Rheem 40 GAL ELEC TALL Water Heater 6YR SC 82VH402 Logo
Bob Henderson Posted on Jan 18, 2010

I have replaced my electric water heater and I have checked everything I can think of and I still run out of hot water in 3 minutes. What on earth is the problem.

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Sean Lavelle

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  • Posted on Jan 26, 2010
Sean Lavelle
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3 minutes?? does the water run cold then? or just warm?
Is this what the tank you replaced was doing? If so, then you may have: 1 a recirculating pump instant hot water system thats faulty and allowing cold water backflow into hot water piping. 2 A tempering valve that has stuck, allowing cold water into your hot water system.
Or maybe a broken or missing dip tube in your new heater.
If after 3 minutes the water is coming cold out leave that faucet running and go to heater and feel the hot water outlet pipe from the heater. if that pipe is hot then the heater is not the problem. If the hot pipe from the heater is cold the heater is the problem. (Make sure the cold pipe coming into the heater is connected to the Right side marked "cold" !) If there is a tempering valve by the heater: feel the output from the tempering valve, if it is cold and the pipe from the heater to the tempering valve is hot, then the tempering valve is the problem. If all these are OK somewhere in your plumbing system hot and cold may be connected possibly a faucet or showerhead that is shut off at the spout/head, but hot/cold handles are left turned on then cold water can backflow thru hot pipe.

Testimonial: "I am sending this one...to the maintenance department...maybe this will help them down there. They can't figure it out on their own... Thanks"

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1helpful
2answers

Heating coils were replaced last december and today no hot water for a shower after 5 minutes in the shower. The electric is flying on the meter. Have shut off the circuit breaker for this hot water

Copy following link for tank-type electric water heater troubleshoot:
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-troubleshoot-electric-problems-with-water-heater.html#skyrocket

Press reset button located on upper thermostat.
Test elements for short to ground against steel tank.
Clean sediment out of tank. Check for water leak running hot water out of tank.
Replace both thermostats.
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-replace-thermostat-on-electric-water-heater.html

If you need further help, I’m available over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/gene_9f0ef4df2f9897e7

0helpful
1answer

Is my hot water heater going out??

if its electric check your lower element
0helpful
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I have two wires going to my hot water heater red and black but no ground but the inspector says i need to connet a ground line toi the green screw on the electrical pannel on the top of the hot water...

It is the same as all the other appliances in your house, they should be earthed (grounded). You can run a new earth wire from the meterbox to the hot water heater or pick up an earth anywhere in the house and run it to the heater. The earthing conductor connecting to the hot water heater should be the same size as the active and neutral conductors or no less than 2.5mm square.
0helpful
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Rheem 49 gal model 81V400B - hot water lasting only 5-10 minutes then takes an hour to heat back up.

Ordinary tank-type electric water heaters are fully repairable by homeowner.

A) Basic info on Rheem
Rheem electric water heater website:
http://www.rheem.com/products/tank_water_heaters/electric_water_heaters/
Find age of Rheem: look 2nd and 3rd digit of serial number, for example 06 is 2006

B) Water heater has some hot water.
That says certain things: upper element is working, water heater electricity is working, reset button is not tripped, and heater is not experiencing run-away overheating event.
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-it-works.html

C) That leaves 4 suspects that cause lower amount of hot water.

1) TP valve is running hot water out of tank -or- leaking faucet is running hot water out of tank.
Check for leaks
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-replace-TP-valve.html

2) Lower element is burned out.
Test lower element using inexpensive multi-meter from Home Depot.
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-test-water-heater-element.html
Replace element with same wattage shown on label, and clean out sediment:
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-clean-sediment-out-of-electric-water-heater.html
http://waterheatertimer.org/Clean-sediment-out-of-water-heater.html

2) Upper or lower thermostat is bad.
Replace both thermostats for about $25.
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-replace-thermostat-on-electric-water-heater.html

3) Burned or shorted wire located between upper and lower sections of tank.
Turn off power. Open covers on side of tank. Remove insulation. Inspect parts for signs of high heat and burning. Especially check lower element. Tighten any loose wires. Replace part that shows signs of burning.
Put insulation and cover back over thermostats so cooler outside temperature doesn't cause thermostat to misread tank temperature.
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-troubleshoot-electric-problems-with-water-heater.html

Add a comment for more free help.
Also take advantage of fixya phone service.
For a price, expert speaks with you over phone while you work on water heater or any do-it-yourself project.
Fixya is always less expensive than a service call.
0helpful
1answer

No heat the water.

Suddenly no hot water: Red reset button tripped, circuit breaker tripped, bad upper element, bad thermostat, loose wire, TP valve is running hot water out of tank, leaking faucet is running hot water out of tank.

1) Check for leaks.
2) Check circuit breaker.
3) Open top cover on water heater and push in red reset button.
If reset is popped out and will not reset, replace thermostat:
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-replace-thermostat-on-electric-water-heater.html
4) Test upper element:
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-test-water-heater-element.html
5) Loose wire
Do full troubleshoot:
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-troubleshoot-electric-water-heater.html

Add a comment for more free help.
Also take advantage of fixya phone service.
For a price, expert speaks with you over phone while you work on water heater or any do-it-yourself project.
Fixya is always less expensive than a service call.
0helpful
1answer

My Reliance water heater suddenly produced only luke warmwarm water. I checked for power to the elements. Top one had nothing, bottom one had 110. I replaced the top element (which looked ok.) (power...

Lower element will always test 120V to ground since thermostats turn off one hot wire.

Listed below are suspects in order of ease.

1) Check that hot water is not running out of TP valve and down into a drain.
This will cause water heater to run all the time but not be able to keep up.

2) Test elements before replacing anything:
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-test-water-heater-element.html

3) Test electricity to water heater:
http://waterheatertimer.org/Test-electricity-to-water-heater.html

4) Replace both thermostats.
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-replace-thermostat-on-electric-water-heater.html

5) Final thing would be full troubleshoot:
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-troubleshoot-electric-problems-with-water-heater.html

Add a comment for more free help.
Also take advantage of fixya phone service.
For a price, expert speaks with you over phone while you work on water heater or any do-it-yourself project.
Fixya is always less expensive than a service call.
0helpful
1answer

The hot water is no longer very hot, just nice and warm. What caused this? I have an electric water heater.

Listed below are suspects in order of ease.

1) Check that hot water is not running out of TP valve and down into a drain.
This will cause water heater to run all the time but not be able to keep up.

2) Test elements before replacing anything:
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-test-water-heater-element.html
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-replace-element.html

3) Test electricity to water heater:
http://waterheatertimer.org/Test-electricity-to-water-heater.html

4) Replace both thermostats.
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-replace-thermostat-on-electric-water-heater.html

5) Final thing would be full troubleshoot:
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-troubleshoot-electric-problems-with-water-heater.html

Add a comment for more free help.
Also take advantage of fixya phone service.
For a price, expert speaks with you over phone while you work on water heater or any do-it-yourself project.
Fixya is always less expensive than a service call.
1helpful
1answer

Little amount of hot water

Quite likely a bad element. There are two in electric HW heaters. Often the bottom one will fail so you only end up with the upper half heated up.

You can check it with a digital volt meter if you have one.

with the power off at the breaker box, you can remove the wires from the element and (using the ohm (resistance) setting) check across the terminals. it should read around (4500W/240V = 18 ohms).

How old a HW heater? might be time to replace it...

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