[Yoda]

Does anyone here know about water heaters? I haven't been using my tap water for the past two weeks because of the chemical spill and this evening I realized for some reason I have no water at all.

I called the water company and they are going to send someone to see if perhaps my meter or my pipeline has frozen.

I was going to shut the breaker off that goes to the water heater but the water heater is on the same breaker as my heat pump. That's a dumbdecision to wire it like that.

Do water heaters have sensors to keep them from overheating? I had one in the past that blew hot water out of its safety valve but I am concerned there isn't water in it.

I hate to turn the heat pump off as it is only 3 degrees F outside. I have a smoke detector in the garage where the water heater is located. Not sure if this is a big problem or a small problem.

[H3rmit]

What model waterheater do you have? We could google it and find out what features it has. What info is on the label?

And is it gas or electric heat?

[Yoda]

Originally Posted by H3rmit

What model waterheater do you have? We could google it and find out what features it has. What info is on the label?

And is it gas or electric heat?

great idea!

It is electric 40 gallon Whirlpool

model # MHE 2F40RS035V
product # 0826355

[Yoda]

I found this but I don't know what it means


What is a Dry-Fired element?

Heating elements are designed to operate in water. An element is Dry-Fired when power is applied to the element with inadequate or no water in the water heater. Dry-Firing an element raises the temperature on copper elements to a destructive point.

The expected life of a dry-fired copper element will be reduced to a point that it may fail completely in 30 to 45 seconds, or it may last several months and fail at that point. Operating in water, the tubing temperature of the element will not exceed the temperature of the water by more than 2 degrees F.; however in a dry tank the tubing temperatures may reach 1900 to 2000 degrees F.

Dry-fired elements can be recognized in three ways:

The zinc plating will have melted or completely burned off, leaving exposed copper.
The tubing of the element will be completely annealed (soft) to a point that it can be easily bent in the straight sections of the tube.
The terminal block may show signs of melting at the base next to the screw plug.

[H3rmit]

Originally Posted by Yoda

I found this but I don't know what it means

Sounds like the heating element should not be turned on when there's no water in the tank or it'll get burned out sooner than it might have otherwise. And then it describes what the damage looks like. How you get inside the tank to see that, I don't know.

Here's the user guide and manual for your unit, from the whirlpool website. I went to whirlpool and searched their products:

http://www.whirlpoolwaterheaters.com...=MHE2F40RS035V

Should answer more questions for you.

[Yoda]

I looked it over but cannot figure how to turn it off except by breaker. Replacing the tank isn't terribly expensive but burning my house down..... Not good, not good.

[H3rmit]

Yeah, it sounds like having the power on when there's no water inside will at the least damage it and possibly cause a fire. Do you have no one you can call who is handy? At this point it might be worth hiring a handyman.

Did you look at troubleshooting in the guide? I searched through for power and fuse, but didn't see any way to turn it off except your breaker/fuse system external to the heater.

Edit: I noticed on page 19, top of the page, the ECO button. Read about that. That might be the problem. Probably worth spending more time with the manual if you don't call someone handy.

[RichardBrooks]

If you're not using your water, the tank should stay full. If you want to be sure, give it a good hard thump with the side of your fist. You should be able to hear the water in it; it will sound like a muffled drum. It will also be heavy; 40 gallons of water weighs around 330 pounds

If the tank sounds hollow, or is light and easy to move, then you know it's not full. The thing to do in the is scenario since you don't have a dedicated breaker that you can shut off, is disconnect the line at the top of the tank.

!!!!! If you have to do this, you WILL need to turn off the breaker while until you are done working. !!!!!

On the top of the tank is a metal plate with flexible metal conduit running into it. Once you have the breaker shut off, remove the screw holding this plate down and you will see the wiring. Looking at the wiring coming in from the conduit, there should be two coated wires (most likely one black and one white) and a bare wire. The bare is your ground; leave it be. the other two wires are secured to the heater wires with wiring nuts. Unscrew the nuts to disconnect the wires, and screw them back on to the wires coming in from the conduit.

Since You'll be reconnecting the heater as soon as you can, you don't need to worry about tucking the wires back and replacing the plate, just make sure no bare wire is exposed or in danger of getting wet. You can now turn your breaker back on.

[Yoda]

I tried the tympanic test and it did sound like the tank was full of water. I have done that test on patient's abdomens as a nurse but did not even occur to me to try that on the tank.

Since Dodrill heating was the company who installed my HVAC system ~two years ago they put water heater and HVAC together I think they should rewire it if deemed necessary without further cost to me.

[RichardBrooks]

Yeah, water heaters and HVAC units should each have a dedicated circuit. Same with ranges and washing machines. I know there are contractors who take the easy way out and 'tie in' to another line, but you just shouldn't do that with 240v.

[danvb]

Your water heater has a thermostat that controls the water temperature. With no water pressure coming in to the tank you won't be able to get any hot water out of the tank, which ensures that there will always be water in it. The thermostat will maintain a constant hot water temperature whether or not you're able to use any hot water. You shouldn't need to shut off the power to the heater.

If you have room in your electrical panel for the addition of another 240 volt breaker, you really do need to have a dedicated breaker for each your heat pump and your hot water heater. If you have the room, it's a very simple proceedure to add the breaker. Any electrician can do it.

[(JD)]

My water heater has two thermostats since it has two elements (upper and lower)... and yes it should stay full unless you drained it... and if it has water in it, I would flush it all out as it may have drawn contaminated water into it....

Sorry for your hassle... nothing is easy and so many things that look simple or not so involved affect so much else of our lives it's ridiculous!