Help with 30gal. electric hot water tank

[mike14004]

I had a water pipe leak on my hot water tank.I replaced upper thermostat and both heating elements.I have power to both heating elements and thermosats but no hot water.Could the new heating elements be bad.Any help would be great.Thanks Mike

[kactuskid]

You'll need a multimeter to test the elements, they're not expensive and can be found at Sears or Radio Shack. Then you'll need to test the elements and the thermostates using the resistance measurement. Below is a link that'll tell you exactly how to do it.

http://www.bobvila.com/HowTo_Library...ers-F2171.html

If everything checks out ok then the problem could be your dip tube. Make sure the diptube is not broken off and extends to near the bottom of the tank. This is what directs the hot water up and out of your tank. Here's another link to explain them and what they do.
http://www.reevesjournal.com/CDA/Arc...00f932a8c0____

And here's a link that'll show you how to use your meter, make sure that NO POWER is present when testing with the OHMS function

http://www.rd.com/content/openConten...ontentId=18278

Ask back with any questions.

[HayZee518]

I have to NOT agree with kactuskid. The dip tube feeds the COLD water to the bottom of the tank. As the bottom element turns on hot water is stratified to the top of the tank where it is taken off. Both elements don't turn on because it would be too much current to be handled by the input cable - elements are normally 1500 watts each and are sequentially wired. Some hot water tanks are wired through another contact and timer meter at the service entrance meter. iIts called off peak metering -