Water heater keeps tripping circuit breaker

Vegas

Vegas

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Feb 12, 2009
137
Beneteau 37 JBM, St. Clair Shores, MI
I've got the Quick Nautic Boiler, 25BX, on my 37. Recently it has been tripping the circuit breaker whenever I turn it on. Has anyone else had this issue? Should I first replace the circuit breaker to make sure that's not the problem? It would be a lot easier and cheaper than replacing the heating element and the thermostat from Quick, at about $200 in parts. Does anyone know if other companies make interchangeable thermostats and heating elements for that?
 
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Benny17441

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May 24, 2004
7,164
CC 30 South Florida
The outer cover of the electric heating element is likely pitted and it is causing a short circuit. The solution is to replace the element. Contact the manufacturer for parts and service.
 
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Rob2435

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Jun 4, 2004
287
Beneteau Oceanis 352 NYC
check all electrical connections at the water heater, first, then try changing element if everything looks good.
 
Ron20324

Ron20324

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Jan 22, 2008
8,050
Beneteau 323 Annapolis MD
I would not think the element would cause the trip. My heater got hot - I think the thermal overload protector did not open- and melted the insulation next to the push-on connectors. Someone might correct me, but I believe heater elements of the size we deal with have the same thread? One from an RV store, maybe even Home Depot could be you low-buck answer. Even if it's not the element, you'll probably need it sometime in the future.
 
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Capt jgw

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Feb 8, 2014
1,300
Columbia 36 Muskegon
Breakers do wear out, and a WH is a big load. Do you have another breaker of the same rating in the panel? You could temporarily switch the wires around to run the heater on the other breaker. If it pops that one too you know it's not the breaker that's bad.
 
centerline

centerline

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Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
Capt jgw said:
Breakers do wear out, and a WH is a big load.
Click to expand
I agree... for the price of a circuit breaker I would buy a replacement and try it before anything else.... after all these years it wouldnt hurt it, and the very worst that could happen is you end up with a spare in inventory.... and then have to move on to the more involved repair.... with a multimeter at the heating elements to see if either post is grounding slightly to the tank/housing...
 
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Blitz

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Jul 10, 2007
701
Seidelmann 34 Atlantic Highlands, NJ
After checking all the connections and checking the breaker, the manufacturer might give you the proper resistance (ohms) to measure at the heating element to help you troubleshoot. Raritan helped me out there for my water heater.
 
kloudie1

kloudie1

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Nov 6, 2006
10,048
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Ohms reading is going to be pretty low measured between the power terminals on the heater (maybe 12-15 ohms cold. some meters can't measure accurately that low).. Most likely shorted to ground, and that is an easy check to make.. Be sure you are unplugged, turn the breaker off.. then, as Benny says, check the power terminals on the element to chassis ground. Should not be any connection.
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

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Feb 26, 2004
22,979
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
In our 18 years of experience and 30 years of C34 documented material, our experience is that the heaters die well before the elements. If you have wiring issues, not so much. :)

I agree, do the easy stuff first, check the wiring connections at the heater, then replace the breaker.

Good luck.
 
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Capt jgw

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Feb 8, 2014
1,300
Columbia 36 Muskegon
If the heater got powered up with no water on it, that will kill it real quick. Usually the element just melts off, but it could sag down and touch the case, which would be a dead short. It's easy enough to unscrew the element and check, and if its bad take it to the hardware store for a new one. I'm not familiar with that make, but most of them use standard elements you can get anywhere for just a few dollars.
 
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Benny17441

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May 24, 2004
7,164
CC 30 South Florida
No need to buy a new breaker to test the old one. Just disconnect the wires from the heater and hook them up to a load. A 1500W small space heater would do nicely. If that does not trip the breaker it is an indication that it is fine.
 
Vegas

Vegas

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Feb 12, 2009
137
Beneteau 37 JBM, St. Clair Shores, MI
PROBLEM SOLVED!

I talked to the water heater manufacturer, Quick, and they said the thermostat is 5 times more likely to fail than the heating element. I ordered both, and are OEM, but I saved a few bucks by ordering them from WWW.GLOBALINDUSTRIAL.COM, rather than from www.quickusastore.com. Heating element approx $75, Thermostat approx. $25. As in most boat repairs, getting at it was the hardest part. Had to unscrew a few panels under the settee. Changing the thermostat was way easier than the heating element would likely be, so replaced the thermostat and tested the water heater. Seems to be working fine so far, without circuit breaker trips. Guess I will just keep the new heating element in my spare parts inventory, because I will likely need it eventually.

Thank you all for your suggestions!!!!!!!
 
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