'This has since been cut back. There was good looking insulation just past this point and that shutoff box has been bypassed.

Is it possible the circuit breaker has developed some kind of weird fault where it doesnt trip but allows voltage through but not real current? Maybe there's some kind of fucky voltage-detection circuit in the water heaters that cause them to not draw current under this scenario?';

'>pulling voltage, not amps
>breaker allows voltage, not amps

Do not touch anything, you stupid motherfucker, or you gonna electrocute yourself, or someone else while they shower. That contractor sold you the heater, got his money and left your ignorant ass to McGuyver it into that old crusty ass boiler.

Tou neither have the knowledge, nor the tools or idea on how to use those tools to diagnose wherein the fault lies with that burnt out installation. Not going to give you any advice, because I care about your parents. You can go suck on a live wite for all I care.

Have an electrician come over and fix that shit properly.';

'>>2789417
You shouldn't be running a water heater on 14/2

This fault is indicative of a shotty connection to outlet though. Like a backstabbing or lose screw.';

'>>2789432
>>You shouldn't be running a water heater on 14/2
TY I'll look at upgrading that. It's a generic 55 gallon unit btw.

>>This fault is indicative of a shotty connection to outlet though. Like a backstabbing or lose screw.
If you're talking about in the pic remember that has since been bypassed. Unless you mean back at the circuit breaker box which so far remains unopened in this episode.';

'>>2789435
Looking at your first post too, yeah check both those wires in and out. You're lucky your houseplant burned down.

That looks like white romex, which is 14/2. That should never have had a 20amp breaker on it... oh look it's actually a 30amp fuse. Holy shit of course the wire is cooked. All of that wire should be trashed if it's 14/2. 30amp wire should be 10g.';

'>>2789417
>Is it possible the circuit breaker has developed some kind of weird fault where it doesnt trip but allows voltage through but not real current? Maybe there's some kind of fucky voltage-detection circuit in the water heaters that cause them to not draw current under this scenario?
this entire thing tells me you know nothing about electrical, you should call a pro before you become the dumbass who does "hacky stuff" for the next owners to fix';

'>>2789477
>That looks like white romex, which is 14/2.
this wasn't standard until recent, I have tons of 12/2 white romex running all over my basement';

'>>2789487
Faur enough. He needs to check the actual size of the wires though and those are 30amp fuses so it better be 10g wire.';

'>>2789413
what model # is the water heater?';

'>>2789483
If you know so much about electrical then explain to us then why a brand new water heater has failed to heat any water while voltage is clearly getting through.

If you're going to criticize you could at the least try to be constructive.';

'>>2789490
The new one is a Reliance 6-40 EORS 110

https://www.reliancewaterheaters.com/products/electric/6-40-eors-40-gallon-medium-electric-water-heater-6-year-warranty';

'>>2789495
>voltage is clearly getting through
stop you retard, you're just making yourself look even stupider

you want me to help? fine
start by disconnecting the power and test the resistance of the heating elements with your little tike's my first multimeter and report back.
what is the actual voltage going to the water heater? 120 or 240?';

'>>2789497
>>2789499
ok so it's rated for 30 amps at 240 volts, so go to home depot and buy a roll of 10-3 romex, and a two-pole 30 amp breaker for your electrical panel, and run a line directly from your box to the water heater.

don't fuck around with any disconnect boxes or switches or anything, just go from the box to the water heater';

'>>2789500
figure out a model for the main breaker panel and then google compatible breakers';

'>>2789497
if element says 240v/4500w on it, then when you measure the resistance, it should read about 12.8ohms when you measure it, which tells you that the water heater is fine as long as the thermostat is set correctly (to 120F), and your issue is somewhere between the heater and main breaker panel rails';

'>>2789504
forgot pic';

'>>2789499
Resistance on the lower heating element was 12.7 ohms. The upper one I couldnt get a reading that made sense. It would generally be in the K ohms range and just keep climbing.

The voltage is 241.';

'>>2789413
>Hot water goes out so they call a contractor, he finds the lower heating element is heavily corroded and says its time for a new tank, parents agree.

Did the guy not test it before your parents paid him?

>but wont pull amps... Still not pulling amps.
How do you know? Did you actually measure it?';

'>>2789504
>>2789505
The heater is set to what appears to be the default of 140F';

'>>2789528

I hate motherfuckers like that. no need to replace the whole thing because ONE element is bad or corroded. as long as the tank isnt leaking and the thermostats are working properly... replace it, flush tank.. done and done';

'>>2789538
you respond to literally the least important thing. how about all the other posts with genuine advice to fix your problem?';

'>>2789540
Tbh given everything in the thread, the tank sounded like junk (worn out, rotted etc). No anode rod; left a long time ago, That's the reason why the lower element was so shot. Means the inside will be shot too.

>>2789428
Who peed in your cheerios then shat in your OJ, fucked your wife and stole your bank account?

>>2789413
Google: 'How do I install an electric hot water heater?' Read everything in 2-3 articles you intuitively believe are helpful. Then come back here, and start a thread.

You skipped the first steps, so you come here sounding like a lazy ignorant bum.

Do EXACTLY what has already been suggested. There's no evidence you made a NEW run of 10g from the main panel direct, as
>>2789500
this guy said. DO THAT.

>>2789577
He ain't goina make it, anonbro. He's goina burn his momma's house down.';

'Its a water heater notva hot water heater dumbass';

'>>2789428
Retard. He’s just saying what was indicated. You don’t need to be all high and mighty over semantics.';

'>>2789627
Semantics gonna electrocute a fucker. I know that.';

'>>2789720
could we cool it with the anti-semanticism please';

'OP here.

>>2789500
There's nothing written on the insulation. My wire strippers may have something to tell me the gauge of wire I'm dealing with. I'm strongly considering it.

>>2789505
Thank you for the illustration anon, that is how I was testing it.

>>2789577
I talked with the manufacturer and they agreed the upper element was bad. I suspect the contractor didn't fill the tank all the way and dry fired it. See attached.

Getting a new one now. I'll make sure the tank is filled to bursting before re-applying electricity.

>>2789584
>>He ain't goina make it, anonbro. He's goina burn his momma's house down.
Moma's house was like this for years (decades?) without burning down. The fault was clearly with the connection inside that emergency shutoff box. As I said above I'll run the idea by momma to replace that wire as well. It wouldnt be that hard, the breaker panel is like 20 feet from the water heater and only half the ceiling is finished with drywall.

>>2789723
I don't want to be part of the progressive future you advocate for.';

'OP here again, this is the element from the part# the support people gave me. Looks like the manufacturer may have installed the wrong one at the factory somehow? At the very least it's not the same design.';

'>>2789768
>. Looks like the manufacturer may have installed the wrong one at the factory

hardly. if the threads fit, and the element fits, and the volts and watts are the same, then it's a replacement in every way. Once you install it you will never lose sleep because the internal element has a different shape.';

'>>2789779
Ok but clearly that "replacement" to >>2789764
is waaay longer, dispersing the same amount of heat over way more surface area.';

'>>2789783
I know nothing about water heaters but I'd put money on >>2789764 being a lower wattage rating than >>2789768, and therefore being the incorrect element for the heater';

'OP here again. Hot water is flowing. So weird that the tank (apparently?) shipped with a defective or incorrect upper element. Maybe it's the case that a smaller element meets the spec but barely wheras the aftermarket replacement part prefers the longer design for whatever reason. It seems better to use more material and spread out the heat but IANAE.

Thank you all for the help and even the salty ass unproductive hate. It's how you know someone cares <3';

'>>2789825
ok now redo the wiring';

'>>2789413
>Hot water heater
Why would you need to heat hot water?';

'>>2790035';

'>>2789413
>About the attached pic
the 19f0's called and want their electrical box back.';

'>>2790038
If you're trying to do hexadecimal, that's the year 6640.';

'>>2789825
>So weird that the tank (apparently?) shipped with a defective or incorrect upper element.
Not really, no. Quality assurance is an expensive. Most companies gleefully cut expenses.';

'>>2789428
What is it about this place that makes everyone turn into a bitter cunt? You guys are nastier than on /pol/. People come here asking for advice and the retards who never actually talk to humans lose their shit and need to call everyone names. Stop being so nasty, the world sucks enough as it is these days.';

'>>2790188
While he was pretty coarse about it, he wasn't wrong at all. People need to stop fiddling with deadly shit and ending up dead all the time. I know a fair bit more about electricity and how it behaves, and I stay the fuck away from tinkering with mains voltage. Sometimes it takes a firm hand to get a dumbass away from a horrible fate. Would you prefer he let you win a Darwin award?';

'>>2790252
>diy board hostile to people looking to learn diy
Yeah. No issues to see here. The world just continues to get shittier. Why should anyone care.';

'>>2790437
Alright, enjoy learning the effects of mixing water and sketchy wiring on your own. Then there will be nobody to complain about people telling you not to fuck with it. The world will get smarter, and there will be less bitching about muh fee fees.';

'>>2789723
kek

>>2789764
> it worked without burning down
Then you touched it and noticed it was fucked from zero. Now you fix it. That's what you do. You are begging for a second chance and that's stupid. You don't go into a jump knowing your parachute was packed wrong. You fix that shit or you don't jump.

Give that it's 20 feet of run, you have zero excuses. I don't care if you have to buy fishsticks. Use the previous wire to pull the new wire through. You're not running that hwh on anything less than 10g with a proper 30 amp double breaker. You'd be responsible for killing your mother. Boomers excepted. But then you lose the value of the house. She was going to reverse mortgage that fucker anyway and leave you with nothing but regret.

Fuck it, burn it down.';

'>>2789413
>pic rel
First thing I'm noticing is that these connections are dog shit. They need to be wrapped around the screw. This won't cause the problem you're experiencing, but it is very bad craftsmanship. Also, DO NOT do it yourself if there is any power going into that box.

As for your actual problem.
>I managed to find 120/240v on the upper/lower elements.
Unclear exactly what you mean here. If you are talking about the box in pic related, and you're saying that the top has 240v and the bottom has 120v, then one of those fuses is blown. You can check them with the resistance setting on your multimeter. Look up how to do that.';

'>>2790252
>I know a fair bit more about electricity and how it behaves, and I stay the fuck away from tinkering with mains voltage
What you're saying is that you don't know fuckall about electricity and how it behaves, because if you did you would feel comfortable working with mains voltage.
Not everything that you don't understand is incomprehensible.';

'>>2794167
You are correct, my understanding isn't that great, but it's a hell of a lot better than OP's who just fucks with it anyway.';

'>>2790188
if you look at archives from 3 or 4 years ago, the exact opposite was true. This board had the worst spelling and was much slower, but everyone was nice.';

'Its a water heater not a hot water heater
Why would you heat hot water';

'>>2794309
it's a heater. it produces hot water. therefore it is a heater for hot water. which normal people don't get their panties in a bunch when someone says hot water heater.

I bet you get mad when I refer to my garden hose pipe.

the weird thing is that sometimes I'm the grammar nazi and sometimes I'm the grammar nazi nazi. I guess I'm just whatever nazi the situation calls for. Kindof a renaissance nazi.';

'>>2794341
Wouldn't a hot water heater be a water heater that is hot to the touch? Like the insulation amd burner is broke so you can't touch it.';

'>>2794362
I would call a plumber and an electrician anon. Unless it's gas fried and then I would run away. That sounds like an interesting situation. If you feel safe why not make a dedicated tread to discuss it.';

'>>2794341
wait a fucking minute. what sort of retarded AI thinks a hose is rigid and a pipe is flexible. I want my money back.';

'>>2794341
You know that the first letter of the first word of a sentence gets capitalized, right? Thought you might want to know.';