Throwback
Chief Big Taw
OK so in May 2017 i put in a new Rheem water heater, 50 gallon stand up type. Had a plumber with 30+ years of experience come install it. no problems. No problems since then it has ran 100%
late march 2020 it started giving out only lukewarm water. I checked and the top element wasn't working so I replaced it. It didn't look bad (small amount of rust and discoloration where the element met the screw in part Worked fine. FWIW i also drained/flushed the tank when i did this and didn't notice any sediment coming out
Last friday May 1 I was taking a shower and the water suddenly got SCALDING hot. When i came back home there was no hot water.
Saturday morning I checked and the lower element and it appeared to be dead so i replaced that element. It still acted like it wasn't working and it tripped the breaker after 1 hour of heating. The water heater has during this time had started making a sound inside the tank sort of like water heating up or bubbling, but it has NEVER made this noise before in the 3 years I have had it. EVER. its located in the closet in my daughters room so she would hear it if it did.
This went on till late evening. Sunday AM I went to Home depot and bought two new thermostats and another element. Replaced ALL these and guess what---still tripping the breaker after 1 hour. Still making the weird sound. So my BIL comes over and checked everything (he works part time with the plumber who installed it). Both elements have continuity, power is fine, all wires are correct (by the pics I took before changing them out and the owners manual its 100% correct).
so we get a certified electrician to come check it out. He replaces the breaker in the breaker box because its 20 amp and should be 30 amp (water heater is 240/4500) he checks both thermostats and elements and they are working alternate to each other as they should be. We leave it on. IT runs for a day or so and no hot water--- the reset button pops out. not a big deal it did this about a day after original installation/could have been a surge in power on a rural line, etc.
so I hit the reset button, now about every 24-36 hours the reset button will trip. this goes on for about 2-3 days.
This morning i get up--no hot water--hit the reset button and within 30 minutes the new 30 amp breaker trips.
so the short of it and my question is---with literally EVERYTHING in this tank having been replaced with new up to and including the breaker---what could POSSIBLY be causing this?
im guessing I should just call Rheem and see if they will replace it--there is nothing else to change out.
and the hissing/popping noise DID NOT happen till this started
the ONLY thing different is the elements i replaced the original elements with are the kind that go out and loop back theyre the kind for high mineral content water. but i cant see that making any difference as they are the correct size. The plumber and electrician checked and said they were correct.
no there is no water leaking from the tank.
my guess is a short in a wire or something that runs between the two elements or the hookup??
this literally just started happening out of the blue i did NOTHING to the water heater before this started and we had no lightning hits, etc
late march 2020 it started giving out only lukewarm water. I checked and the top element wasn't working so I replaced it. It didn't look bad (small amount of rust and discoloration where the element met the screw in part Worked fine. FWIW i also drained/flushed the tank when i did this and didn't notice any sediment coming out
Last friday May 1 I was taking a shower and the water suddenly got SCALDING hot. When i came back home there was no hot water.
Saturday morning I checked and the lower element and it appeared to be dead so i replaced that element. It still acted like it wasn't working and it tripped the breaker after 1 hour of heating. The water heater has during this time had started making a sound inside the tank sort of like water heating up or bubbling, but it has NEVER made this noise before in the 3 years I have had it. EVER. its located in the closet in my daughters room so she would hear it if it did.
This went on till late evening. Sunday AM I went to Home depot and bought two new thermostats and another element. Replaced ALL these and guess what---still tripping the breaker after 1 hour. Still making the weird sound. So my BIL comes over and checked everything (he works part time with the plumber who installed it). Both elements have continuity, power is fine, all wires are correct (by the pics I took before changing them out and the owners manual its 100% correct).
so we get a certified electrician to come check it out. He replaces the breaker in the breaker box because its 20 amp and should be 30 amp (water heater is 240/4500) he checks both thermostats and elements and they are working alternate to each other as they should be. We leave it on. IT runs for a day or so and no hot water--- the reset button pops out. not a big deal it did this about a day after original installation/could have been a surge in power on a rural line, etc.
so I hit the reset button, now about every 24-36 hours the reset button will trip. this goes on for about 2-3 days.
This morning i get up--no hot water--hit the reset button and within 30 minutes the new 30 amp breaker trips.
so the short of it and my question is---with literally EVERYTHING in this tank having been replaced with new up to and including the breaker---what could POSSIBLY be causing this?
im guessing I should just call Rheem and see if they will replace it--there is nothing else to change out.
and the hissing/popping noise DID NOT happen till this started
the ONLY thing different is the elements i replaced the original elements with are the kind that go out and loop back theyre the kind for high mineral content water. but i cant see that making any difference as they are the correct size. The plumber and electrician checked and said they were correct.
no there is no water leaking from the tank.
my guess is a short in a wire or something that runs between the two elements or the hookup??
this literally just started happening out of the blue i did NOTHING to the water heater before this started and we had no lightning hits, etc
