Water Heater Thermostat Burning Smell
But the next day we noticed a funny smell by the second day it was getting stronger and smelt like a burning smell coming from the water heater area.
Water heater thermostat burning smell. Water heater smells like. If your hot water has a sulfur or rotten egg odor to it the odor is being produced right in the water heater. So if your water heater starts to smell like it s burning pay attention and nip it in the bud. Burning rubber or plastic.
Kind of like a light bulb will only suck so much dark and when its full it stops working until you replace it. It could be due to old insulation or insulation that hasn t been properly packed. Typically 120 degrees is sufficient for most hot water needs. To remove smell from water tank or when hot water heater smells like sulfur consider sanitizing the tank using hydrogen peroxide.
The smell will dissipate in a while or spray some febreze in and around the compartment where it was. After opening it up we discovered the red wire on the bottom element was burning. However this insulation should never come near the flame. But if it s the contacts on the thermostat that is mounted on the outside of the heater that are burning the current doesn t really increase enough to trip the breaker but the plastic parts around the switch will smolder.
In addition to the inconvenience of not having a working heater you or your family could start experiencing the following from smelling noxious gases. Typically water heaters are covered with packed insulation to keep them from being hot to the touch. The water heater thermostat has a dial indicator that allows you to control the temperature of the water. If your water is electric what you smell is burnt insulation or the plastic wire guard around where the heating element thermostat units became too hot or arched because of loose or failing wire.
Best bet is to have it serviced or replaced by a technician. This is important for many reasons. If all that magic smoke goes out it will quit working. Hold the new one up with the old one and compare how much dark the old one sucked pretty impressive.
The last thing you need is a cold shower because of water heater issues. 5 reasons your water heater smells like burning 1. Does your water heater smell like burning plastic or burning rubber. If the electrical contacts on the thermostat mounted outside the water heater are overheating the plastic parts around the switch may overheat and burn.
If that is the case it s good to have it. If you smell burning rubber or burning plastic turn off the power source at the breaker first before trying to pinpoint the smell. Water heater odors most odors reported on city water are from water heater smells.