I have went through three elements in less than one year on a new electric hot water heater. I have checked the power supply, called the rheem dealer. The local dealer says it is caused by power surges. Could that be possible? I think it could be the thermistat. Help!!

Which element burns out? Top? Bottom? Both? What's the temperature setting? If it were power surges powerful enough to burn out heater elements wouldn't it affect the motor windings in the refrigerator, light bulbs and other appliances also? The only way to burn out heater elements that I know of would be to have the water level in the heater drops below the element allowing it to overheat and burn out. What aren't you telling me?n Regards, Tom

Loose connections or a sparky thermostat can in theory cause the element to burn out prematurely. Being on with no water, almost instantly.

Bottom element. I talked a professional plummer from CO he said, yes the elements could go out due to power surges. Also, the power company is going to hook up current testers this week. And they wanted me to turn in all my bills for my element or costs acurred to their insurences company. How do you check for a bad thermasts?

Like the previous posts, I would be surprised if power surges would cause problems in a heating element. They are simple resistors and should be quite robust. Typically you'd expect to see problems in the TV or other electronics before a water heater. Do your lights brighten and dim?

What temp is the lower thermostat set too? Are you using OEM elements when you replace them? Are they the correct 240V elements? The Rheem manual seems to be quite specific that standard replacement elements would not work. That could just be a manufacturer touting their own parts... or they may be correct.

The simplest test of the thermostat is just to see if it clicks off when the water is hot. You can test by manually increasing and decreasing the temperature setting and listening for the click. You can check it electrically too. The lower thermostat should have two terminals , with one wire on each terminal. Use a voltage tester or multimeter. When the thermostat wants the element to heat, then both terminals will be hot and there will be zero resistance and zero voltage between them. (i.e. you'll measure 240V between each individual terminal and a ground, and 0V between the two terminals). When the temperature has been reached, then only one terminal will be hot, there will be infinite resitance and 240V between them.

I will check the element size. I'm currently using replacement elements from my local dealer. (Tank is under warrenty) My plummer called me today to tell me that my nieghbors element just went out. Our nieghborhood within a two to three block radius has had problems. But my nieghbor next to me has no problems. I will be out of town this weekend but will check this Sunday on the thermostat and maybe buy some new ones in the city to replace the old ones.

Thanks keep brain storming

Dunk

Yes my lights flicker from time to time and the house even gets shut down totally. (huge power down nose with a big power up nose.) I don't know I will try anything at this point.

Dunk

This could be a good investment, https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/electrical-lighting/surge-supressor-149528.html

Dunk:

You have a house issue. With the power company testing, you should be heading in the right direction. I'm surprised you don't have problems with other electronics.