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Water heater keeps tripping breaker, repairs ineffective
5 pictures included, 2 WH (installed by pro plumber AUG 2018), 3 electrical (permit shows 1999), owned house since 2020. Water heater suddenly tripped the breaker yesterday during a shower. It turned off the Service breaker pictured too. Turning it back on is an instant trip. We have never had an issue with the WH or electrical here. WH thermostat was turned up from 120 to 140 about two weeks ago, but I don’t think that’s an issue as it was very easy from the manual instructions. After reading Reddit posts I drained the tank (clear and clean discharge) and disconnected (two wires each) and tested the elements. Both are at 12.7 ohms resistance, which is between the recommended 10-16 ohms. So I assumed it was the breaker. Pulled the old breaker (pictured, C-H BR230 / C230 / HACR) and went to Home Depot and got a replacement (pictured, Eaton BR230 / C230 / HACR) that was recommended by department head. After replacement, and refilling the WH (with releasing the air to faucets), when I turn on the new breaker it trips even faster than before (tripping Service too) and seems to make a fairly loud noise (thunk) from the water heater several feet away. I’m at a loss for next steps since replacing the elements and/or the breaker seems to be the recommended method. Please advise. submitted by /u/DogeRulesWow [link] [comments]
| | 5 pictures included, 2 WH (installed by pro plumber AUG 2018), 3 electrical (permit shows 1999), owned house since 2020. Water heater suddenly tripped the breaker yesterday during a shower. It turned off the Service breaker pictured too. Turning it back on is an instant trip. We have never had an issue with the WH or electrical here. WH thermostat was turned up from 120 to 140 about two weeks ago, but I don’t think that’s an issue as it was very easy from the manual instructions. After reading Reddit posts I drained the tank (clear and clean discharge) and disconnected (two wires each) and tested the elements. Both are at 12.7 ohms resistance, which is between the recommended 10-16 ohms. So I assumed it was the breaker. Pulled the old breaker (pictured, C-H BR230 / C230 / HACR) and went to Home Depot and got a replacement (pictured, Eaton BR230 / C230 / HACR) that was recommended by department head. After replacement, and refilling the WH (with releasing the air to faucets), when I turn on the new breaker it trips even faster than before (tripping Service too) and seems to make a fairly loud noise (thunk) from the water heater several feet away. I’m at a loss for next steps since replacing the elements and/or the breaker seems to be the recommended method. Please advise. [link] [comments] |
