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Jim Redelfs

In article
,
wrote:

The lower element on my sears water heater is not working -- it looks
as if one of the wires has melted. I'd like to replace it but im
wondering how difficult it is to do. Can anyone let me know?

When our 11-year-old electric water heater finally needed a replacement
element, I called a plumber. It was some of the best money I have ever spent.

Our situation made for an interesting comparison: We lived in a starter home
tract where literally EVERY home on our block (six months from vacant lots to
fully built and occupied) had the EXACT, same furnace and water heater.

Our water supply passed through a water softener before going anywhere else in
the home. Our neighbor did NOT have a water softener.

In the 11 years that passed before I needed a new element, my neighbor
replaced 3-4 of them in his heater.

The circumstances were such that I didn't have the time off from work
sufficient to LEARN and tackle my first water heater replacement. I hired a
30-year-experienced plumber.

This hapless guy hammered and beat on the tank but, after several hours and
trying everything he knew, he called and told me he couldn't remove the
offending element; it was "fused" into the tank.

Since he had already spent too much time messing with the old tank, and our
three daughters ("tweens") had only recently "discovered" hot water, I told
him to replace it with a new, larger heater. Done.

Allow yourself plenty of time when it comes to extracting the defective
element in the event that you have a similar situation. Good luck!
--

JR

No project too small
All projects too big