Inspect and research poor heating on our water heater

[jonathanstokes]

(Note: It's not a "hot water heater". No one needs to heat hot water.)

The water heater hasn't been heating as well as it used to. The colder weather could have a slight effect on performance because the water coming into the house (from the tank) is slightly colder, but not enough to make as much difference as we're seeing.

The manual for our model might describe a way to pull the heating element(s) out of it and inspect. If there are two, maybe one of them is broken. Or maybe they're just caked with mineral deposits and need to be cleaned.

I'm not sure if it will require draining to check. If so, see Dada for help draining it.

After we know more about what's wrong, post your findings as a comment on this issue.

[BallerPaul]

Here is the manual for the heater. https://www.aosmithatlowes.com/media/1032/100277325.pdf

[BallerPaul]

The water heater is supposed to receive an inspection and maintenance 6 months after initial installation, and annually beyond that point. The main issue that needs to be addressed is the anode rod. The anode rod is supposed to be replaced regularly and may need to be replaced more frequently in our case since we have a water softener. The manual linked to above gives instructions on page 20 on how to inspect and replace this. Pages 21-22 explain how to inspect the heating elements, which is the next step after replacing the anode rod if it's fully depleted.

[jonathanstokes]

Nice work, @BallerPaul. ~Does the inspection process require draining the water from the heater?~ Nevermind, I read that much.

But can you post the model number in this issue? Seems like we should have at least the anode rod replacement part on hand when we drain the tank to inspect it. Maybe heating elements too unless they're super expensive, because we know we'll use them eventually.

[jonathanstokes]

@BallerPaul ☝️

[jonathanstokes]

Model: E6-50H45DV 110 Serial: 1712105444758 Item ID / Part Number: 100274323