Electric Water Heater-No Hot Water New A/C (washer, townhouse, AC)

[Mugsy]

Hi,

My Mom lives in her circa 1970 Townhouse, and she had a new A/C Heating unit installed a few days ago.

I had a licensed Handyman come out after she told me she had no hot water in her shower. She thought it was the mixer valve.

They tested her water heated, drained the water etc...

Turned out, the new A/C unit was causing the problem.

They installed a larger breaker.

It has not fixed the problem.

I can "reset" the breaker on the Electric Hot Water Heater, and she will have hot water again, but, this is not practical at all...she lives alone and has early Alzheimer's.

Any thoughts on the solution? I am ready to call out a licensed, bonded Electrician tomorrow.

TIA!

[Kootr]

The A/C - Heating has a circuit breaker of its own and the water heater has its own circuit breaker. The only similarity is that both of these circuits use 230 volts, but that's all. I assume since the A/C - Heating systems is new the repairman thought it needed a larger breaker (I hope the breaker matches the wire ampacity), but what he did has no bearing on the water heater. It sounds like you are confused about what the original problem was, or the repairman was confused. Something doesn't make any sense. It's kinda like taking a car in for new tires but the repair shop gives you an oil change instead.

[Mugsy]

Originally Posted by Kooter

The A/C - Heating has a circuit breaker of its own and the water heater has its own circuit breaker. The only similarity is that both of these circuits use 230 volts, but that's all. I assume since the A/C - Heating systems is new the repairman thought it needed a larger breaker (I hope the breaker matches the wire ampacity), but what he did has no bearing on the water heater. It sounds like you are confused about what the original problem was, or the repairman was confused. Something doesn't make any sense. It's kinda like taking a car in for new tires but the repair shop gives you an oil change instead.

All I know is I want her to have hot water, without having to have the Electric Water Heater reset button reset.

Is hiring a licensed bonded electrician the solution?

The water heater works, the A/C works.

The problem is the A/C is using more electricity than the water heater, which is electric.

The handyman is licensed, but I want to hire a licensed electrician.

I think they would be able to troubleshoot and fix the problem better...

[harry chickpea]

1970 would likely be a 150 amp entrance, possibly even smaller. A large AC unit, coming on at the same time as an electric stove, dryer, and water heater element could be stressing older wiring and possibly tripping the main. If the AC was wired into the water heater circuit, it is not code compliant, and you need that licensed electrician to correct it. You need to have one come out. Having improper wiring and an elderly person with confusion is a recipe for disaster.

[ShaneSA]

Sounds more like the water heater is bad. Maybe the the reset works, but it is tripping for a reason. The water heater and A/C have seperate circuits. both 220. Call a plumber and check the water heater.

[Mugsy]

Originally Posted by ShaneSA

Sounds more like the water heater is bad. Maybe the the reset works, but it is tripping for a reason. The water heater and A/C have seperate circuits. both 220. Call a plumber and check the water heater.

Water heater checked out as working. They replaced the elements, it works just fine.

[Mugsy]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

1970 would likely be a 150 amp entrance, possibly even smaller. A large AC unit, coming on at the same time as an electric stove, dryer, and water heater element could be stressing older wiring and possibly tripping the main. If the AC was wired into the water heater circuit, it is not code compliant, and you need that licensed electrician to correct it. You need to have one come out. Having improper wiring and an elderly person with confusion is a recipe for disaster.

I think the electric water heater is being tripped by the new A/C unit. No other major appliances. My Mother no longer uses the oven, and she only uses the microwave at 2 minute increments. No washer/dryer in her home either.

[Barking Spider]

It would be very easy to check to see if they are on the same circuit. They should NOT be on the same circuit.

If she didn't have problems before the new a/c unit was installed, then the problem is likely from something the a/c contractor did during the installation.

YOu said water heater checked out, they replaced the elements. Was there something wrong with the elements? Elements are usually replaced because they are bad, not just for the heck of it. It also could be that the water heater is past it's normal life span and is going out and the time frame just happens to be the same time as the new a/c. There maybe something wrong with the water heater.

The first thing I would check is if they are on the same circuit. If they are not, then the problem is with the water heater.

Also, is the breaker for the water heater tripping, or is it just the reset button on the water heater that trips? There is a big difference between the two.

[Kootr]

Originally Posted by Mugsy

All I know is I want her to have hot water, without having to have the Electric Water Heater reset button reset.

Is hiring a licensed bonded electrician the solution?

The water heater works, the A/C works.

The problem is the A/C is using more electricity than the water heater, which is electric.

The handyman is licensed, but I want to hire a licensed electrician.

I think they would be able to troubleshoot and fix the problem better...

The way this problem is being explained makes no sense to me.

You say the water heater works, and the A/C works. (Okay)

Then you say you want the water heater to work without having to reset the water heater. I assume you mean resetting a tripped circuit breaker dedicated for [just] the water heater. (This sounds like the problem is either the water heater or the circuit breaker for the water heater, which has nothing whatsoever to do with the A/C.)

Then you say the problem is with the A/C using more electricity than the water heater. If you mean the A/C pulls more current than the water heater - that could very well be true, but that isn't a problem. Also, an A/C almost certainly uses "more" electricity over-time because it is used more often than a water heater.

For your information, an A/C is an inductive load (motor) which normally takes a larger circuit breaker than a non-inductive load (water heater). For example most water heaters take a 30 amp circuit breaker whereas an A/C that pulls 25 or 30 amps will likely have a 40 amp or 50 amp circuit breaker. However, both a water heater and an A/C are on separate circuits and don't have any other relationship with one another.

[Cosmic]

If I understand this problem correctly, both the A/C and water heater are on separate 220VAC circuits. The water heater sometimes trips out and there is no hot water.

When both the A/C and hot water systems are checked out separately no identified problems can be found.

It can be the house is wired with 100 amp service, electrical system is a bit on the small side.

If the hot water heater is on and then the A/C comes on, the water heater breaker trips. Points to a voltage dip, can happen, breaker sees it as an trip condition due to a current blip. Maybe shouldn't but sometimes it does happen. Temperature may play a part, breaker do strange things if the ambient temperature is up.

You could have a combo of things. The electrical main service is sized on the small side. The total draw for the house is close to the max, got some voltage drop in the system already, get a big load kicking in. Breaker does not work as advertised. Yeah, I could understand that.

Could try checking all the cables sizing, might try changing out the hot water heater breaker for a better quality one.

Increasing breaker size without matching cable size is a no-no. One solution can be leaving a small fan blowing on the open breaker panel at all times and see if that seems to fix it. Can point you in the right direction. In a pinch water heater breaker could be increased if the proper cable size is available. Might want to recalcuated the total house load and see what that tells you. Main service might be on the marginal side for conditions.