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    faitheepooh's Avatar
    faitheepooh Posts: 2, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Feb 16, 2014, 02:07 PM
    Power outage during ice storm
    Hello all. My name is Faith. I live In North Augusta, SC and as some of you may or may not know we just had a very bad ice storm a few days ago which left most of us in Georgia and SC without power for several days. After my power was restored I noticed my wate is not getting hot. It gets pretty warm but not nearly as hot as it was. Can anyone advise please? It is a Whirlpool probably a year or year and a half old.. Thank you!
    smearcase's Avatar
    smearcase Posts: 2,392, Reputation: 316
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    #2

    Feb 16, 2014, 02:17 PM
    Not likely a breaker if you are getting partially heated water.
    How long has the heater now had power since it was restored. May take several hours to stabilize to correct temperature.
    Always possible that an element or thermostat coincidentally failed.
    Others will come along here soon and have other suggestions.
    faitheepooh's Avatar
    faitheepooh Posts: 2, Reputation: 1
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    #3

    Feb 16, 2014, 02:30 PM
    The power was out for 3 days and 4 nights. I reset the breaker and waited several hours.
    smearcase's Avatar
    smearcase Posts: 2,392, Reputation: 316
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    #4

    Feb 16, 2014, 04:51 PM
    You don't by chance have a timer on your water heater (a separate device that turns the heater on and off for energy saving purposes)?
    A timer like mine could be in the middle of a long off period when the power returned and the correct time would have to be set.

    You say you reset the breaker. Was that just to ensure that it wasn't tripped, or did it trip after the power was restored?
    And, did you turn it all the way to the off position before resetting it to on?
    hkstroud's Avatar
    hkstroud Posts: 11,929, Reputation: 899
    Home Improvement & Construction Expert
    		  
    #5

    Feb 16, 2014, 07:08 PM
    A voltage spike during the power outage could have damaged a heating leement or thermostat. If so, it will be the lower element or thermostat.

    Do you have a multimeter and know how to use it?
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