I have a disagreement with someone I know with water-heaters. The debate:

After installing a brand-new electric water heater, and you turn on the power, what thermostat/element is the first to operate?

a) The upper thermostat

b) The lower thermostat

c) Other


Thanks! (I chose A, by the way... )

XenoSapien

The top thermostat always takes precedence for faster recovery. When it is satisfied the lower comes on. If the lower is on and the top is suddenly not satisfied, it will turn the bottom off and turn the top on, every time.

These are opposing thermostats. Cold water enters the tank and is directed to the bottom of the tank by the dip tube. This kicks on the hard working lower element which warms the water allowing it to raise where the top element kicks in to maintain the set temperature. This follows the path water takes when it enters the heater. However Doug nailed it when he said." the top thermostat always takes precedence for faster recovery. if the lower is on and the top is suddenly not satisfied, it will turn the bottom off and turn the top on, every time."
So, if the tank was installed and filled for the very first time the top thermostat would kick in and bring the upper tank to the set temperature first before allowing the bottom to start working. This will only happen with the first fill. After that the bottom element will be activated first as cold water enters the tank and is directed to the lower element. Regards, Tom

Thanks, for your answers. The person I'm in disagreement is actually my boss (shhh!). I didn't tell him he was wrong, I just came here to make sure I was right :).

XenoSapien

Why not tell him? I doubt he would fire you for that... but what do I know... ;)

I suppose I could, but it really wouldn't do a whole lot. I just wanted to make sure that I was taught right in all these years in the field.

XenoSapien

I don't understand - your job is in the plumbing industry? Or you were just discussing "trivia matters" with your boss?

I do general maintenance, so I do more than just plumbing. I had a situation where I installed a brand-new water heater, and when I introduced power, the bottom thermostat kicked-on first.

I shut it down, replaced the upper-thermostat, then introduced power and the upper thermostat kicked on first--as it's supposed too. My assessment was that it was a faulty upper thermostat from the factory; there really is no other explanation.

I discussed this with my boss, and he told me that from his understanding, the bottom thermostat is the one that always comes on first.

The beauty of me being the 'grunt' and not the boss, PalmMP3, is that I will always be working with the water heaters, and my boss will not. So getting confirmation that I am correct from my good friends here on AskMeHelpDesk.Com is satisfaction enough.

My boss orders the parts; I put them in. :)

XenoSapien

Aha. Thanks for taking the time to explain the situation to me. :)

Moishe