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Test heating elements — Inspect and Test the Heating Elements

Beginner2 hours

Part of project

Electric Water Heater Troubleshooting: No Hot Water? · Step 2 of 3

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In this video

Test the resistance of your heating element. Loosen the screws and pull the wires out. Set your multimeter to Ohms. Put one lead on each screw to check resistance. Resistance is typically between 12 and 20 Ohms. Readings below 10 and over 30 generally mean a faulty element.

Goal: Check resistance

Used in this video

  • screwdriver (Size/Fit: Standard) · optional — loosening and tightening screws
  • multimeter (brand: UEi, Size/Fit: Standard) · optional — checking resistance
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FAQs

What are the absolute first steps for safety before I even touch my water heater?

Always turn off the power to the water heater at your home's main electrical breaker panel first. Additionally, shut off the cold water supply valve to the water heater to prevent scalding if you need to drain it. Failing to do so risks severe electrical shock or burns.

Do I need a specific type of multimeter for this project, or will any one work?

You need a digital multimeter capable of measuring resistance (ohms) to test heating element continuity and AC voltage (at least 240V) to check the thermostat. While the Klein models are recommended for their reliability, any multimeter with these functions will suffice for troubleshooting. Ensure you know how to operate it safely.

What if my heating elements test fine, but I still have no hot water after troubleshooting?

If both elements show good continuity (10-30 ohms), your next step is to test the thermostat itself. Use your multimeter to verify it's receiving 240V and correctly supplying power to the elements when hot water is called for. Also, ensure the high-limit reset button hasn't tripped.

The project is rated 'beginner' and '2 hours.' Is it really that easy and quick for someone new to DIY electrical?

While rated beginner, this project involves working with high voltage, so careful adherence to safety protocols is paramount. The 2-hour estimate is for troubleshooting; actual repair time can vary. Take your time, follow the video guides closely, and don't rush any steps.

Transcript
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off now that I verified that the power is off I can proceed to check the resistance on my heating element to do so simply loosen the screws holding the wires in and pull those wires out some people say that you can check it without taking the wires off but that can give you a false reading the right way to check resistance is to take these wires off and then check the element or whatever load that you're checking when you're testing the heating element you do not need to drain the water heater if the element is bad it doesn't matter if the water heater is drained or not you should be able to tell with a meter you're going to have some really funky reading or it's going to read o or some super high reading and it'll be pretty obvious when you're checking if the element is bad so I set my meter to ohms resistance this little horseshoe symbol and I'm going to put my leads one lead on each screw and once again it doesn't matter which side the red and black goes on and what we're looking for here is a reading that is anywhere between 12 and 20 that is the average read and different water heaters will have different elements typically larger water heaters are going to have larger Elements which are also going to have a larger read so your elements could read 12 maybe 16 some of them will read 20 or even 28 the most common is 12 which is what we're seeing here 12 16 and 18 are the common ones the ones that go over 20 those are pretty rare but basically if you're getting a read anywhere from 10 to 30 in that range most likely your heating element is good if it's something that is way lower let's say it's a two or a 3 or it's 700 then you know that something's wrong and most likely your heating element needs to get replaced after you check the resistance make sure you put the wires back in the same way you found them and tighten them down nice and snug you don't want to have a loose connection make sure you do tighten it down pretty good loose connections equal heat and that could start to melt the wires here if you just put them on there Loosely so make sure you have them secured nice and tight let's go ahead and check the lower element as well and see what read we get here and my water heater is actually working fine so I should be getting getting a good read in both of them and since they're the same wattage the lower and upper element I should also get somewhere around 12 Ohms on this one as well and there it is we got 12.6 ohms and when you're checking…

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