Plumbing

Water Heater Thermostat Check

Name: Water Heater Thermostat Check
Uploaded: 2025-10-01T14:34:12Z
Duration: 4 s
Description: After removing the panel, inspect the water heater’s upper and lower thermostats. Always follow safety protocols—use insulated tools and cut power before testing. Factory settings are typically 120–125°F, but this unit is running at 134°F. Learn how to locate the adjustment dial, measure tank temperature, and verify if both thermostats are cycling correctly.

After removing the panel, inspect the water heater’s upper and lower thermostats. Always follow safety protocols—use insulated tools and cut power before testing. Factory settings are typically 120–125°F, but this unit is running at 134°F. Learn how to locate the adjustment dial, measure tank temperature, and verify if both thermostats are cycling correctly.

Electric Water Heater

Diagnostic

Appliances

Mark Cukro

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Transcript

Excellent. No ring, no jewelry. Follow all of your safety protocols and procedures. So the first thing we'll do is take the panel off and you can do it by hand. You can use a drill, whatever works for you, but make sure you have tools that are insulated. So let's take this panel off and take a look. What we have here, so make sure you keep all the screws in one location.

Take the panel off. Now here's the insulation. Okay? We have the thermostat, upper thermostat, the lower thermostat. A few things to point out. This water heater is in a drain pan. That's actually connected to a drain. So I commend whoever installed this. Too often you'll see a water heater in a drain pan that's not connected to anything.

So now this is where you have to be careful. If you're working on this and it's energized and you're using your meters, make sure you're careful. If you want to own anything out or do testing or replace something, make sure the energy is off and you flip the breaker. So the first thing that we'll do is see what the temperature of the tank is.

So this is 134 degrees, which means this water is more than hot enough. In fact, some may consider it a little too hot, and the limit or the policy is to leave it at the factory setting, which is 120 or 125 degrees. So a few things to consider. If we zoom in here, you'll see that there's a screw. With a white plastic dial, and that is where you get an approximate temperature and you turn it with a screwdriver.

Okay, so let's take a close look. You'll see a screw here with a white plastic arrow or a dial, and that's the temperature setting. So you get a slotted screwdriver. Of course, use one hand and you can adjust. The temperature and you can turn it up or down. So of course, follow your procedures. Most companies, it's around a hundred twenty, a hundred twenty five degrees.

We know the tank is warm from the thermostat, but what we don't know is if both of these thermostats are working, if they're cycling on and off, and if they're stopping at the correct temperature.