Replacing Electric Water Heater Heating Element

A broken heating element produces no heat causing the water heater to produce very little hot water or to run out of hot water quickly.

Replacing electric water heater heating element. Electric water heaters have 2 heating elements. Water heater elements can and do wear out and replacing a bad one is a job you can do yourself. Follow the steps in this repair guide. A typical electric water heater uses two heating elements to heat and maintain hot water.

In an electric water heater the bottom heating element is the workhorse since it is at the bottom of the tank where cold water enters from a dip tube that extends down through the tank. Replacing a hot water heater element is probably faster and easier than you thought and is only a fraction of what a new water heater costs the steps required are nearly identical for the flange and screw in models but screw in types are more common and will require the use of a special tool called a water heater element wrench. The lower element is typically the one that needs to be replaced. Replace a broken heating element with the manufacturer approved replacement part.