Once you've determined the element is bad, you need to change it. First step is to drain the water. Once the water is drained, we're going to remove the second wire by loosening the screw and exposing both on the element.
Many of you are familiar with this type of element wrench, however, they tend to slip on old
or overly tightened elements. We recommend you get an inch and a half socket. These are available and are well worth the investment.
At this point, we can see the element is calcified and actually has a hole blown in it. This will need to be replaced. When you're ready to install your new element, make sure your seal is intact and properly seated. You're gonna start it by hand and then take over with the socket.
Remember plumb tight, you hand tight, plus a quarter turn. You don't want to overtighten these.
Once this is complete, we are going to. Attach our wires back to our terminals, and we are going to then refill the tank as the water's filling. Make sure you open the bathtub hot faucet. This will flush your lines and make sure that you burp out any remaining air in the tank. If you dry fire this, you will destroy the top element.
An empty water heater can fill with air pressure. Just below the upper element and cause failure as soon as you energize it.
