Shower Water Heater

[Johnniey]

Just noticed that my heater doesn't come on. I see that on my electrical box one of the things has moved(cut out perhaps). I know nothing about electricity.

Is it safe to move the lever back and see if it works? I am paranoid when it comes to electricity and water(maybe rightly so)

[Crossy]

Push it back up and try the heater.

If it trips again you have a problem.

[Johnniey]

Thanks for the swift reply mate - freezing here.

There have been 3 people using it already with it turned nearly full on.

[Crossy]

If it's over about 3.5kW then continuous use will likely open that 16A breaker, just let things cool down a bit and you'll be good to go.

[Gsxrnz]

If you have no experience with switchboards, you may think that when you apply upward pressure to the switch that it refuses to go and will feel like it kind of springs back downward at the halfway point.

Don't worry - just apply more pressure (to the point where you may feel it is excessive pressure) and it will get past this midway point and reset upwards.

[Suradit69]

If you have no experience with switchboards, you may think that when you apply upward pressure to the switch that it refuses to go and will feel like it kind of springs back downward at the halfway point.

Don't worry - just apply more pressure (to the point where you may feel it is excessive pressure) and it will get past this midway point and reset upwards.

Or once it's cooled down open the hot water tap first and then go to the distribution box (away from that bathroom presumably) and push the switch up.

If it immediately drops down again as the water heater tries to start up you probably have an issue.

Mine also has a cut off switch in the bathroom which has, with previous water heaters, switched itself off before the one in the distribution box has had the chance. My (German made) on-demand water heaters seem to die almost exactly every five years after being installed.

[dddave]

Sometimes a water heater will shut itself down if the water supply runs low while the heater is being run on full power. This is really a protective action. When the water supply is too low, it can get way too hot and possibly scald the user.

Check for a "RE-SET" switch on the heater.

[WhizBang]

Sometimes a water heater will shut itself down if the water supply runs low while the heater is being run on full power. This is really a protective action. When the water supply is too low, it can get way too hot and possibly scald the user.

Check for a "RE-SET" switch on the heater.

Also check water pressure, because, as stated, low water pressure will not allow it to come on.