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botts12's avatar
botts12
Explorer
Aug 07, 2014

Water heater problem

After noticing our hot water was no longer really hot, we thought the electric element might be bad. Replaced it today. While the water did heat up, it is not real hot even now. Switched over to gas, and the water heater lit. Still the water does not seem very hot. However, when taking a shower, when almost finished the water seemed to get hotter. This is a Suburban hot water heater and does have two thermostats. I can hardly believe both thermostats have gone bad at the same time. Also I cannot explain why the water seems to get hotter after running it for some time. Any ideas on this would be appreciated. We did clean the hot water heater and replaced the anode rod too.

7 Replies

  • kellertx5er's avatar
    kellertx5er
    Explorer
    Aug 11, 2014
    Bobbo wrote:
    What I should have done was remove the GFCI outlet and replace it with a non-GFCI single 15 amp outlet. That way, there would be no risk of plugging anything else in there.


    This is perfectly acceptable with the NEC. Also, a duplex receptacle without GFCI is acceptable if the appliance blocks it so that no other device may be plugged in.
  • Bobbo's avatar
    Bobbo
    Explorer III
    Aug 11, 2014
    What I should have done was remove the GFCI outlet and replace it with a non-GFCI single 15 amp outlet. That way, there would be no risk of plugging anything else in there.
  • WDP's avatar
    WDP
    Explorer
    Aug 10, 2014
    Bobbo wrote:
    You are quite welcome.

    As far as replacing a perfectly good electric element, I once replaced a full size upright deep freeze because the GFCI outlet it was plugged into went bad. Now THAT was an expensive lesson. The new deep freeze had the exact same failures as the old one, so I finally checked the outlet.

    Never plug a freezer into a GFI protected outlet.Too much risk as you described. Code be damned.

    WDP
  • Bobbo's avatar
    Bobbo
    Explorer III
    Aug 07, 2014
    You are quite welcome.

    As far as replacing a perfectly good electric element, I once replaced a full size upright deep freeze because the GFCI outlet it was plugged into went bad. Now THAT was an expensive lesson. The new deep freeze had the exact same failures as the old one, so I finally checked the outlet.
  • botts12's avatar
    botts12
    Explorer
    Aug 07, 2014
    Thank you Bobbo. That was exactly the problem. Probably never even needed a new electric element!!
  • Bobbo's avatar
    Bobbo
    Explorer III
    Aug 07, 2014
    Have you used the outside shower? You may have left the outside shower on but turned off the handheld unit. That allows cold and hot water to mix and flow back into the system. That can cause the symptoms you are describing.
  • Old-Biscuit's avatar
    Old-Biscuit
    Explorer III
    Aug 07, 2014
    Suburban uses 2 sets of t-stats
    Left side is 120V AC set for electric element High temp (top set for 180*F) and normal (bottom set for 130*F)
    Right side is 12V DC set for propane High temp/normal same as electric set.

    Bad/dirty connections on terminals on t-stat(s)


    As for the water getting hotter......how long was propane heating prior to taking shower and was it still heating when you finished shower?

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