How To Check If Thermostat Is Working On Hot Water Heater

If the opposite thing happens that means your thermostat has defected.

How to check if thermostat is working on hot water heater. If you want to test a thermostat on an electric water heater you will also need to check the heating element. When checking the thermostat in a single element water heater or the upper thermostat in a dual element water heater the process is the same. The lower thermostat has only two terminals. One is the heating element second is the power switch to avoid overheating problem and the last one is the thermostat.

The reading on the multimeter should be zero. You will also need to check the water heater thermostat with digital multimeter tools. Look on top of the water heater for a small electric access panel held to the water heater by one or two screws. The reading should be between 110 and 120 volts.

In general there are three main components in an electric water heater. This is important especially as open and grounded heating elements result in inaccurate tests. Turn off the breaker for the electric water heater inside the breaker panel. See if electrical current is going to the water heater by touching the tip of the voltage detector to the wires leading into the thermostat.

You want to use the water heater tester to check terminals 1 and 2 on the upper element this will be the lower set of 1 and 2 terminals. You should get a glow or light if the contacts are engaging. Before you start working on the hot water heater confirm that the electric power in the room the heater is in is off. Working of a thermostat.

Touch one meter lead to the top screw and the other lead to the metal body of the water heater. The meter should read somewhere between 220 and 240 volts. Turn the temperature to its highest setting on the upper element. Connect the multimeter pin ends on point 1 3 as shown in the picture below.

To look for faults you will need to use a screwdriver. Touch one probe of the multimeter to each terminal on the lower thermostat. Turn the upper thermostat to it s highest temperature and if checking a dual element heater the lower thermostat to it s lowest setting. If the water temperature is cold then the meter won t show reading.

Use the screwdriver to set the lower thermostat to the highest setting. To test the lower thermostat turn the top one to its lowest setting and the lower one to its highest setting.