Water heater WTF is wrong with you?

[RootSkier]

Home improvement, plumbing, and electrical nerds unite:

50 gallon electric Bradford White, unsure of age (house built in 1986...might or might not be original. Kind of doubt it.)

Ten months ago the bottom element failed. Replaced with the proper element.

Sunday night, upper element failed. Replaced with the proper element.

I turned the water back on. Water is hot as balls for ~5 minutes then goes completely cold. I am at a loss as to what's happening. Just checked the elements with a multimeter and both are good. The power is on. The pressure relief valve is functioning properly. What the hell is going on?

[gatorboy]

[Hugh Conway]

Extra large buttplug caught in the intake?

[userA]

after further review of roots header i get it.
b

[Hott Butt Mud]

Literally overused the douche bag over the weekend?

[RootSkier]

Extra large buttplug caught in the intake?

No, all the extra large buttplugs are attached to the shower wall via stainless cable.

[Baaahb]

check that the temp settings on the top and bottom heater are the same; if not it can cause issues.

[skiballs]

It's definitely a hugh conway model. It has a bad dip (shit) tube.

[Hugh Conway]

It's definitely a hugh conway model. It has a bad dip (shit) tube.

You are confusing that with the skiballs model. The hugh conway model spews hot air everywhere.

[fatnslow]

check the dip(insert whatever here) tube X2 Youtube is your friend on this one.

[systemoverblow'd]

Hot water for short period of time is probably a faulty bottom element again. Or a thermostat problem.

If you get a little hot water, that is from the top and the full water heat is from the bottom. Thermostats control when these cycle on. Upper element is on when full and lower elements is cycled on after time.

[assman]

When I renovated my loft I went with tank-less. Highly recommended. A bit pricey going in but works flawlessly.

[bigdude2468]

When I renovated my loft I went with tank-less. Highly recommended. A bit pricey going in but works flawlessly.

Could be this:

On the inlet side of the tank there is a pipe that runs to the bottom of the tank. When you take water out of the tank the water is replaced at the bottom, which results in the hot water in the tank being mixed with the incoming cold water. The hot water that flows out of the tank just goes out through the top, there is no did tube attached to the outlet. The dip tube can break off or corrode to the point that the cold water does not mix properly. So you open the valve, get hot water but then the cold water entering is near the top so the cold water short circuits right back out of the tank outlet. In a short period the water turns barely warm or cold, depending on where the dip tube is broken or gone. Dip tubes can be replaced but typically when the tube is shot the tank is nearing the end of its life anyway.

[char]

Dip tube, but why not just replace the whole thing if it is of an undetermined age? Water heaters are not that expensive and if it is starting to shit the bed...

[2nd mate]

When I renovated my loft I went with tank-less. Highly recommended. A bit pricey going in but works flawlessly.

+1 for tankless. I switched over a few years ago and its pretty freaking awesome. Not really sure how much money I am saving but the fucker never runs out.

[bigdude2468]

+1 for tankless. I switched over a few years ago and its pretty freaking awesome. Not really sure how much money I am saving but the fucker never runs out.

Mixed reviews on tankless. Yes, unlimited hot water, pay back is long AND the coils have a tendency to leak after a few years. The high temp required to heat the water as it flows through the coil so quickly tends to break down the heat exchanger.

Agreed, electric water heaters are not real expensive. Two elements in a short time says getting close to end of its life.

[skiballs]

The hugh conway model spews hot air everywhere.

Self-aggrandizing again. Face it man, you're a luke warm wet blanket.

[RootSkier]

Not switching to tankless. Not buying a new water heater unless everything else doesn't work--what a fucking retarded american idea.

[SB]

your water heater clearly hates you

[Hugh Conway]

Self-aggrandizing again. Face it man, you're a luke warm wet blanket.

you and your freudian bukkake fantasy's.

two elements down plus more to fix... yeah, replacing it is fucking retarded.

[char]

Eh, he is probably only out $25 in elements at this point, so if he thinks the tank is still good why not just replace stuff?

Water heater parts are generally pretty cheap.

[Hugh Conway]

Dip tube, but why not just replace the whole thing if it is of an undetermined age? Water heaters are not that expensive and if it is starting to shit the bed...

Eh, he is probably only out $25 in elements at this point, so if he thinks the tank is still good why not just replace stuff?

Water heater parts are generally pretty cheap.

the "whatever hugh said is stupid" effect is a miraculous thing.

[char]

Nope, just admitting that he has a valid point wrt not throwing away a perfectly good water heater if it just needs parts. I'd replace it in my house if I had no idea how old it was and things like diptubes and elements were going out, but I've also had a water heater shit the bed in a basement before.

But go on feeling persecuted.

[Hugh Conway]

It's pretty fucking funny much of the time actually.

[RootSkier]

advres got it. It was the top thermostat. The diptube is intact.