Plumbing

Adjusting Water Heater Settings

When thermostats are set too high, water temperatures can reach 140°F or more—creating safety risks. Adjust the upper and lower thermostats to about 120°F, the common factory setting. After adjustment, run hot water, let the heater cycle, and recheck the temperature to confirm. Proper thermostat settings ensure safety, comfort, and efficiency.
Electric Water Heater
Diagnostic
Hard Skills
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Transcript

 So the temperature here is setting, let's put this to one 20. Sometimes you'll have a letter A, B, or C, and you'll have to figure out which one that is. Let's take a look at the installation. I'll take a look at the lower thermostat. And so this is set a little bit higher than the upper thermostat, so this person actually has hot water at too high of a temperature.

The temperature of the tank is 140 or slightly more degrees, so this water's actually a little too hot. So here's what you would do now. You would set the water heater, run some of the water outta the tank, let it cycle back on, and then measure the water temperature.