D.I.Y. How to replace the heating elements in your hot water heater. Maintenance Minute Jim Viebrock
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- Опубликовано: 13 окт 2020
- Hot water heater not getting hot?
In this video, I will show you how to replace the heating elements in your hot water heater. I will also give you tips on cleaning out and flushing the inside of the tank. After this video you will have basically given your hot water heater a tune-up that will extend the life of one of your homes largest appliances. I give you step by step instructions from start to finish.
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Jim Viebrock is a 40 year veteran in the home repair and woodworking fields. Jim is also a real estate professional (Realtor) who along with his wife Renee own many residential and commercial properties.
These home repair videos and woodworking videos will show you in detail how to build a project from start to finish with handy shop tips along the way. Geared for the beginner woodworker or home repair do it yourselfer these videos will take you step by step and discuss why each step is necessary. Drawing on Jim Viebrock's 40+ year woodworking and home repair experience, you will hear and learn from his past mistakes and life experiences. The shop is not flashy, the homes are real projects and that translates into what you will face in real daily challenges when repairing a home or building a woodworking project. Although Jim has the commercial tools you would expect to find in a veteran woodworkers shop, he will demonstrate the techniques in a plain spoken manner using "home grade" tools that you can buy at the big box retailers. Nothing is more frustrating than to want to learn something new, only to be shown "how to" on equipment that you will never own. Jim's video's will take you from a beginner woodworker and show you tips and techniques on how the more complicated procedures are done, teaching you new skills, and advancing your craftsmanship level.
On the home repair side, Jim is a seasoned real estate professional. Jim became a licensed real estate broker in 2006, and bought his first home in 1987. Hundreds of properties have benefited from his home repair knowledge and many, many real estate clients have made purchases or sold property through him. As a Realtor, Jim has been certified by the Nation Association of Realtors as a Resort and Second Home Property Specialist, and a Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource professional. Working the the tri-lakes area around Branson, Missouri Jim assist's both buyers and sellers find or sell great lake proximity properties.
Administrator for the "Taneycomo Lake Life" Facebook page, Jim promotes the lakes area as a popular tourist destination. The "Lake life- a video blog" video series highlights the area attractions and gives potential visitors ideas on where they might want to visit while in the Branson Missouri area.
Home repair, Construction, fix it yourself, flip house, maintenance, home maintenance, DYI projects, woodworking, plumbing, plumbing repair, Pex, CPVC, PVC, pipe repair, gluing pipe, plastic pipe, maintenance minute, maintenance tips, home repair tips, flip or flop, fixer upper, love -it or list it, rehab videos, home renovation, renovation products, rehab addict, how -to -videos, DYI network, HGTV, Pentrest, Lowes, Home Depo, hardware, Real estate repair, real estate, rent house, rental property, this old house, old house repair, water line, water line repair, remodel tips, remodel videos, home addition,
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Thank you for talking straight and not using "plumber" words so that I could understand. You helped this 67-year-old disabled woman do it herself!
I'm glad you got it done! I'm proud of you.
Thank you for watching my videos.
Thank you for the video! Replaced my elements and flushed the tank. One extra tip to mention, Check the reset button on the thermostat! After I was done and everything was connected and turned on, I still didn't have hot water, even after an hour. I went out and rechecked everything, wires and circuit breaker! Then I saw the Red Reset button on the thermostat and it needed to be reset! Hot water in about an hour!
Glad you were able to get it done. You most likely tripped the reset button at some point when the element went bad, so all of that probably needed to be done.
Thank you for the video and helping others. Glad you pointed out the wattage, and I'd like to point out one additional tip your viewers might find helpful: While it's important to check the nameplate and match the wattage and voltage, there is one rare case where this could be a problem, sometimes in older homes/apartments, the wiring to the heater is 12 gauge, and the typical 4500 watt element can overheat these wires and trip the breaker or start a fire, possibly inside the walls of the building. In this situation a new 10 awg homerun from the breaker box should be run, 10/2 w/G NM is usually used. If it's not possible or it's cost prohibitive to replace the old wiring, you'll have to use a 3500 watt or smaller element; this change should be indicated using large letters on the tank to warn future occupants of the property should this element need replacing down the road.
Thank you for the important information.
The detail in your teaching is fantastic. It really builds the confidence in the audience to be able to do these projects successfully.
Thank you. I'm glad you found it helpful.
THANK YOU!!! I followed your video and now... I got HOT WATERRRR!!! Wooohoooo!! 🙌🏾🙏🏾
Woooohoooooo! I am super proud of you. Good job.
I subscribed simply because of the teaching ability. I asked if the volts were on the side and you answered. I asked about the seal, and you answered, I asked about cleaning the bottom and you answered. I even asked, what else is there to know and you answered. Almost sounds like you’re a 30 year vet who loves his job.
Thank you for the kind words.
Thank you. I'll try and expect the unexpected but it looks very simple to do. You are a hero among men wanting to avoid a high priced plumber.
Usually, the thing that trips people up is that the element is very tightly installed at the factory. In the video, I have quite a bit of leverage you may have find some leverage also. You can do it!
You don’t know what you don’t know! Doesn’t make you an idiot. Thanks for teaching me something today sir! Very nice positive vibe here too. Happy new year.
Thank you for watching my video. May 2022 be your best year yet.
Thank you my friend. You saved me 500-700 bucks.
I am glad the video helped!
Very clear! Sharing your years of experience is truly appreciated. Thank you!!
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Thank you very much for this handy video. First time home owner and the video certainly help save me $500 + !!!
Glad you found it helpful. Thank you for watching my video.
Make a video, and everyone's an expert! Good video. Most of us appreciate it.
Thank you.
I'm glad you found helpful information in it.
Thank you for the video! Just replaced both of our elements with you as a guide and we have a fully functioning water heater again!
Great job! I'm glad it helped. Thank you for watching my video.
Also check for ohms/ resistance at the element. Sometimes it reads fine and still is suspect inside the tank. It’s always better to just replace both while you’re at it. Great tutorial though.🤘
Thanks for the comments.
Thank you so very much for taking the time to make such an easy to follow, clear, precise instructions. You made this job so easy to do myself! Great instruction video, hats off to you!
Thank you! I'm glad you found it helpful.
Thank you for recording this repair. Repairing my water heater was as simple as you made it look! Thanks for taking the time to record it!
Glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching my videos.
Very simple and helpful video Thanks!
I'm glad you found it helpful.
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Thank you, your instructions made my job easy!
Glad it helped.
Sir, you just saves me over $800 thank you 🙏
I'm glad you found it helpful.
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@@millin360 Thanks for posting the video 👍
Very well explained.. thank you great job
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Thanks ! video was very informative straight to the point
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Very informative and simple to follow
Thank you.
Great video! Thanks for sharing!
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Thank you for sharing this video it was very simple and straight forward
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Very informative, thanks again!
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Fantastic & helpful video! Thanks for making this.
You're welcome. More videos coming soon.
Thank you for the video
I'm glad you found it helpful.
Thanks for the help
Happy to help. Thank you watching my videos.
Please subscribe to the channel, I post new videos all the time.
Terrific! Thank you.
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Thank you! This was very helpful!
Glad it was helpful!
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GREAT INFO 👍🏻💪🏻 thank you
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Very good detailed video! Much appreciated!
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for watching the video and please subscribe to the channel for more videos.
Outstanding
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Thanks
Thanks very useful
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Great video thanks
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Great video! Cheap fix doing the simple things first. Thanks for teaching how to do this!
I'm glad it helped!
Very informative video, thank you so much!
Glad it was helpful. More videos to come.
Awesome, thanks
Glad you found it helpful.
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Great demonstration Sir! You really helped me on my project! Thank you 🙏🏻
Glad it was helpful. Thank you for watching my videos!
Thank you so much. I was able to replace mine myself.
That's awesome!!! Glad the video helped.
Great video and explanations. I want to check my heating element, I will use your advices. Thank you.
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Thanks for the video Millen! I'll get back to you how it turns out for me
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Thanks information was helpful
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Thank you sir for the clear precise video
You're welcome, I'm glad you found it helpful. Thank you for watching my videos.
Great video and easy to understand
Thank you. I'm glad you found it helpful.
THANK YOU SIR
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Good information
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Thank you for mentioning that heating elements have different wattages. That wasn't mentioned on the other videos I've seen on this topic.
Thank you for your comment. It is important to replace the elements with the same wattage or a home owner runs the risk of fire.
Thank you for watching my videos.
@@millin360Question is still a risk of fire if using a lower wattage element instead of what came out? Mine had 4500 watts, can I replace with 3500 watts?
@jonathan3982 A lower wattage element would work without any additional risk. However, it will be slower to heat your water.
I always recommend putting back what the manufacturer had installed in the first place..
@@millin360 Thanks I'll try and return them and get 4500 watts. Another question does it matter on the elements which screw is in what position? I know that both screws are hot, in other words does it matter which screw let's say the white wire hooks to?
@@jonathan3982 The "Hot" wires are interchangeable, however, as a matter of professional work habits, I would suggest that everything goes back in the place it came from.
Thank you. Well explained 👏 👌
Thank you, I am glad you found it helpful.
I did it. Thank you this video saved me.
Glad it helped!
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Thanks for the video very informing
Glad you found it helpful.
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Great value
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Excellent presentation. Clear and understandable. I will be using this information to service my hot water tank soon. Thank You.
Glad it was helpful!
you are a life saver keep it up
Thank you, I'm glad the video helped.
Say you are very helpful and you are very careful,professional,thank you for your time,great video.Nice guy!
I appreciate that! Thank you for watching my videos!
Thank, Straight to the point.....
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I have a whole playlist of home repair videos. You can watch them here: ruclips.net/p/PLihadlKMQMNY3NRvCWBrw1AhwUrx_5fOt&si=XnAxkPUPagYtWUq5
Ty for this video. Just bought a fixer upper, that's all I could afford. So of course trying to learn/do what I can myself. Your instructions were concise & just enough detail I got the jist of "why" & "what" without having to watch it repeatedly nor have having to FF because of too much talking. Great video & editing 👍👍👍!!! Look forward to watching ur other DIYs. Thanks for your hard work! Subscribed!
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Thank you for this video and your detail! I replaced our lower element successfully and fixed our hot water problems thanks to your help. Finally able to take relaxing showers again after almost two months!
Glad the information was helpful.
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Thanks -especially regarding taking pics before removing wires. Just changed elements and had hot water 1/2 an hour later.
Nice work! I'm glad the video helped. Thank you for watching my videos!
yeah, it all depends on the water hardness. some folks seem to love saying "you never need to drain your tank". BS! Good video. removing the lower element and using a shop vac to clean the sediment is a great idea
Yes, it makes sense to me, that since the tank is drained and the lower element is out you might as well spend a few minutes and clean out whatever might be in the bottom of that tank.
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@@brianvoyles5373 Wow! That's a lot of lime! Kudos for taking the time to clean it out properly. You might look into a water softener.
@@brianvoyles5373 that Rod you bent is most likely the anode Rod. Bending it is not a problem but if it’s six years old it’s probably a good idea to change it. The anode Rod is made of aluminum, magnesium or zinc; or an alloy of the three. It’s there to draw corrosive metals like iron away from the inside of the tank to keep the tank from corroding. They eat the rod away instead of the tank. Once it’s gone it no longer protects your tank. If you can see more than six inches of the core wire on the anode rod then it’s time to replace it. It’s super easy, just like changing an element. A 27mm or 1 1/16” socket should fit it. Just screw it out and screw the new one in. ID plumbers tape to seal the threads. Keep that rod in good shape and your tank will last A LOT longer. They’re about $40 at Lowe’s. They even come in sectionals in case you don’t have much room above the water heater.
How doesn't this man have more subs! You're awesome!
Thank you for the kind words.
@@millin360 You're welcome!
We are gonna try this very detailed and excellent video I subbed
Let me know how it goes. Thank you for watching my videos and please subscribe to my channel for more home repair tips.
Good afternoon Sir,Great video,you were very simple in how you went about explaining.Good job,I will defenitely be watching
So nice of you to say. thank you for watching my video's.
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This is a great video, thank you for that im about about to check small Rheem electric heater. thank you again
Glad it was helpful, thank you for watching my videos!
very good informative video ! good job
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Thank you so much for such an excellent tutorial. A few comments on the anode rod might prove helpful as well
We are planning an entire video on replacing the anode rod in the near future. Thank you for watching my videos.
Excellent video and tips. There are definately some preautions you should take as mentioned in video
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good video
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Very helpful information. This is a good video for the person wanting to save some money. I felt confident trying this after watching the video.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for watching the video, and please don't forget to subscribe for more home repair tips.
Have a 4500 watt electric water heater, lost hot water. My thermostat needed to be reset. I hope that the only issue. Thanks for this video. It helps a lot.
Thanks for that excellent video very informative!! subscribed!
Glad you liked it. More videos to come.
New sub here.
Love what You're doing. Your instruction was so thoroughly & clearly explained i know i can fix mine now on my own. Thanks again!! You are fantastic!
Thank you for your kind words. Let me know how it goes.
Good video
Thank you!
Great instructions trust the guys he knows his business
Thank you! More videos to come.
You got me excited to tear apart my hot water heater. It has been not getting as hot as it used to and I was unsure what the problem could be. But now I feel confident I can fix it myself properly. Thank you for this video.
That's awesome! Be sure to work safe and turn the power off before you start. Let me know how it goes :)
Love your video
Thank you!
Nice video! Glad I found you!
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I'm looking at replacing my water heater this weekend.
Your video is excellent.
Everything was so clearly explained.
I unfortunately have to replace the unit (it is 20 years old); however, this video is still needed information.
Thank you!
Thank you for watching my video! Good luck with your project.
GREATLY APPRECIATED, A SUBSCRIBER FOR LIFE. THANKS A MILLION. GOD BLESS
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My elements were both impossible to loosen until I used a 6pt 38mm socket bought at a auto parts store and used a battery impact gun. A little pipe dope on threads in tank will help prevent a small leak like I had forcing me to drain tank again and remove the element.
Wow, sounds like you had quite the experience. I'm glad you got the heater fixed. :)
Thank you for watching my videos.
Really good stuff thanks you saved me alot of cash money
Glad the video helped.
@@millin360 also what to expect after replacing them is there something I have to do after following all the steps it your video they were going to charge us $800 to switch them I spent like 200max on tools the 1 1/2 and a big breaker bar the elements were only 12$ each and tape $1 sealent $10 so nice!
@@otgmedina3452 It's important to not turn the power on to the elements before the tank is completely full of water.. Open a valve somewhere in the house to let the air push out of the tank. Once the tank is full turn the power back on.
Thank you so much for making so I understand I have watched alot of others and haven't felt confident on doing it. Now I do I definitely will watch your videos from now on. How long do I leave the hot water running in the sink before I can turn it off
Once water starts coming out of the hot water side of the faucet, the heater will be full and you can turn it on. Keep in mind the tank will take about 45 minutes to fully heat up.
Thanks for the video, I've replaced elements before but needed a refresher. Just a side note, for safety purposes there should be a drip leg on the pressure release valve.
You are correct. Code requires an pipe for the discharged water in the event of a "pop off". This particular heater didn't have one installed. Thank you for watching my videos and please subscribe to the channel...more great videos to come.
The one thing you can use to break up the scale is " CITRIC ACID" powder. Get the food grade and flush your tank with it.
I've never tried that. Thanks for the input.
Thank you for this video your very good at explaining everything to the point anyone can learn but I have a question can heating elements cause my hot water to smell it’s not like a sewage smell but almost metallic maybe
There is a component of the heater called a diode rod. When it goes bad the water will smell like rotten eggs or sewage. It is relatively easy to change, you will want to drain your tank the same as in my video.
I currently don't have a video showing that, so thank you for the suggestion.
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Why do I need a "hot" water heater??😉 Excellent info and presentation, thank you!! This is my next project as one of my water heater's is not doing its job.
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Best video on RUclips for this, thank you!! Only thing I don’t understand fully is making sure there is no air. If possible, can you give me instructions like I’m 5 years old? Lol! I don’t want to mess this up
When you start to refill the tank, if you don't have a place for the air to go, for example a valve at a sink open, the tank will pressurize and you will think it's full. If your input valve and the output valve is open, and you have a valve open at one of the sinks, then you know the tank is full because it has to go past all of that to get to the sink. Also it will push all of the air out of the water lines as well. Unfortunately, if you turn the water heater on with air in the tank, the elements will burn out and you will have to do this whole process over again.... I hope that helps, thank you for watching the video.
@@millin360 That is exactly what I wanted to know! Thank you very much for the reply!
thank you, Dad!
Thank you for watching my videos!
Thanks for the video, I have had to replaced both my thermostats twice in a 3 year period, the water would get extremely hot, like the thermostat was not regulating the temp, then my breaker would trip, first time I did replace the elements, I did not replace them the second time. Not sure why the thermostats are failing, might just be one but I replaced both. Another thing I have done is replace the anode rod, hopefully the tank will last awhile.
Thank you for watching my videos! Keep improving.
Thank you so much! One of my elements started leaking on a 6yo water heater and a plumber quoted me $700 to just replace them!!
You saved some serious money! Way to go! I'm proud of you. Thank you for watching my video.
Wow, he was trying to stick it to you for sure.
Thank you! I fixed my hot water heater for $35 today!
That's awesome! Glad the information was helpful.
Thank you for watching my videos.
I'm about to do the same! Great video
@@millin360 You’re most welcomed.
@@thomasmilano9870 Make sure you have a good hose. I found out my hose was bad the first time I attempted to remove the top element. Once I replaced the hose it took about an hour to drain an 80 gallon tank.
Excellent! I've got some rust dripping out of the water heater - a 2018 Rheem electric dual element 40 gallon. Trying to get it covered under the tank warranty. Plumber says the tank is shot and Home Depot says it's not - without looking at it.
That's a bummer. The diode rod is supposed to keep it from rusting.
In addition to using the shop vac to get out as much of the lime scale as possible, would it be ok to turn the cold water on and let the running water flush more from the bottom (keeping the outlet hose on of course.)?
I was lazy and didn't do the annual lime scale flush this spring and now a Luke warm shower motivated me to find your video. Thanks for the careful, detailed instructions!
Yes, you can "flush" the tank if you have good flow out of the drain. Thank you for watching my videos!
My hot water heater is 20 years old and the hot water doesn't seem to last long lately. I'm thinking that it might be a bad element and was going to change them out. My question is, should I even bother with a 20 year old unit, or just replace the whole thing? Thank you.
I would say the water heater in the video is probably 15 plus years old, so, as long as the inside of the tank hasn't started to rust, meaning the anode rod is still in place. Then there is still life in that heater. At some point, though, you will want to replace the hole unit.
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Good video and good suggestion on taking a picture! Where do you go for the element? Thanks for the idea! very good contribution to help homeowners! About the gasket? Can you use the old one like before if it still looks good?
Just about any hardware store or big box retailer will have the elements. I would suggest not trying to re-use the old gasket, the new element will come with a new gasket. Thank you for watching my videos. Please subscribe for more content.
You show good info in this video,thanks
Thank you for watching my videos!
Thank you for the video.
My insulation got waterlogged below the lower element. I didn't get enough water out before I took the lower element out/loose. Any tip on how to get it dried? There appeared to be standing water in the bottom area. I sopped a lot out with a towel, but still wet in there.
It will dry, but you may put a fan on it for a while. Thank you for watching my videos!
Great video. I installed a new water heater today but no hot water. I think I may have turned the power on too soon and burned out the element.
Could be. Congratulations on the install though.
Epic
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Thanks for this. The manual for my tank shows a bend back style element for the lower and a straight type for the upper. Do I need to keep that combination? Does it matter at all?
You can use either, I recommend the bent back type. Thank you for watching my video.
Thank you. That's what I'd already purchased. One note: My circuit breaker box had been mislabeled when the house was built. 10 years ago I'd worked on my old water heater. If I hadn't been showing my then-wife what a current detector was, I'd have been shot across our garage. (Granted, that would have saved me alimony, but still...)@@millin360