On 18 Dec 2004 02:42:23 -0800, "Filipo"
wrote:
The question is: would the lower thermostat with the red reset button
be a better choice than the one without the button, given the fact that
the upper thermostat already has an existing red reset button? Cost is
not an issue since we're talking just 5 bucks price difference. What's
the point in having 2 hi-limit reset buttons, one for each thermostat?
Is this a good idea?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

P.S. It was 26 degrees F in DC this morning - bitterly cold, in my
experience, and this could be causing my water heater to go bad.

No real need for an overheat button on the bottom one. The top
thermostat is the master thermostat and the overheat button on it cuts
power to both thermostats. Since heat rises the top thermostat would
cut power long before the bottom of the tank would get hot enough to
trip the safety. The "bottom" thermostat with the safety is probably
used for small single element water heaters.

26 degrees isn't bitterly cold. A large amount of the country sees
these temps for months of the year and they all have hot water. Even
at that the thermostats are at water temperature since they are held
ot the side of the tank and covered in insulation.

Steve B.