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What would be the cause of the elements to go out in my electric water heater?

My wife is convinced that it's because the water heater hasn't been drained/flushed in the past 3 years.

I was also told it was an issue with over use or possibly just old age (installed in 2004).

So for future reference so I can prevent this, what could cause them to go out?

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Thanks for the more decriptive title @Niall – NW Tech Jul 27 '11 at 16:51
Almost all water heaters have two electric elements. Are you getting no hot water at all, or are you getting some, but it runs out quicker than it should? – Michael Jul 27 '11 at 17:41
it was an instance of limited hot water then running out and eventually no hot water at all. both elements were replaced and seems to be back up and running. Just trying to figure out what could have prevented it. – NW Tech Jul 27 '11 at 19:50
Hard to say. Sediment at the bottom can definitely cause the bottom element to quit working (hot water will run out very quickly) or break, but not the top element. Hard to guess what might have caused the top element to fail without being able to see the condition of it when it was removed. That said, if you live in a hard water area and don't have a water softener, your anode rod needs replacing unless you'e already done it or unless you've got a model with 2 anode rods (tank will have a sticker saying ~12 years, e.g. Power Miser 12,) in which case you can wait another 3 years or so. – Michael Jul 27 '11 at 20:41

1 Answer

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There's a few problems. The most common is the tank rusting out. (This can usually be prolonged if you replace the sacrificial anode regularly, but it won't prevent it forever.) The second is sediment. If you have a lot of rust in your pipes or water with a lot of sediment, it can build up in the bottom of the tank. It can also build up on the elements.

Check out this website... What Kills Water Heaters

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