Thank you for your reply. I did clean out the bottom of the tank, both times
that I replaced the elements. I cannot find any wiring diagrams, on the tank
or otherwise. Do you know of anywhere that I can check for the correct
wiring? Although, I'm not entirely sure that is what it is since I had the
same problem right before it quit altogether. Is it possible that a wire
just "went bad?"


Chris Lewis wrote:
According to Waters u38830@uwe:
I have an OLD water heater (prob. from the 80s) that came with the house. I
have replaced the lower elelment twice in ten years, with this being the 2nd
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
Oh, incidentally it is a Kenmore tank. PLEASE HELP!!! I'm tired of freezing
in the shower!!!!!

Dual element heaters only have one heater on at any given time.
Lower element is more of a "maintenance" heater, the upper is
during intervals of high demand. So, you're probably just seeing
a time when the upper element is on.

In a situation like this, I'd either suspect miswiring, or that
the tank is _heavily_ crudded up. Eg: bottom element is buried
in hard water crystals - which tends to cause the lower element to
burn out (which it has). Tho, I would have thought you'd have seen
that while installing the lower element (it'll be a "slush" of
water and crystals).

You should try flushing the tank. A wet-dry shopvac and a narrow
hose thru the lower element hole helps. But given the age of
this tank...

After that, recheck the wiring. There should be a wiring diagram
on the tank somewhere.

You should also double check that the elements are the right voltage,
for the supply.

I have seen 120V elements wired to 240V and vice-versa. Both work,
tho, the former tends to burn elements out (they last weeks or
even a few months before blowing, but blow they do), and the latter
is very slow to recover from hot water usage (only delivering
1/4 the wattage they should).

If in doubt, get a plumber or electrician to check out the wiring.