mr. ed wrote:
BB_TX wrote:
Heating elements are normally either good or they are bad. Can’t think of a way one could partially fail. They are basically a specialized resistor.
If you don’t have a valve problem allowing mixing of hot and cold, then I would question the thermostat/hi temp cutout.
I agree. If the water does get warm, the element is not at fault. It is either good or completely burnt out, which would result in zero warming. I've dealt with cartridge heaters in my business and occasionally one would develop a short between the heater element and the case, but that would typically trip a circuit breaker, depending on how good the grounding was to the case of the heater.
Unfortunately you're wrong with that demonstrative statement. As I mentioned before I have had one fail, but not completely. The problem was solved with the replacement of the element. Unless you've dealt exclusively with hundreds of cases, your experience may be incomplete.
