On Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:26:11 -0500, JimT wrote:

"Jeff The Drunk" wrote in message
news
On Thu, 29 Jul 2010 06:45:27 -0400, Herb Eneva wrote:

Yesterday while running hot water it was very hot --almost boiling. I
have a 40 gal. electric water heater. Does this mean a stuck
thermostat and how do I change it?

Did you ever watch the TV show Mythbusters? They contested a myth that
a hot water tank could explode with so much force that it would launch
like a rocket through several floors and out the roof. They disabled
the thermostat and safety relief pressure valve and at about 320
degrees F inside, the tank launched as expected. And this was using
only the heating elements in the heater, no external heat source.

My point is; If you don't know how to change a thermostat you should
probably seek local professional help and not trust the advice from the
lunatics in this news group.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmJoyuUJj2Q

I'd really like to have their job.

So it was 350 PSI not degrees. So much for my memory. I never saw that
video. They redid the myth bust by building a two story structure with a
roof. And not some small shack, this was a fairly good sized structure to
better represent a real house. This is what was complained about by their
fans prompting them to redo the stunt. The heater blew around the same PSI
and went through the first floor and through the roof. It would have gone
through more floors than that considering the heater rose to a few
hundred feet after it left the roof. And yes I would give up drinking to
have their jobs.