Update On My Water Heater Post

Hi ,

Some of you may remember my water heater post from a couple of weeks ago . Well, today I actually got around to fixing it . It was the bottom element . Plus, it was filled up with lime all the way up to the bottom element . Replace both elements with the same volt and wattage ones like the originals , except these were supposed to be made especially for lime problems. Also , replaced the lower element thermostat .I also vacuumed out the lime out of the bottom as well as flushed it out to remove any left over lime particles . Filled up with water and released any trapped air before turning breaker back on . The only real problem that I had was that I couldn't get the drain to work when I turned it on to drain after hooking up a garden hose. Had to drain it by unscrewing the bottom element and letting it go . Did all that I could do to keep the water from going into insulation and under the inside of the tank . Got drain unstopped after cleaning out lime and flushed it out with water . Man ,it's nice to take a nice long shower now and not have to try and beat the hot water running out . Thanks for the help

Whizkid

New elements - 14.99 x2 = $30.00 + tx
New thermostat - $9.99 + tx
Element socket wrench - $11.99 + tx

So it cost me almost $55.00 dollars with tax to fix it , not counting the wasted water and gas for trips to my local hardware store , app. 8 miles one way away. But , it was cheaper than a new water heater so , it was worth it .
Older Post On Problem

Glad you got it. It can be hard to diagnose water heater problems from a distance. If it's not leaking, the fix is usually pretty inexpensive.

on earlier post i mentioned setting elements bottom hotter then top that way hot water rises and cold sinks creating circulation in tank

farmer,

I never thought to do that as I was in a hurry . I'm going down to recheck it tomorrow and I'll do it then as I makes sense . Thank you .

Whizkid

What I do when I have a problem like you had with the drain is hook up the garden hose to the drain and with the water shut off to the house and the hot water facets open turn on the garden hose to back flush the water heater drain

drain and flush once a yr; you will never have the problem again. if not the lime deposits in the bottom of the tank will cause it to rust out.
it was a lesson I had to learn! my well man guided me thru it, the first time! happy new year!

I had a similar problem. Mine started leaking at the bottom element. Sediment was clear up to it ! Likely overheated that area causing the leak ?
I could not drain mine either. Those factory plasit drains have barely any hole to let stuff out. I installed a much larger ball valve in there and I can keep it drained out now as chunks will come out.

Do you have a working softener before the heater?