Hot Water Heater Not Heating?

A few weeks ago, our hot water heater quit producing hot water. Great! Here we are with a house full of people, no extra money to pay someone to come and fix it and it's also on a Saturday! Isn't that when things usually happen?

I have learned that "Google" is my best friend. I "Google" everything! After doing a search on the internet, it was determined that our hot water heater probably needed a new thermostat. I found how to take the front cover off the hot water heater and replace the thermostat.


*VERY IMPORTANT-READ THIS BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING!

FIRST TURN OFF THE ELECTRICITY AT YOUR ELECTRICAL BOX OR FUSE BOX!

Do this BEFORE you do anything!

I found the breaker to the electric hot water heater and flipped it off. There are two metal covers on the front of the hot water heater. I removed those with a screwdriver. I had been familiar with them before on different occasions, from turning the water temperature up and down. If your water is too hot or too cold, you can take those covers off and there is a little dial that you need to get a small screwdriver or a kitchen butter knife and turn it. Look at the numbers on the dial to see which way to turn it to make it hotter and which way to turn it to make it cooler. In the winter time, I like to turn our water up on HOT so that I can soak in a tub of water as hot as I can stand it.

Since we did not have money in our budget to pay someone to come to the house and fix our problem, my husband and I headed to Home Depot. This is his favorite store. We found exactly what we needed. We purchased the whole kit 'n kaboodle. We got the package that came with two heating elements and two thermostats and was only $35. They have other packages that you don't have to purchase everything. It seems like one thermostat would have cost around $17, so we decided it was cheaper to purchase it all in and put the rest up for later. If we would have called a certified person to come and fix it they would have charged $60 for the service call and that isn't including the cost for parts.

My husband replaced both the thermostats on the hot water heater. We did not replace the heating elements at this time. We decided to put them to the side in case we have trouble with them later on.

The thermostats were very easy to replace. He had to loosen up screws on the thermostats on the hot water heater and remove the old thermostat. Then putting the wiring under the new one, lining it up in the right places and tighten the screws. It was very simple.

When you are finished, set your temperature at a level you are comfortable with for your hot water before putting the metal covers back on.

*If you have small children, you will NOT want to turn it up all the way. If the hot water is too hot, it could very easily scald them. Now you are ready to put the metal cover back on and tighten the screws on them. Now you can turn the electricity back on to the electrical box. That's it.. your all done!

When I "Google"... I type in the search box what my problem is and things always come up. In this case, I probably Googled, "Hot water heater not heating up".

Make Google your BEST friend. Other than your spouse, of course! LOL