How do you wire an electric hot water heater ?

Need more information.

Are you replacing the water heater with a new one of equal electrical requirements?

Such as 120 volt or 240 volt?

Same wattage element(s)?

What is the size of the breaker, and wire feeding the water heater?

Please post the electrical specs of the old one if available, and the electrical specs of the new one?

Or is this a new instalation requiring a breaker, new wire and all that fun stuff?

Took out gas. Put in 50 gallon 10-2 wire bradford white electric

Black hot, retasked white hot, ground. 240VAC. 30 AMP double breaker.

Wow, I hope the OP wasn't going without hot water since January 2009! :)