No Hot Water in your Home? Here is some things you can check first.

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No Hot Water

There might be a few issues with your geyser causing this

The municipal ripple relay is off. You can confirm by checking if the switch is in the off position on the relay box. If this is the cause, you will need to call the Eskom faults line. For more info please visit Eskom’s website or contact them directly

Troubleshooting “NO HOT WATER” problem for your Geyser

This article on electric geyser troubleshooting will help you to locate your “NO HOT WATER” problem quickly and direct you to a solution to the issue. See below for guidelines on how to track down your problem.

Common Electrical Geyser Problems

Bad Heating Elements
Checking Thermostat
Pressure Relief Valves
Leaking Geyser
Geyser Drain Valve

There are a handful of items that can malfunction or wear out on an electric geyser. See if you can locate your problem and whether it is practical for you to get it resolved.

Electric geyser troubleshooting involves checking wiring that has a significant amount of current. In fact the combination of volts and amps in an electric geyser can be lethal. Be Careful!! When working around electricity. That does not mean that this type of repair is impossible. It just means you need to have the right skills and take the right precautions. At the very minimum you want to have an understanding of what it is that needs fixing.

Electric geyser troubleshooting starts out at a fairly difficult level. You need some testers to track down your problem. To make it worse, the testers are not that easy to use. Add to that the significant danger involved with the 220 volt power that is feeding your electric geyser tank.

Check the circuit breaker – Has it tripped for some reason. The next easy thing would be the Reset button on the heating elements. Unfortunately, when the geyser is making either of these things trip, there is usually another problem. We are talking about serious electricity here. 220 volts at 20 amps. Have people been killed from that kind of current? Yes they have. Don’t even look at anything unless the power is off. No hot water is an inconvenience and you may not have a quick fix. Assuming it is not something simple like a tripped breaker you could be looking at minimal or no hot water until you can get the problem resolved

We Have You Covered!

Electric Geyser Troubleshooting Information.

Take a look at the possible problems below. Try to find a match for your situation.

Geyser Heater Element Testing

When you don’t have hot water, your element may be at fault. Electric geyser element testing is one way to determine if your element is bad. For a typical electric geyser you have two items that may have failed. Any one of them can cause you to have less hot water or no hot water. The first thing to check is the element. There are two simple tests that can tell you if it is bad. See the articles, ‘Testing Geyser Elements for Continuity’ and ‘Testing Geyser Elements for Ground’. The other common item is the thermostats. There is one of them, see the article ‘Testing Geyser Thermostats’ for instructions on checking them.

Only perform geyser element testing when the power is off. Electric geysers have powerful current in them. You can be seriously hurt or even killed from a shock. Make sure the power is off. In addition, the current can ruin the testers.

Accessing Electric Geyser Element

An electric geyser has one element, there are cover plates on the outside of the tank that are held in place by a couple of screws. Remove the cover plates to get to the element ends and the thermostat. There may be some insulation that needs to be pushed back out of the way. See the picture below to help you identify the element

Checking for Power

Checking the geyser power is a must on an electric geyser. Unlike a gas geysers, an electric unit will not work when the power is off. The first obvious thing you want to check is the breaker. The electric geyser should be on a dedicated two pole circuit in your DB Board. See if it has tripped. No power, no hot water. If the breaker has not tripped you will want to see if you have power at the geyser. Shut the breaker off for the geyser.

Remove the covers for the element and thermostat. Remove the insulation and protective cover. The two hot wires should be at the top of the thermostat. Turn the power back on and carefully use a non-contact tester to check for power. Make sure the tester is working on something that you know is working. Do you have power? Then it is time to check the elements.

WARNING!! Make Sure the Power is OFF!!! BEFORE You Work on Electrical Devices!!!

Testing Geyser Element Continuity

Testing a Geyser element for continuity is fairly simple when you have the right tester. If power is not going through the element, it will not heat. No heat, no hot water, simple.

What Is Continuity

Simply put, continuity is the ability of the wire or element to complete an electrical circuit. Electricity needs a continuous path to work. Any break or interruption will cause it to fail. For an electrical geyser, the elements are submerged in water constantly to heat the water in the tank. Over time they deteriorate and corrode. When this happens they may lose the ability to carry an electrical current. A simple test will tell you whether or not they are still viable heating elements.

Performing the Continuity Test

Before you begin, you want to make sure your tester is working. Touch the leads together to make sure it is working. They have a light or a ping sound on them that should ping, glow or light up when you touch the leads. If the tester fails to light up you will probably need to replace the batteries. If batteries don’t help, you will need to get another tester. One last safety check, use a voltage tester to double check that the power is off.

There are two terminals on the element. To test for continuity, attach the clip to one of the terminals, no it does not matter which one. Touch the lead to the other terminal. The light or ping sound on your tester should light up or buzz depending on the tester that you have. If it does, your element is still able to accept electrical current.

Getting the Right Tester

There are lots of fancy testers out there that can cost quite a bit of money. For this test, you just need a simple continuity tester. All it does is run an electrical charge through the element. If the current goes through and gets back to the tester, it lights up. A continuity tester is different from a voltage tester. A voltage tester relies on the power in the wires to work. Whereas a continuity tester provides its own current via a battery.

NOTE: The tests noted below can also be done with a multi meter.

Shutting Down the Geyser

The first thing you want to do is turn off the power. Shut off the breaker and tag it so that no one turns it back on. Geyser element testing should only be done when the power is off. It is very important to make sure the power is off.

The Element Passed – Next Steps

Passing this test does not necessarily mean that you are out of the woods. Obviously, you are here because you either don’t have enough hot water or you have no hot water. So, if the element passed the continuity test, there is still something wrong. You will also need to test and see if you element is grounding out. See the article, ‘Testing a Water Heater Element for Ground’. This is another simple test that determines whether or not the insulation on the element is still intact. If the element grounds out, it will not work.

What If the Test Fails?

If the test fails, the element is bad and will need to be replaced. There are no other choices, they cannot be repaired and there are no moving parts

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Testing for Ground on the Geyser Element

Testing for ground on geyser elements is a fairly simple test that only takes a few minutes. You should also test for continuity at the same time. These tests require that you shut off the power to the geyser and remove the access panels.

What Does ‘Testing for Ground’ Mean?

Testing for ground on a geyser element is similar to ‘testing for continuity‘. However, the failure is completely different. The metal part of the heating element is kept separate from the metal in the tank by a plastic insulator. If this cracks or loosens, the water in the tank will cause it to short out. If the current goes into the tank and back through the ground wire, the element fails to heat up and you don’t have any hot water. So the term ‘testing for ground’ means to test and see if the element is grounding out into the metal on the tank.

Using the Right Tester

To check for ground you need to use a continuity tester. This is a battery operated tester that runs a small current through a device or wire to see if it is carrying electricity.

NOTE: This test can also be done with a multi meter.

Checking for Ground

Shutting Down the Power – The first thing you need to do is make sure the power to the geyser is off. Go to the DB Board and turn off the breaker for the geyser, it should be marked on the DB Board. It is very important to make sure the power is off.

Accessing the Geyser Element

An electric geyser has one element, there are cover plates on the outside of the tank that are held in place by a couple of screws. Remove the cover plates to get to the element and the thermostat. Typically the element is below the thermostat. The thermostat will have a red reset button on it. There may be some insulation that needs to be pushed back out of the way. See the pictures below to help you identify the element.

Testing the Element for Ground

Checking ground on the geyser element is similar to testing the element. Make sure the power is off before beginning. Double check with a voltage tester. Similar to Step One, the power needs to be off and the wires removed. Clamp one of the terminals to one of the lugs on the element. Touch the other lead to the metal element flange. This time no light is good. If the light glows it means that the element is grounding out and needs to be replaced.

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