| I am not a plubmer but can tell you my recent personal experiences and give you my opinion but it's only that, my opionion based on recent experiences with my hot water heater. It sounds like the heater is cutting itself off since it is overheating. There should be a reset button inside the cover for the upper thermostat and if you press it, you will hear an audible click meaning the water heater is once again heating your water. More than likely, the water heater will heat the water until it's scalding hot, then it will cut itself off once again. The upper thermostate probably has a sensing device that tell the lower thermostat when to cut off, on. Either the upper or lower thermostat is defective and needs replacing or it could be that of the two elements is bad but I dont think so as they appearently are heating the water. I would read some of the posts here and at waterheaterrescue.com, see if that helps. There is a way to test the thermostats and the elements using a meter but it's beyond me honestly to advise you on that, besides you are dealing with lots of voltage that could be very dangerous (always cut off the power source and ck to make sure the power is off due to the hazard of electical shock). I can tell you, it's very easy to replace the thermostats but replacing the two elements is just as easy but more involved as you must drain the water heater. Might ask yourself how old the heater is since the likelihood of needing new elements usually increases as the heater gets older. If the heater is an older heater, also perhaps not in obvious good condition such as rusting out, I might consider a new heater if I were in your situation. | 
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