First off.........do you have water in the water heater?
IF NO...turn the electric heating element OFF.......but probably too late!
The elements will burn out quickly if no water in tank.
They use 110V AC power and are 1500 Watts (roughly 13 amps)
The line and valve connected between hot & cold is called a 'bypass'
You close the cold inlet, close the hot outlet and then open the bypass when you want to take water heater out of the flow path.....such as when 'winterizing' your rv plumbing system
To post a pic you need to use a public photo site.