Water Heater Element?

[sfish]

I am replacing the water heater element. The current one is a 120v 1440 watt element.I went to Lowes and Home Depot and they only have 120v 1500 watt elements. Will they be ok or should I order one exactly like I have? Thanks for any advise.

Steve

[racerjoe]

It should be. do you know what the amp draw is between the two? As long as you are under your amp rating on your breaker you should be okay

[sfish]

I just went to a local hdwe. store and they had the right one. thanks for your help.

Steve

[Art-n-Marge]

I always been told to match the rating of the currently installed element and not go by the 15 amp or 20 amp circuit it connects to. I think there is more to the element rating in that many of the other components used means the element should match what was there. Even though the replacement you originally found would probably work, maybe in time those extra 60 watts could cause some of these other components to fail.

I'm glad to hear that you found an exact replacement. If I had no choice I might use the higher rating to get things up and running but only long enough to find an exact match, or in this case, skip the electric and use only propane. Tim the Toolman Taylor is alive and well but even he overdid it at times.

[Ozz]

I went with that one, it was fine. I see you already replaced yours.

[uhftx]

I need to replace my element also. Good to know they are available at local places. Thanks guys.

BTW: FYI: Power = Voltage X Current
Power is in Watts.
Voltage is the 120 in this case.

A little algebra will tell us that the 1450Watt version is 12.083 Amps
the 1500Watt version is 12.5 Amps

The 0.417 amps will not make a difference regarding a 15 amp circuit breaker in this instance.
Now if the element was closer to 1800 Watts then that would be 15Amps maximum for that circuit.

[Jolu]

I noticed our local NAPA store had elements for the RV and a few other things. Kind of surprised me.

[DQDick]

A little algebra will tell us that the 1450Watt version is 12.083 Amps
the 1500Watt version is 12.5 Amps

The 0.417 amps will not make a difference regarding a 15 amp circuit breaker in this instance.

On the other hand, if you're like us and spending a Kansas summer with only a 30amp hookup .42 amps makes a difference. Trying to balance the water heater, AC, refrigerator, washer/dryer and the other things that run was a challenge for a while. Got it figured out now, don't want to have to start again. I know we could use propane for some of that, but we're not paying the electric bill and I'm cheap!

[uhftx]

Hi Dick and Joyce

I know what you mean about only having 30amp service. I do not like the way my outlets are wired to begin with. When my parents were alive my dad's oxygen concentrator was a serious load when we took them with us, I could not make toast nor vacuum without tripping the breaker.

On another note. Watch your campground supplied voltage for all the reasons you mention. If your charge converter is not a 3 state charge Iota has a ~$30 module that will convert to a 3 state charge/converter (mine is old and just 2 state) this is a variable load on the AC side and you never know when it is going to kick on to top off the house battery.

I have been using Propane for the water heater. I turn it on in the AM for a shower and If we have a ton of dishes, while we are eating for doing pots and pans. You would be surprised how long that water stays hot in the tank. I will be buying a replacement element soon though.

LED and compact florescent lighting draw much less current.
maybe an autoformer (yes I have read the pro/con threads on this) but it would help you out, keep your 3600watt constant load under the 30amp supply. Solar supplement is an option also but not cost effective from my perspective I'm cheap too

Best of luck and happy travels.