Water Heaters - Power to Elements But Still Cold!

Hi All,

The bottom element died in my c1998 State 40gal Electric water heater. I thought while I had the tank drained, I should just replace both elements. The job went great other than having to run out and buy 1 3/8 elements (the original I bought were too small). The elements I installed look identical to the ones I took out. Both are 4500w and visually identical.

So I refilled the tank and let the water run (power off) for 30 mins until it ran clear. Finally, powered it back on. After waiting hours, still no hot water. In fact, the outside of the elements are still cool to touch.

I tested the power with a multimeter and both terminals on both elements are getting power!

I can't understand how the elements can be getting power yet they do not produce any heat. The only thing I can think of is that the brand new elements are bad but that's so unlikely that 2 new elements are both bad.

I have since done some searches and found out how to test resistance on the elements. But I'm at work now so that will have to wait until later.

Any advise? I won't be home until after the plumbing supply stores clothes so I'm wondering if I should pick up anything during my lunch break.

Thanks!

I tested the power with a multimeter and both terminals on both elements are getting power!
How did you test for power? Unless you have a specially wired water heater that allows for simultaneous operation of both elements (unlikely) you should only have power at the upper element until the upper thermostat is satisfied.

Well, it's fixed! Thanks for the reply Furd! You weren't too far off from the actual resolution.

For anyone that has a similar problem, I thought I'd post what I did - replace the upper thermostat. When I was testing, I tested for power at the element when it was installed. Both leads showed power because it was flowing through from the constant on power. However, neither element was getting power from the switched wire. Once I disconnected the wires from the elements, I noticed only one constant and the other wire was dead.

Thanks!

You didn't detail just HOW you tested for power at the elements. I assume that what you did is tested from one terminal of the element to ground, or the tank metal itself. For anyone that reads this thread I will state that method to be incorrect.

When testing for power at the element you must check between the two terminals of the element itself and not to ground. You should have approximately 240 volts between the two element terminals when the element is energized.