awfully smelly hot water is due to bacteria loose in the tank. Homes that use well water as a water source are more likely to have a bad odor coming from their water.Homes which use well water as their water source are more susceptible to their water giving off a foul odor.. Periodic flushing of the water heater may temporarily help but to completely and thoroughly clear out the sulfur or rotten egg smell seemingly coming from your hot water, you’ll likely need to replace the anode rod. Explore and upgrade option here, consider a powered anode rod which will get rid of the smell and last longer. A quick but temporary fix may be to increase the thermometer temperature to about 140 degrees to kill off any remaining bacteria.