Lower hot water element burns out

Water heater has to be full of water before power is turned on or elements will burn out.
If upper element is burned out, then no hot water.
Lower element burned out, not much hot water.
If tank has 2 elements, it is 240V. Water heater circuit may not be delivering 240V. Test for 240V at connections.

Open following link for troubleshooting electric water heater.
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-troubleshoot-electric-water-heater.html
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-test-water-heater-element.html
http://waterheatertimer.org/Test-electricity-to-water-heater.html

Add a comment with your experience so others with same-similar problem can benefit.

Also take advantage of fixya expert assistance live.
For a price, expert works with you while you work on water heater or any do-it-yourself project.
Fixya is always less expensive than a service call.

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

A) Rheem electric water heater website:
http://www.rheem.com/products/tank_water_heaters/electric_water_heaters/
Find age of Rheem: look 3rd and 4th 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.

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.

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.

Electric water heater if fully repairable by homeowner:

A] First of all, we know your upper element is working because you have some hot water:
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-it-works.html
That says tank is not overheating.
It says tank is getting 240Volts.
It we know water heater is 240Volts because you have 2 elements.
And it says reset button is not tripped.

B] That leaves 4 suspects:
Suspect 1) Bad Upper thermostat or Bad Lower thermostat: solution replace both thermostats for about 25$. Steps shown in link below.
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-replace-thermostat-on-electric-water-heater.html
Suspect 2) Burned out Lower element: solution take out element, clean sediment out of tank, put in new element. Steps shown in link below
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-clean-sediment-out-of-electric-water-heater.html
Suspect 3) Loose wire or connection: solution open covers and remove insulation and look for signs of burning and high heat. Tighten all screws very tight. Replace burned part. Put insulation and covers back over thermostat so thermostat not exposed to cool air which will cause thermostat to misread tank temperature.

C] Before replacing anything, you can test water heater parts and determine exact cause of problem. Testing requires $5 multimeter from Lowes or Home Depot:
Install battery in multimeter.
When test calls for testing voltage, rotate multimeter dial to 240 or 250 or 277 Volts.
When test calls for testing continuity, rotate multimeter dial to ohms (upside down horseshoe symbol is ohms)
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-troubleshoot-electric-water-heater.html
After doing 30 minutes of testing, you will be expert in water heaters.

D] You replaced elements for a reason.
Did you test elements before replacing?
Was tank producing some hot water before you replaced elements?
If tank producing some hot water, then lower element was bad, and upper element was good.

And when you replaced lower element, did you also clean sediment out of tank?

If sediment builds up inside tank, it will reach lower element and burn out the element.
That could have been original problem, and it could be same problem again.
Restore full efficiency to tank by cleaning out sediment and replacing lower element.
http://waterheatertimer.org/Clean-sediment-out-of-water-heater.html

E} More reading to preserve tank and save money long term
http://waterheatertimer.org/Replace-anode-rod.html
http://waterheatertimer.org/9-ways-to-save-with-water-heater.html

Electric water heater can be repaired by homeowner.

Water heater has some hot water.
We know 3 things for sure:
- electricity is ok
- upper element is ok
- tank does not have overheating problem

Here are the suspects:
- Burned or loose wire
- Upper thermostat not working
- Lower thermostat not working
- Lower element not working

What to do:
1) Turn off power, open water heater covers and look for signs of burned or loose wire, especially on lower element. Burned wire on lower element says lower element is burned out.

2) Test lower element.
Lower elements burn out when sediment builds up inside tank.
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-test-water-heater-element.html
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-replace-water-heater-element.html

3) If wires are ok. And you do not want to test parts, then replace upper and lower thermostat for 25$. If problem persists, replace lower element.
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-replace-thermostat-on-electric-water-heater.html

4) If you want to test thermostats and elements before replacing anything:
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-troubleshoot-electric-problems-with-water-heater.html

5) When finished, be sure to put insulation and covers back on tank so thermostats don't receive cool air and misread tank temperature. This will prevent overheating of tank that causes red reset button to trip.

Lower element can be burned out and still read 230V across screws

1) We know thermostats are working because elements test 230V.
2) We know upper element is working because tank has some hot water.
If upper element is burned out, tank will have no hot water.
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-it-works.html

3) Here's how to test lower element:
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-test-water-heater-element.html

4)Here's how to replace element
Rheem element is 4500Watt bolt-in type
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-clean-sediment-out-of-electric-water-heater.html

5) Rheem manual says: Heaters furnished with standard 240 volt AC, single phase non-simultaneous wiring, and 4500 watt upper and lower heating elements.
http://waterheatertimer.org/pdf/Rheem-spec-sheet.pdf

Rheem 4500Watt element

Electric water heater is fully repairable by homeowner.
Following information will tell you how.

1) Background on your heater:
Reliance is AO Smith company.
http://www.aosmith.com/OperatingUnits/Detail.aspx?id=138&ekmensel=c580fa7b_12_0_138_3

Age of water heater is shown in serial number. First character is letter. Second 2 characters are numbers, which are year of manufacture. For example 05 is year 2005.

The 501 manual is not shown on Reliance website:
http://www.reliancewaterheaters.com/prod/elec.html

2) Two things known for sure:
- electricity is OK
- upper element is working because there is some hot water.

3) Three things can cause problem you describe:
- Loose wire located from upper thermostat to lower element and thermostat.
- Upper or lower thermostat is bad
- Lower element is burned out

4) How to troubleshoot and repair
- Turn off power, open covers and look for loose and burned wiring, especially on lower element.
- When finished, put back insulation and covers so thermostat not exposed to cooler temperatures.
- Burned wire on lower element is evidence that lower element is burned out.

- If you do not want to follow testing steps below, next step is to replace both upper and lower thermostat for about 25$ and see if problem persists.
- If problem persists, replace lower element.
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-replace-thermostat-on-electric-water-heater.html

5) Test lower element, before replacing anything
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-test-water-heater-element.html

6) Troubleshoot electric water heater
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-troubleshoot-electric-problems-with-water-heater.html

7) How to replace lower element and clean sediment out of tank:
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-clean-sediment-out-of-electric-water-heater.html

You say the hot water runs out after one shower.
You posted under electric heater.

In case you have a gas heater:
With gas heater, the flame quality could be bad because of restricted air flow or dirty burner, the control valve and thermostat could be bad, the air intake could be clogged, or the water heater is full of sediment and the flame is burning all the time and unable to heat much water.

With electric heater, the lower element is probably burned out and bottom filled with sediment, but thermostats could be bad, or you could have shorted wire.

Narrow down the suspects
If water heater makes some hot water then upper element is working.

Three remaining suspects are upper thermostat, lower thermostat, lower element, and possibly a loose wire

Check screw terminals for signs of burning and loose wires. Especially check lower element.

Let's test lower element.
Turn off power.
Remove both wires from lower element.
Test across both screws with a continuity tester.
Continuity tester is available at hardware store, or you can make one with battery, wire and a flashlight bulb.

The continuity tester has a battery and when light comes on, it says the circuit is complete.
Test1) Test across both screws on lower element with continuity tester.
If light comes on then element is good, but element has to pass one more test.
Test2) Test each screw on element to any bare metal part of water heater.
If light does NOT come on with second test, then element is good.
Light ON first test. Light OFF second test. Then element is probably good. But test is not fail-proof without using a meter.

I'm betting the lower element is burned out and you need to replace lower element. And you may need to vacuum out the sediment.
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-clean-sediment-out-of-electric-water-heater.html

Now if lower element is good, then the easiest thing is to do is replace both thermostats. Buy generic thermostats at hardware store for $25. After replacing both thermostats, the water heater will probably work. If there is still a problem, then the lower element was not as good as test showed, and it should be replaced also.
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-replace-thermostat-on-electric-water-heater.html

If you are still having a problem, answer back and we'll give more details.

If I understand correctly, you have an electric water heater.
The water heater is dual element and has 2 access panels on water heater.
You run out of hot water quickly.
And the reset is stuck down.

First of all, if the reset button is tripped, the water heater will produce NO hot water.
The reset, or ECO (electricity cut off), is designed to cut off all power to water heater.
So if you have some hot water, then ECO reset is fine.
The thermostat may be bad, but the ECO is fine

Next in line:
If your upper element is burned out, then the water heater will not make any hot water.
So if you have some hot water, that tells us the upper element is working.

The three remaining suspects are upper thermostat, lower thermostat, lower element

Let's test the lower element.
Turn off the power.
Remove both wires from lower element.
Test across both screws with a continuity tester.


The continuity tester has a battery and when light comes on, it says the circuit is complete.
Test1) Test across both screws on lower element with continuity tester.
If the light comes on then the element is good so far, but element has to pass one more test.
Test2) Test each screw on element to any bare metal part of water heater.
If the light does NOT come on with the second test, then element is good.
Element has to pass both tests. Light ON first test. Light OFF second test. Then element is probably good. This is not a fail-proof test but it is a good indicator.

I'm betting the lower element is burned out and you need to replace lower element. And you may need to vacuum out the sediment.
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-clean-sediment-out-of-electric-water-heater.html

Now if lower element is good, then the easiest thing is to do is replace both thermostats. After replacing both thermostats, the water heater will probably work. If there is still a problem, then the lower element was not as good as the test showed, and it should be replaced also.
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-replace-thermostat-on-electric-water-heater.html

If you are still having a problem, answer back and we'll give you more details.

You can try going to a lower wattage element. EX: Our oven can take a 2500 - 5500 watage element. The lower the wattage, it won't heat up as fast/hot.Plus it saves on your power bill over time. Go to the Ariston website, or find your element number and check the web for a lower wattage.