I need your assistance with Rheem water heater troubleshooting.
If you do not have hot water, check the circuit breaker to the hot water heater.
I have electricity.
Yeah, but a breaker flipped off or a blown panel fuse will turn off the power.
It is on.
I’m also assuming the high limit switch on the unit is not tripped. That’ll kill it.
The lights on the control panel are on, so it seems to be on. If the high limit switch kicked in, I’d expect at least a couple red lights.
The thermostat could be set too low.
This is not like the house thermostat; we don’t have thermostat wars over the hot water level, especially when you can up the percentage of cold water if you don’t like it.
If you cannot get much hot water even on all hot, the thermostat may not be functioning or it isn’t seated properly.
I cannot believe it has been moved, and it is not like it could have fallen off while someone was dusting it.
The wiring could be loose.
Unless there are rats in there, nothing would have gotten it loose. And a colony of dust bunnies won’t even cause a problem except an asthma attack when you open it.
It could break due to thermal stresses, warming and cooling.
A hot water heater usually just stays hot.
If the heating elements burned out, it would not get hot. Well, it gets just lukewarm or hot for the portion around the remaining work element until the second one burns out.
I’d have to ask a repair man to do that because I do not want to make a mess draining it to change out an element.
In theory, a lot of sediment in it could cover the elements and cause it not to work right, especially if the sediment coats the thermostat so that it doesn’t read right.
So I need to clean the water tank out so that it works right.
A lot of sediment on the bottom can cause bubbling and popping as hot water boils and escapes through the mud on the bottom.
I think the noise in the basement is the water softener, not the hot water heater.
If you have a gas water heater, the gas valves may need to be cleaned periodically of rust and ash, or the electrical sparker for the gas may need to be replaced.
I know a flame sensor coated in ash will cause it to not recognize the flame is burning and kill it. But I do not have a gas hot water heater.
Then the unit not heating up isn’t due to poor gas supply. It could still be due to humidity or a leak shorting out electrical connections.
At that point, I do not know if I need a plumber or electrician.
Post time: Jun-21-2017