I shut off the hot water as part of a tub replacement. At the end of the day ,I turned the water back on(so the daughter would have water overnight)and the best it would get is lukewarm.Replacing both elements had no effect. Heater is only 4 years old. Any thoughts?
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Double check your valves.
somethin is screwy if the elements are aok. (gotta make sure you fill the tank prior to turning the circuit breaker back on by the way)
You probably know it now, but you should always cut the power to an electric heater (and the gas to a gas one) when you shut off the water, even if you aren't intentionally draining the tank. Sometimes a "quick job" turns into a long one and the tank siphons dry while you're futzing about.
Anyway, there are only four five points of failure on your typical electric unit:
Incoming power
Upper thermostat and overtemp switch
Upper element
Lower thermostat
Lower element
(Well, actually there is a fairly common 6th point of failure, or rather multi-point of failure -- the multiple wiring connections within the unit. So check for any signs of burned or broken wires.)
If the problem is the lower element or thermostat then the first water you draw will be hot, but it will be used up quickly (since only the top foot or so of the tank gets hot). If the upper element is burned out you'll get basically no heat (though occasionally you get a little from electrolytic heating). If the upper thermostat is bad you can get no heat at all or too much.
What I'd suggest you do first (before replacing the elements, even ;) ) is to open the top access door and check that the overtemp switch has not tripped -- it's generally a red button that pops out when tripped, so just try pushing it in.
If that's not the problem then you need a tester, but a neon tester or your typical electronic voltmeter will give flaky readings -- you need a "wiggy" or an incandescent light bulb tester.
But the test procedure is complicated to explain (though simple to do), so that's for another time.
As part of the tub changeout, did you install a new tub/shower valve? If the guts aren't in the rough in valve, mixing of hot and cold (cross-over) can affect the whole house water temp.
Good point.
If other fixtures in the house have hot water, but the tub doesn't, then I suspect Calvin's got the answer.
You didn't read Calvin's answer. With the single-handle shower controls, if the control is installed but the "guts" not installed -- just a rough-in plug over the control to hold the water in -- then the control functions as a "mixer" for the whole house, and lukewarm water may be delivered everywhere.