Bradford White Electric Water Heater Troubleshooting

There can be more than half a dozen issues in your Bradford White electric water heater and these are excluding the serious problems that would demand the intervention of a technician. Each of these issues can have one or several causes. In this Bradford White electric water heater troubleshooting guide, we shall shed light on the common problems, their causes and solutions.

No Hot Water

The cause could be a lack of power, wrong wiring or connections, leaks, malfunctioning heating elements, lightning-caused damage, high voltage, short circuit, blown fuse or tripped circuit breaker. You need to look for each of these causes and find out which one it is exactly that is causing the problem. You need to attend to what is amiss and repair what needs to be fixed. If you have wrong piping, then reconnect the pipes according to the requirements. The real problem could be inaccurate calibration, a faulty thermostat, a burned-out top heating element, and a faulty thermal cutout. These will need replacing.

Insufficient Hot Water

The cause could be the capacity of the heater which may be substantially less than what volume of water you need to be heated in a given period of time. Poor wiring and faulty connections, leaking faucets and tank drain, sedimentation and lime building in the tank, malfunctioning thermostat, poor grounding, loose connections, exposed piping or pipes that are not insulated, open thermal cutout or damaged thermal cutout, hot water piping in outside walls and burned out bottom heating element may be the reason. You may have more than one reason. Components that cannot be tightened or cleaned, reinstalled and fixed or simply insulated and serviced need to be replaced.

Slow Hot Water

Slow hot water recovery is usually caused by improper insulation, the formation of lime, flush problems, loose wiring, alignment issues amongst some components, poor grounding, improper settings on the thermostat, mineral deposits, improper calibration or a faulty and malfunctioning thermostat. Replace components that cannot be repaired or attended to.

Overheated Water Streaming

Overheating or overheated water streaming is another common problem. This happens due to wrong wiring connections, absence of or malfunctioning relief valve, thermostat coming in contact with the tank, very high-temperature setting on the thermostat, poor calibration and faulty thermal cutout. Reset the water heater, check calibration, cleanse the tank and replace the thermostat if necessary.

Additional Issues

Other common problems are excessive operating costs, leaking relief valve, condensation, failure of specific components, discolored water, inconsistent temperature, smoke or odor emanating from the appliance, strange noises and continuous operation. Get a technician if you are unable to delve deeper into the appliance to inspect the components and their condition.

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