Revisit to Hot Water

Not too long ago I replaced one of the elements in the hot water heater (see: Hot Water Detour), and not long after that I installed a timer for the hot water heater so that we weren't spending electricity heating hot water when no one was around to use it (see: Time for Hot Water). 

Well, ever since I did those jobs, the hot water seemed to be getting hotter and hotter to the point where it was scalding and difficult to regulate.  So just as the guests were arriving I thought I should go downstairs and see if I could adjust the thermostat.  I didn't want anyone scalding themselves in the shower of course, and what better time to remedy the problem than 5 minutes before they were due to arrive.

Adjusting the thermostat on the hot water heater is a 5 minute task, but that's when the thermostat is working.  When it's not working, the job takes on more of a life as you have to figure out that the problem is just that, a broken thermostat.

The upper and lower thermostats on a hot water tank are different units but they're designed to work together so that both of the elements are heating water if either of them registers a temperature below what's been set. In my case it was the lower thermostat that stopped working.

I decided to disconnect the lower thermostat and element and just run the tank on the upper element while my guests were visiting and until I could get a replacement.  This worked okay for most of the weekend as the tank was full of very hot water at the start, but after two days, the water was getting used up and the single element wasn't enough to keep up with the demand.  Unfortunately there were some tepid showers the last day of their stay.

Once the house was cleared out of guests and I had a chance to get to the supply store I was able to return to the cellar and install the new thermostat.  Now our vintage hot water heater is back to regulating the water temperature somewhere around 120 degrees.

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