rawhide1 Report post Posted January 31, 2010 I have a electric water heater and it's giving me fits!! It's a whirlpool 50 gallon tank. The water gets hotter than hell and then shuts the elements off. So i called Whirlpool and wouldn't ya know it I can't understand a damn thing they say. Apparently there public service is located in India. So first they had me replace the heat sensors because the little light was blinking twice. So I called back and they said it must be the computer board so they shipped me one of those. While I was waiting on that I would just reset the heater to get some hot water. It finally started kicking the breaker. So I get the new board and install it and guess what it's doing the same damn thing. And of course I can't call them till Monday. I'm almost to the point of calling a plumber but I can't do that till Monday either. So any ideas on whats going on. I will never buy a whirlpool again. This has been going on for two weeks!!! Thanks for any help, Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crystal Report post Posted January 31, 2010 Hi Mike- Definitely not a plumber and I haven't stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in quite a while... but... did you try replacing the elements? They could be corroded. Crystal Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rawhide1 Report post Posted January 31, 2010 Hi Mike- Definitely not a plumber and I haven't stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in quite a while... but... did you try replacing the elements? They could be corroded. Crystal Crystal I thought of that but was told either they work or they don't. But Thanks for trying Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crystal Report post Posted January 31, 2010 I hope you get it figured out. Good luck. You'll have to let us know what the fix was! Crystal Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Timd Report post Posted January 31, 2010 Mike, I think Crystal nailed it. Electric water heaters are pretty simple creatures, and since you've replaced the other electrical components, the elements are the next logical step. Do you have well water? It could leave deposits on them that will build up, creating the problem you've described. If nothing else, pull them to check. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rawhide1 Report post Posted February 1, 2010 Timd After your and Crystals reply's the more I thought of it the more I figured what did I have to lose but some time and forty bucks. Still cheaper than a plumber. So I went ahead and drained the tank and pulled the elements. They had deposits built up all over them and in a couple of spots the deposits were solid from one side to the other. And this is rural water not well water!! The bottom element had a couple of spots that were burned through. The burnt through spots were right next to and under the heaviest deposits. The elements I pulled out were striaght but the only ones Lowes had were doubled over. So I went ahead and put those in they were rated the same 5500 watts and 240 volts. So after I get the tank filled back up with water and bled all the air out I turn the power back on. Well it aint kicking the breaker now but after ten min. the self diagnostics starts blinking once. Which according to the book that means there aint enough water in the tank(BULLSH*T) I know I bleed all the air out. So I reset the damn thing every ten min. about three times just so I could take a shower for work tomorrow. Well it's stayed on so far(1.5 hrs.) I'll have to see if it's still on in the morning. If it aint I reckon I'll break down and call a plumber but I feel I gave it a honest go. I'll have to update ya on my water heater saga in a week or so. Thanks for the help y'all Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rawhide1 Report post Posted February 1, 2010 Well I just went down and checked on it. Water is hotter than hell again and that damn lights blinking twice. The heck with it I'm calling a plumber tomorrow. Probably wind up being something I done trying to fix it in the first place. When will I learn I guess such is life. Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wvcraftsman Report post Posted February 1, 2010 Hi rawhide. It's probably a little too late now, but it sounds like it may be the thermostat that's bad. If you replaced the elements and it's still doing it, that's where I would check next. Hope you get it fixed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rawhide1 Report post Posted February 1, 2010 Hi rawhide. It's probably a little too late now, but it sounds like it may be the thermostat that's bad. If you replaced the elements and it's still doing it, that's where I would check next. Hope you get it fixed. I got a plumber coming tomorrow. I'm sick of the dang thing!!! Although I did replace the computer board and I think that has the thermostat in it. I'm on duty today so there's not much I can do with it anyhow. Thanks for the help. Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rawhide1 Report post Posted February 2, 2010 Well the plumber was out and couldn't find the problem. So called India again and there going to ship me another circuit board. We'll see how that goes. Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rawhide1 Report post Posted February 4, 2010 Well I put the new board in and it's been working for a day. So maybe it will keep working. Now I just need to pay the plumber $75.00 for telling me he had no ideas on what was wrong with it or how to fix it. Go figure!! So for now my hot water saga ends and my leaking no freeze hydrant begins. Thank you to everyone for their suggestions Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
