"Jazz" wrote in news:1156215225.137229.77260
@p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com:

I am a computer guy, not a handy-man, so forgive the stupidity of my
question...

I have a Rheem 40 gallon water heater.
240 volts, 4500 wattage, model number 81V40D C ...

My dad, a water heater inspector for TVA, tells me the top element is
probably bad

If they are both the same age I would think the bottom one would go first.
It goes on first since cooler water will be at the bottom of the tank. See
diagram at http://home.howstuffworks.com/water-heater1.htm

(We have some hot water, but runs out pretty fast now... i
trust his judgement since he has done it for over 25 years).

My guess is one of two things. The bottom one is bad. If the top was bad,
that would try to turn on. When the top turns on the bottom shuts off.
Since the top is bad, water never heats and bottom never comes on.

No experience personally but I have heard of cases of a cracked/broken dip
tube inside the tank near the top. Cold water gets fed to the top of the
tank instead of the bottom.


So I go to home depot to grab a new element, and I am seeing screw in,
twist in, walk in, fly in, run in, etc... :^)

can someone just tell me what to get and where to get it? Pretend I am
your stupid son and feel sorry for me and hook me up. My dad just says
"Buy a new hot water heater, they dont cost much" but I dont have time
for all that, guests arrive in about 10 days.... I know all i will have
to do is turn the breaker off, let the water cool,

Turn the breaker off then run a hot water tap until it is cold. Much faster
than waiting for it to cool.

drain the tank,

Open hot water faucets and the pressure relief valve too.

and
pull (or twist, or unscrew) the element out

If you have high lime/calcium in your water, I had a personal situation
where it built up around the lower element to the point the bad element
would not come out of the hole. When i finally got it out by breaking it,
the bottom of the tank was full of white crud. Nightmare.

and slap a new one in
there...

However, I dont have an ohm meter.... i mean, does the average guy have
one of these lying around? Ive replaced light fixtures and ceiling
fans, but the more i read the more people seem to freak out about the
water heater still haveing power in it even after turning it off at the
breaker... what gives?

anyway, thanks in advance!
Jazz Mann


However, I dont have an ohm meter....

Go get a cheap AC tester. You'll find other uses for it. FYI, don't get a
cheap analog/digital multimeter. It will probably be low impedance and give
you inaccurate readings in some cases.