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GUIDES

Water heater troubleshooting, one symptom at a time

Pick what your heater is doing. Each guide starts with the cheapest likely cause and only sends you to a pro when the job genuinely needs one.

01

Electric water heater not heating? Check it in the right order

Power, reset, thermostats and elements — the exact sequence that finds the fault, with the multimeter number that pinpoints a dead element.

electric · no hot water · element test
02

Reset button keeps tripping? Here's the real cause

The red ECO trips for a reason. Why you should stop pushing it and how to find the shorted part.

electric · high-limit · safety
03

Water heater leaking from the bottom: tank or fitting?

How to tell a fixable fitting leak from a failed tank in five minutes, before you spend on anything.

leak · T&P valve · tank
04

Gas water heater pilot light won't stay lit

Thermocouple, thermopile or gas valve — how to test each one without a service call.

gas · pilot · thermocouple
05

How to replace the anode rod and add years to your tank

Rotten-egg smell or rusty water? The rod is the cheapest fix that buys a tank real time.

maintenance · anode · how-to
06

Rheem tankless error code 11, explained

Ignition failure. What to check with gas, venting and the flame rod before you reset the unit.

tankless · Rheem · error code