Water Heater Troubleshooting - GE50M06AAG
I have a water heater problem, I'll try to provide all the details I can. Thank you in advance for any help.
In 2008 we replaced a toastmaster with a GE 50 gallon electric (GE50M06AAG) to be exact. We used the same electrical drop, even though the wiring was undersized, it wasn't a fire hazard because the circuit breaker and the wire guage were appropriate. (we planned on coming back to this at a later date)
That later date has arrived, and we now replaced the 20 Amp circuit breaker with a 30 amp and the #12 wire (I actually think upon further inspection it might have been #14 ga that they doubled up on each circuit) with #10-2, so now it is wired appropriately to power the 4500W elements in the water heater.
What had caused some confusion is EVER since we installed this heater in 2008, we never got much life out of the hot water. Usually 15 minutes of showers, or one bathtub full and it was cold water. I drained the tank three times since 08, and the one thing I noticed is that for the first 10-15 minutes of the gravity drain the water is cold! I assume this is an indication that the lower element isn't working, correct? Since the drain is emptying the cold water from the bottom first.
We checked the voltage on both elements and both are getting 240. Both thermostats are set to 125, which is the default. Should I turn up the bottom element? since it is heating the incoming water?
So my questions are:
1. How do I test the elements to verify they are the culprit as compared to the thermostats?
2. I have a shallow well so should I use a stainless steal heating element? What brands or where do you recommend I get an element for my heater?
3. Should the lower element thermostat be higher in temp than the upper?
Let me know if you need further information, thanks again in advance!
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