DIY : replace heating element hot H2O heater : How difficult ?

[Cajun Blake]

my inlaws think I'm "Blake Villa" ...... Bob Villa's cajun cousin

something breaks .... Call Blake : he can fix it

washing machine, dryer, car wont start, no electricity , shingles falling off roof, disposal leaking, etc .....


newest problem, no hot water

after process of elimination, I'm pretty sure it's the heating element.

I plan on over-dosing on YouTube DIY videos to make sure I'm doing it SAFELY, and correct.

RUUD (Rudglas Pacemaker : model PGS52-1) 52 gallon tank, electric, located in attic, yet easy to get to

any other words of advice from the plumbers or service techs ?

1) turn off the breaker / power
2) unplug unit from receptical
3) make sure I have a bucket, long hose, and towel
4) special wrench to remove element is A+
5) fill tank back up with water before plugging in, or turning on power
6) re-attach wires same way they were before
7) use a voltage meter to double check everything
8) ?
9) ?


MIL is gonna buy me 2 sacks of crawfish this w/e if I solve the problem

[Johnny Dangerr]

They are typically stuck. Use aluminum foil to make the wrench super tight on the nut. Lube the threads before installing the new one. Call me if you want to visit about the job.

[Cajun Blake]

They are typically stuck. Use aluminum foil to make the wrench super tight on the nut. Lube the threads before installing the new one. Call me if you want to visit about the job.

Thx Mr. Johnny ...... should I use teflon tape for the threads ? or white Lithium grease ? when re-installing new element

[Mayhem]

Have fun in the attic.

[Jaybo31]

Did you ohm it to see which one is bad?

[double lung]

I've done it a few times and I'm still alive, so it's not to hard.

[bwssr]

Also check the annode(sp) rod....it goes in from the top...they seem to last about as long. But check the ohms on the heating element....maybe look up what a good one reads....and compare.

[Johnny Dangerr]

I always white grease it, and they still get stuck after a couple of years. Get the nut tool from the box store apply the aluminium foil and beat the socket onto the nut and good luck. A cheater bar will help...

[Txjourneyman]

usually there are 2 elements an upper and a lower. Go ahead and do both even if only one is out. There is a specialty socket that fits the elements that makes getting them out pretty easy, although I have used the LARGE channel locks method as well. This is also a good time to flush any sediment out of the tank. I use di-electric grease when installing new elements.

[Jaybo31]

Turn off breaker.
Remove panels covering elements.
Elements have 2 screw on the back.
Set multi meter to 200 ohms
Touch one lead to one screw, one to the other.
A good element will be between 10 and 16. Anything other than this is bad.

[RickH78]

I got me a cheater bar and a big socket. I have change a lot of them over the years now. Easy as cake. The reason I do it is cause we got a plumbing company to come in the first time. they changed it out and it didn't last a week. They didn't clean the lime deposits out and left the broken pieces of the old element in the water heater.

[Jaybo31]

While we're on this subject (not to hijack), anyone have any tricks to getting all the junk out of the bottom of the tank?

[Dr. Evil]

Hot water heater? If the water is already hot, why heat it?? Just kidding....

[txarcher]

I got me a cheater bar and a big socket. I have change a lot of them over the years now. Easy as cake. The reason I do it is cause we got a plumbing company to come in the first time. they changed it out and it didn't last a week. They didn't clean the lime deposits out and left the broken pieces of the old element in the water heater.

This. I would add that when you take the bottom one out, if there is a lot of lime that is settled in the bottom of the tank, just go ahead and replace the whole thing. (By a lot, I mean piled up above the element.)

[Tony Pic]

All above advice is good advice. Many water heaters have dual elements. Good to change both or keep one as a spare if you only change one. With tank being drained, it will be light. Be careful if old element is stuck when using cheater bar, that you dont stress any pipes that are soldered or connections to the tank. Don't overkill it when you tighten it. Make sure tank is full before energizing circuit so element won't burn out again. Good Luck.