"mcp6453" wrote in message
...
My wife just turned on the hot water in the kitchen. After it warmed up,
it started smoking. It's really, really hot. We
have a 10-year old low-boy State electric water heater. Has the thermostat
failed?

The thermostat could have failed, but my money is on one of the heater
elements has gone bad. That is the outer shell that seperate the actual
electrical heating coil from the water has a hole or split in it.

A thermostat often breaks just one side of the line and the hole in the
element lets the water heat all the time.
Also check to see if the heater is releaving water out of the releif valve.