New Water heaters and singing circuit boxes...

or....
is my home gonna burn down???
our water heater blew friday in the middle of the night, which scared the crap out of me. So, my son, who installs such creatures for a living made a deal with the landlord, to replace it... basically, he got the water heater at a discount and put it in for free.
so, well, after one long irratating day for him and two trips to the home depot because the first one wouldn't fit, we have a water heater!!!
ya!!! well I was saying ya for while till I saw his work van stuck in the back yard and the circuit breaker started humming which the thing is in my bedroom, I would know if it had such musical talent before the water heater came in. well, we turned it off for for a few hours and when we turned it back on, it was fine the rest of the weekend. I did some laundry, and some dishes, everything fine. but my son is such a hot water hog in the morning when he takes his shower before work, and well.... guess it isn't alright.
my son the electronics major says he must of wired it wrong, my other the plumber says there's only one way you can install the things...
and, I am saying that if the thing catches fire, I am totally screwed because it's in my bedroom blocking my only exit and half the my closet is blocking what would be my only escape out of here through the windows!

anyone have else have this happen. I think he will probably be picking up a new circuit breaker, but I really could use a good nights sleep which ain't gonna happen as long as the thing is singing during my son's showers!

Is it on a dedicated circuit?


edit: get a fire extinguisher for next to your bed, not joking.

a reply to: wheresthebody

by dedicated circuit you mean is the water heater the only thing that it's feeding ya...
a better suggestion would be to sleep out in the living room... during the day, when no one is using the hot water and the breaker is turned off.

a reply to: dawnstar


The breaker itself may be shot.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus


ya, hopefully he will get one today to replace it. then see what happens. till then, heck with it, I can heat water up one the stove...

a reply to: dawnstar

Is the circuit breaker warm/hot to touch?

I haven't ever heard a circuit breaker make noise, other than the snap when one trips.

I have heard water heaters singing before though.

a reply to: butcherguy

it's not the water heater, it's the breaker box, and the first time the circuit was warm, but not this time. it kind of sounds like an electric razor.
the electrical system in this place is a little funky anyways. I blow the lightbulb in my little lamp in the bedroom about once every couple of weeks, and well, when it comes to electricity, I think we stretch the limits anyways.

a reply to: dawnstar

Make sure the wires are screwed in tight on both ends. 220vac will cause the wires to vibrate (strange but true)
Also replace the breaker. It may have been damaged when the old HWH went bad or caused the old one to go bad.
If still having a problem contact and electrician. Better safe than sorry.

originally posted by: dawnstar
a reply to: butcherguy

it's not the water heater, it's the breaker box, and the first time the circuit was warm, but not this time. it kind of sounds like an electric razor.
the electrical system in this place is a little funky anyways. I blow the lightbulb in my little lamp in the bedroom about once every couple of weeks, and well, when it comes to electricity, I think we stretch the limits anyways.

It could be arcing due to a loose connection (either wiring to the breaker or contacts inside the breaker itself). Usually arcing will cause higher than normal amp draw and there will be heating occurring.
Good luck, I hope that you get it straightened out very soon!

thought these things switched off when things went weird??

a reply to: dawnstar

my circuit breaker started humming

The humming is a collateral effect of that newfangled "Green Energy"...try installing a flux capacitor that converts over to coal power....or , If you really want to be sure, Go Nuclear...


Circuit Breaker Panel Humming Noise

okay, so it's probably either a bad circuit breaker failing to trip, or a loose wire...
crossing my fingers here and leaving the danged thing off for now... lol...
dragging out the packing boxes getting ready to move...

just in case

originally posted by: dawnstar
okay, so it's probably either a bad circuit breaker failing to trip, or a loose wire...
crossing my fingers here and leaving the danged thing off for now... lol...
dragging out the packing boxes getting ready to move...

just in case

That's a bit overkill. You haven't even tried burning the place down yet. If it stops buzzing, you know it was something.

a reply to: badw0lf
I don't want the place to burn down, then my son would probably be blamed because he installed the water heater....

but, I was playing around with an online tarot reading, it said the key was to let the mice keep doing their thing, they will take care of it and there will be a financial reward coming my way!!!
haven't seen any sign of mice, but I am looking. lol...

originally posted by: dawnstar
a reply to: butcherguy

it's not the water heater, it's the breaker box, and the first time the circuit was warm, but not this time. it kind of sounds like an electric razor.
the electrical system in this place is a little funky anyways. I blow the lightbulb in my little lamp in the bedroom about once every couple of weeks, and well, when it comes to electricity, I think we stretch the limits anyways.

Somebody needs to put a decent multimeter on that circuit. with what you said above, something isn't right--no news to you! It may be the voltage coming into the house/apartment on one side of the wire is too high. That would be the wire powering your light fixture. If this is in the US, the voltage should not vary much from 110-115 volts per wire. It doesn't sound like your son really has a handle on this business even if he does it every day.

a reply to: Aliensun


he's still just an apprentice plumber, is he supposed to have a handle on everything?
we have a new circuit breaker in it, ain't singing yet....
so, hope it's working right...

A typical water heater in the US requires a 30 amp, 240 volt dedicated circuit on #10 AWG cu wire. Be sure there is a pop off valve on the heater. The pop off valve will vent over pressure in the event of a thermostat failure, and by doing so prevent a steam explosion. I hope this helps.

well, thanks everyone, new breaker is in, hasn't made a sound. hopefully everything is okay
the true test will come tomorrow when my son drains the hot water out of the tank and it has to work overtime to keep up with him probably...
but so far so good??? maybe... I should go sleep in the living room I think...

the house is still standing!!!
part of the problem was that the old circuit was only 20 amps, maybe the old water heater could function on that, but it should have been 30 amps all along...
hopefully the wiring is capable of carrying it...
anyway, I am done worrying about it, by what I am reading, the place wasn't up to code to begin with.

originally posted by: dawnstar
the house is still standing!!!
part of the problem was that the old circuit was only 20 amps, maybe the old water heater could function on that, but it should have been 30 amps all along...
hopefully the wiring is capable of carrying it...
anyway, I am done worrying about it, by what I am reading, the place wasn't up to code to begin with.

Please follow Nickn3 post above..... 10 AWG copper conductors for that 30 amp circuit. Then none of us will have to worry.