Turned on my hot water tank after the summer and noticed the water wasn't heating up. Took covers off and noticed this burned wire. Going to replace element on the burned wire top element. Should I replace both at same time or not. And what would cause this?
Water tank element
- Thread starter Bangon61
- Start date
racecougar
Well-known member
If you're trying to post a photo, we can't see it.
Did the element short out?
Did the element short out?
Picture of the bad element
I'm trying to post a pic but page says something wrong. I'll try here. It's a closed loop system. I have a feeling when I drained it to add glycol that I didn't fully fill it again. Not sure if I should change just the element or the thermostat as well. It definitely burned
Attachments
Firebrick43
Well-known member
Corrosion probably cause a high resistance connection that overheated the wire.
Do you have a leak somewhere above this? That’s a significant amount of corrosion.
I would change both the element and thermostat and make sure all the connections are corrosion free before putting it back in service.
Do you have a leak somewhere above this? That’s a significant amount of corrosion.
I would change both the element and thermostat and make sure all the connections are corrosion free before putting it back in service.
it must have overheated because if there was a short the beaker should have popped.
if the element wasn't covered by water it would overheat. or the wire was loose on the heater. for safety,I'd be looking at replacing the thermostat , element & thermal breaker
if the element wasn't covered by water it would overheat. or the wire was loose on the heater. for safety,I'd be looking at replacing the thermostat , element & thermal breaker
It doesn't look like a leak anywhere that I can see.
Thank you very much. I'll clean up tge wires as best I can. Any idea if there is an easy way to feed new wires from tge top of tank that go to this thermostat by chance? Tryed pulling them a bit but the wires laughed at me. Thanks again
is the tank insulation spray foam or batt? batt should come out quite easily once you disconnect them from the power source . maybe take the top pan off so you can get the wires straight?
foam filled, might be easier to probe a new hole & leave the existing wires (cut short) in there
Firebrick43
Well-known member
An uncovered element will overheat and burn out(very quickly) the resistant element itself that is inside the tank but it won’t cause the input wire to burn up if it’s sized right.
Firebrick43
Well-known member
chemicals stored nearby? Near the ocean?
Something is causing the wires to turn green
I agree.It was stored in a shipping container without heat for a couple years. Brought it out and installed it last year. I should have looked at it closer when i installed it. I'll change the element and thermostat and clean up the wires.
The wire is 12 gauge.
It was spray foam. I thought about taking the cap off.