Water Heaters - Water heater tripping breaker?

Doityourself.com community forum was created to provide answers to all questions related to home improvement and home repair. Doityourself community can help you find information about how-to topics on small fixes to large remodeling projects. With comprehensive how-to content and expertly moderated community forums DoItYourself.com makes it easy to tackle even the most complex home improvement projects.



PDA

View Full Version : Water heater tripping breaker?

unioncreek
08-07-08, 10:34 AM
I replaced my old electric water heater last year with a newer one. It worked good for almost a year and now it will occasionally trip the breaker. As far as I can tell there is no consistency of when it trips. You can wake up one morning and not have any hot water or after my wife washes clothes all day it will trip.

Any help appreciated.

Bob

barkleydoggy
08-07-08, 02:36 PM
I replaced my old electric water heater last year with a newer one. It worked good for almost a year and now it will occasionally trip the breaker. As far as I can tell there is no consistency of when it trips. You can wake up one morning and not have any hot water or after my wife washes clothes all day it will trip.

Any help appreciated.

Bob

Hi Bob!
Difficult to know without more info. If the old breaker is really old it may just need replacing. Does the newer water heater have larger elements than the older one? A 4500 watt element will draw about 20 amps and a 5500watt will draw around 25 amps. You probably have a 30 amp breaker in there now.
Without an amprobe ammeter it's difficult to know exactly what's going on but my best guess is a worn out breaker barring other problems with the new water heater. Check and see if the breaker gets hot or warmer than usual.