Electric Water Heater Tripping Breaker In Electrical Panel

A gas water heater needs a 30 inch by 30 inch area per international residential code irc m1305 1 2 and an electric water heater has the same 30 inch by 36 inch requirement as an an electrical panel per national electrical code nec 110 26 a.

Electric water heater tripping breaker in electrical panel.

Multiply the current rating of the water heater with 125. One on top and one on the bottom. Okay with that out of the way let s look at the possible problems that are causing your electric water heater to trip your breaker. Has this ever happened to you.

Most electric water heaters have 2 heating elements. Now in order to choose an electric breaker multiply the current draw of the water heater with 125 per cent in order to determine the size of the breaker you will need. Make sure the power to the water heater is off. There are three possible explanations for a breaker being tripped by a hot water heater.

Burnt out heating element. Your water heater trips the circuit breaker in your house. The heating element is the part of your water heater that heats the water. So you go and reset the circuit breaker.

Then after a few. There service areas of panel and water heater can overlap of course. An electrical circuit breaker is a switching device that can be operated automatically or manually for controlling and protecting the electrical power system and the electrical devices connected to it. If the water heater has two elements as most electric water heaters do both elements remaining on at the same time can overload the circuit.

This means that the flow of electricity is cut off to keep your circuits. The circuit breaker trips when too much electricity flows through it or when it cannot handle the excess current load. Internal circuit it might just be a simple wiring issue causing your breaker to trip so turn off the power and open the panel and check the part where your heater is. To test for circuit overload the next time the breaker trips go to the electrical panel and turn off all the switches in the affected area and unplug all appliances lamps and other devices.

In a us household the current draw for a 1500 watt water heater is 12 5 amps. The circuit will then draw too much current and get hot causing the breaker in the breaker box to trip.