Water heater problem

[old]

My Maytag 50 gal. water heater has started to pop the built in breaker. Water of course gets cold. Push it back on and it is good for hours then pops back off. I'm thinking the lower element is going bad but want your guys opinion on it. So what say you??
Thanks

 

[buickanddeere]

Is the water nearly boiling hot?
One of the heating elements may have shorted to round. Being that water heaters use single pole thermostats. The heater is on 24/7 at reduced wattage.
The water is being heated to the over temp thermal protection trip set point. Rather than turning your water heater into a boiler, the thermal cuts both 120V lines.

 

[chrisinsoky]

pull your heating element and check them out. next ? how hard is your water? the reason i ask is lime scale may have built up on your elements so they have to work so hard to heat everything up to temp they throw the built in breaker.

 

[da-bees]

Maybe transmission fluid caused it.

 

[DH in Carolina]

Contacts on thermostat are burned/ sticking closed causing high temp limit to trip out. Probably the lower thermostat. DH

 

[John T]

It could well be one of the heating elements and that lower one is closer to the rust and calcium etc that can accumulate so its my first suspect.

John T

 

[tomNE]

this problem plagued us until we got a different style of element with a curve in the stem PLUS we now drain the tank once a year (this includes flushing). the flush consists of turning the water on in short bursts after the tank is MT. It's due to be done shortly, i've just been waiting for a nice day, seems it rains often here in NE, this may.

 

[old]

The water here in the Ozarks is so hard that if you boil it for long you end up with a rock in the pan you used to boil it in. LOL

 

[kyplowboy]

Then my money would be on the bottom element (or both) be'n caked up. When I was on well water here at the house I had to drain and clean the bottom of mine out about every year. There was so much calcium and sulfur in the water that when it got hot it would form stuff that looked like egg shells in the bottom of the water heater.

And a word of advise, if you go buy an element, go on and get one the $3 wench jobs to fit it. If you end up change'n out much at all they sure do beat a pair of channel locks for that job.

Good luck.

Dave

 

[old]

I have the correct size socket to fit so that is no problem I have sockets all the way up to 3 inches and if memory serves right it is a 2.5 inch socket that is needed to change the elements

 

[kyplowboy]

Good deal, but no joke, if it's been in there a few years I'd bet it's your bottom element.

Good luck.

Dave