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

[Tuffbroadhead]

Get prepared to clean and vaccum out the bottom of the tank...we lost hot water a few weeks ago and I removed the lower element and found 70lbs of calcium and sediment in the bottom of the tank..took a few hours to shop vac it all out ..

[kfd82]

Distract 'em with Gumbo, and call a plumber!

[StrayDog]

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

Step 3A - if you have trouble draining water open the PT valve to allow air to come into the tank. Make sure the valve reseats prior to filling or you will have spewing water.
Step 4A - before refilling open several hot water faucets to allow the air in the lines to purge. (yes there will be air in the pipes/tank even if you only partially drain the tank)

[Cajun Blake]

RUUD heater built in 1984 , definitely got her money's worth

plan on replacing both elements while I'm at it , I only remember seeing a top element but wasn't paying real good attn

will check the ohms to verify which one is bad. If 1 or both have good readings, then I'll be scatching my head again


thx for all the help as I'm either gonna do it tonoight or over the weekend so I can spend the necessary hours to do it right

i'll keep everyone posted

[bowhuntertex]

And make sure you video. I am sure there will be setting worthy of Americas Funniest Home Videos.

[Cajun Blake]

Step 3A - if you have trouble draining water open the PT valve to allow air to come into the tank. Make sure the valve reseats prior to filling or you will have spewing water.
Step 4A - before refilling open several hot water faucets to allow the air in the lines to purge. (yes there will be air in the pipes/tank even if you only partially drain the tank)

thank you sir

saw that exact advice on youtube as air was in the hot water lines

[Cajun Blake]

Removed the protective covers and top one has this . No electricity to what looks to be a plug.

Bottom area definitely had the element , will test with meter to get reading. Appears this 1984 heater only has 1 element .

[medic151]

Thermostat could be out as well. This was my problem so I bought the whole shooting match. 2 elements and the upper and lower thermostats. Took 15 minutes to fix. The anode rod is a good thing to replace. My last water heater hadn't had it replaced and the sediment in the bottom of the tank was horrible. Supposedly the anode rod attracts the minerals and when it gets overloaded with them, they fall into the bottom of the tank. The rods are cheap also.

[lameduck]

After 29 years I would get a new one

[iamntxhunter]

After 29 years I would get a new one

No question. You said it is in the attic correct? Unless you want to do some drywall, tape n bed along with some texturing and painting you might try and convince them that they are living on borrowed time.

[Smart]

No question. You said it is in the attic correct? Unless you want to do some drywall, tape n bed along with some texturing and painting you might try and convince them that they are living on borrowed time.

Agreed.....after 13 on mine I am getting nervous myself....

[Tubby]

Blake,

From the pics, it appears that the top heating element has went out before and they just removed it and plugged the hole. Now there's only one element heating the tank.

As said above, I agree to go ahead and bite the bullet and get a new one. A 29 year old water heater is just asking for problems... especially in the attic.

[Jerry H]

#8 do not step through the sheetrock

[Snakelover]

My original one from 1998 was replaced in 2009. I would replace a 29 year old heater and, since it's in the attic, add a WAGS valve. If you just replace the element, draining and refilling may even increase the chances it will start leaking in the near future. Corrosion, rust and sediment may be the only things keeping it sealed at this point.

[BowSlayer]

That heater never came with an upper element. The cheaper heaters don't, it's just plugged off from the factory. I have changed literally hundreds of them and I never drain the tank. Just turn the electricity off to it, turn the water valve off, bleed the pressure off at a hot water faucet in the house, and change it. Just have your new element ready and be quick and you won't lose 1/2 cup of water out of it. Also, there is no reason for teflon tape, they have a rubber seal on them. Just make sure you put the rubber seal on the new one and make sure the rubber seal comes out with the old one.