If you want to test a thermostat on an electric water heater you will also need to check the heating element.
Electric hot water heater thermostat test.
If the thermostats are okay you need to test the water heater elements.
Usually when the upper thermostat goes bad you will have no hot water at all while a bad lower thermostat makes itself known when there is only a small amount of hot water before the tap water goes cold.
This is important especially as open and grounded heating elements result in inaccurate tests.
When a lower heating element or thermostat fails the top thermostat and element will continue to heat water in the upper half of the tank but you will notice the hot water quickly runs out or is only lukewarm.
Upper thermostat makes it possible for you to have cold water supply when you turn on the tap of hot water.
Electric water heater thermostats are a fairly simple devices that can fail from time to time.
Structure of water heater.
If the hot water heater is not working one of the thermostats may be bad.
One should be sitting on the top of unit 1.
An electric water heater uses one or two heating elements to heat the water inside the tank.
Electric water heaters have one or two elements and each is controlled by a thermostat.
And when it comes to thermostats the device uses two of them generally.
Remaining always on is the most common issue with electric water heaters.
Although most of the cases this scenario occurs for the power supply problems.
While the other is found right on the bottom.
Testing is the only option if you want to determine whether or not one or both of them has failed.
When an upper heating element or thermostat fails the entire water heater stops producing hot water.
You can test them with the power off using an ohmmeter to measure resistance or with the power on using a voltmeter to measure voltage.
How to test a water heater element with a multimeter.
When a water heater no longer produces hot water.
How to test water heater thermostat this case might happen for the defected thermostat.
To look for faults you will need to use a screwdriver.
The structure of an electric water heater is pretty simple.
An electric hot water heater has two thermostats controlling two separate heating elements one in the upper half of the tank one in the lower half.
You will also need to check the water heater thermostat with digital multimeter tools.