A hot water system is certainly an important part of any household and a faulty hot water system which is not heating can disturb your daily routine. Whether you own a gas-fueled or electric hot water system, a faulty heating system is often the result of a defective element. Yes, the major difference between different types of hot water systems is the heating source.
My Hot Water System Not Heating – What to do?
You turned on your hot water system and after 3 hours, there is no warm water in there. If you are reading this post, this is exactly what happened!An ideal hot water system should be able to start warming the water within about 20 minutes. If your water heater isn’t heating, it can either be due to a faulty element or the power supply.
If we specifically talk about the heating system, they are definitely repairable and you might be able to fix them on your own. Sounds interesting? Well, follow this post and learn more about the best thing to do if your hot water system is not heating.
Check if the Heater is Getting Power Supply
The very first step is to check if your hot water system is getting the power supply. You can simply examine the power supply manually by hearing the heating sound a few minutes after turning on the breaker. If you don’t hear any heating sound, there may be a problem with the breaker switch.
Thereby, turn the breaker knob all the way to the OFF position and then rotate it all the way to ON position. If the breaker is working, you should hear a click as the breaker turns ON. In addition, you can also reset the heater with the breaker.
However, if your water heat breaker didn’t trip, tryresetting the high-temperature limit using the following steps:
• Find the breaker on the service panel and turn it OFF
• Remove the upper heating element panel
• Remove the plastic guard, insulation, and other hindrances
• You will find a red button above the upper thermostat – Press it.
• Put the plastic guard, insulation, and everything else.
• Turn on the breaker
If the problem persists and your hot water system is not heating, follow the below steps.
Check Out the Heating Elements
Most residential hot water systems comprise an upper and lower heating element. In case the hot water system not heating at all, there are greater chances that there’s something wrong with the upper heating element. Similarly, if your hot water system isn’t generating enough hot water, then the problem is with the lower heating element.
If you are experiencing any of these two conditions, simply check out the heating elements. Now, this may sound complex but is a lot easier than it seems. Yes, there is no need to remove any heating element to test its working. Here is how you can inspect the heating elements:
• Turn of the hot water system power supply.
• Open the two cases available at the side of the tank.
• Remove the insulation and find the heating elements.
• Each heating element will have two wires, remove them and connect it with the multimeter.
• Make sure your multi-meter setting is on R1.
• The resistance here should be between 10 to 20 OHMS for both upper and lower elements.
• If the multimeter shows any unusual, then the perspective heating element is defective.
After finding out the defective heating element, you must drain out the heater tank before replacing the element.
Hot Water System Not Heating – Is there something wrong with the thermostat?
If you’re still unable to find the solution to your hot water system notheating problem, check if the thermostat is defective. Most residential heaters use two thermostats for both heating elements which are often set at the same temperature. Following is the step-by-step guide to determining if your thermostat is defective:
• Turn off the power supply.
• Open the protective cases and remove the insulation.
• Set the terminals between T2 and L1 to check continuity of the upper thermostat.
• If the upper terminal has a temperature less than 90 degrees, there’s no continuity between the terminals.
• On the other hand, if the lower terminal has less than 90 degrees, there is a continuity between its terminals.
If either thermostat fails the test, now is the right time to replace the thermostat. However, it is recommended to rely on an emergency plumbing service in this scenario.
In this regard, we offer the best yet over-the-phone consultancy to resolve your hot water system issues on the same day. Contact us to get no-obligation free quotes and hire an emergency plumber right away.
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