I bought a house a couple months ago and have been fighting water heater issues since day one. First it was the thermal overload. I figured that out and adjusted the thermostats. Then the breaker was tripping. Once we moved in and started using hot water more, the breaker started tripping less for whatever reason. Lately, it started tripping very frequently, and water stayed hot for way less time. So I decided it was time to truly investigate. I assumed it was a dead lower heating element.
I opened the breaker, closed the fill valve, and opened the drain. Once water stopped draining, I removed the wiring from the top element and removed it. Water came out.
WTF, this should be drained… I shoved it back in to plug the hole and investigated the drain. I got my oil pan out and straightened a wire hanger and shoved it in there, ready to catch whatever came out.
I was not prepared for this. So much goddamn scale. I don’t think this water heater has ever been flushed. I’m still hard at work, but I’m not exaggerating when I say that I’ve been working for hours to get this shit out. There was scale and brine sludge up to the lower element, which had corroded it apart. That’s like a foot of this shit.
New elements are in and wired up (I found a pack of two elements and two thermostats for only like $35) and I’m continuously filling and draining while alternating between using the wire hanger and a small pipe cleaner to fuck the drain hole.
I’ve never looked forward to a hot shower more than I do right now.
Edit:
My wife cooked a delicious steak, potatoes, and asparagus dinner, paired with a nice Cabernet Sauvignon. I took 400mg ibuprofen for my back and then enjoyed an aged, cold Mad Elf Ale in a hot shower. The breaker has not tripped. I’ll call this a success. I didn’t fully flush all the crap out because I ran out of time, but I’ll plan on doing a monthly flush until the chunks stop coming, and then I’m thinking a semiannual PM to flush it unless somebody recommends otherwise? I’m gonna also buy a new magnesium anode rod and replace the existing one within the year because it doesn’t look like this one has ever been replaced. Magnesium because I’m on a water softener and I plan to have all of the hardness out of the heater soon enough, so hardness shouldn’t be an issue.
I’ll try and explain what I can, but take it with a grain of salt since I’m far from an expert.
I’m in Canada where water heaters are required to be set at 140°F by code. I’m just learning from this thread that in the US the temperature setting required on water heaters is lower for some reason, which seems at odds with preventing Legionella bacteria from growing. The manufacturer of the water heaters I install produces them for both America and Canada. The only difference I can see from the website is the thermostats are set at a lower temperature for the American ones. I don’t imagine running your specific tank at a higher temperature would matter either. I believe all electric water heaters are just glass lined steel tanks with the elements and fittings connected. Nothing that stands out as something that a little more heat would cause to fail.
With your tank only being a year and a half old I don’t see how maintenance could have prevented that element failing. It sounds to me like you just got a bad element from the manufacturer. They are a relatively cheap mass produced part so some duds would be expected. The good news is they won’t break the bank should you need to replace one again. There are water heaters of varying quality too, so I imagine cheaper ones would tend to use cheaper components.
If you have really bad water and there was lots of minerals settled in the tank (like up to the bottom element) then you might want to look at water treatment options, which would start with a water test to know what you’re even dealing with. I can’t give any advice in that department though.
Hope that gives more answers than questions lol.
Thanks for the reassurance in finding out that it shouldn’t be harming the tank/elements/etc and for not being an asshole about it. When I had initially researched it, I was also reading about legionella and I found it incredibly odd how the tank wanted me to have it set to a level which wouldn’t destroy the pathogen. Incredibly bizarre how it’s like that here in the States. I guess people are more concerned with potential scald risk of unsupervised children (of which I have none) over controlling a deadly pathogen.
Some others suggested I test my water as well which is definitely worth considering.
But you know…one of the things I’m remembering is that upon initial install of the heater, the techs had a hell of a time with the thing. They were struggling with both the tank and the main water shutoff for some time and eventually the shutoff broke, stuck in the “off” position and had to be repaired at a later date.
It was the upper element that failed, which from reading online can occur if the elements are turned on prior to the tank being filled all the way. I’m wondering if that’s maybe what happened due to the whole debacle that ensues.
Thing is that is that if it were a “dry fire”, I would think that the element would have failed immediately and not 1.5 years later. Idk.
I’m finding the American regulations bizarre as well.
Yeah, the top element failing is less common. I suppose it could have been a dry firing and it just held on until recently. Whether it’s that or a defect, the fact that it’s been changed means that will likely be the end of your troubles. If you don’t have problems with the water already you probably don’t have to worry.