# Water heater no hot water: the electric and gas causes in the makers' own order, and the reset button you press once > Rheem lists 8 electric and 3 gas causes of no hot water. Upper element and ECO kill all of it; a lower element only shortens it. Press the reset once, never twice. | | | |---|---| | Source | https://ownerspec.com/plumbing/guides/water-heater-no-hot-water-electric-gas/ | | Publisher | OwnerSpec (https://ownerspec.com/) | | Published | 2026-10-02 | | Updated | 2026-10-02 | | Facts verified | 2026-10-02 | | Disclosure | Contains affiliate links. OwnerSpec may earn a commission at no cost to the reader. | --- ## Short answer A water heater with no hot water at all has a different cause from one that runs out early, and the makers' troubleshooting tables draw the line. For an electric tank, Rheem's Technical Service Bulletin 1307 lists 8 causes of no hot water: a manual switch off, a blown fuse or tripped breaker, a tripped high-limit (ECO) reset button, a defective upper thermostat, a defective upper element, a grounded thermostat, a thermostat out of calibration, and improper wiring. The lower element and lower thermostat appear only under not enough hot water. For a gas tank, Rheem bulletin 1405 lists 3 causes: gas supply off, pilot not lit, main burner not lit. Start at the breaker or the gas knob, then the reset button or the pilot. Bradford White's electric manual says that if the energy cut-out trips from overheating, turn off the electrical supply and contact a qualified service technician. If you smell gas, leave and call the gas supplier from a neighbor's phone. ## Fact sheet - **Answer:** Rheem's Technical Service Bulletin 1307 lists 8 electric no-hot-water causes: the switch, breaker or fuse, the tripped high-limit (ECO) button, the upper thermostat, the upper element, a grounded or miscalibrated thermostat, and wiring. The lower element and lower thermostat only shorten the supply. Rheem bulletin 1405 gives 3 gas causes: gas supply off, pilot not lit, main burner not lit. - **Basis:** Manufacturer troubleshooting tables and installation manuals: Rheem Technical Service Bulletins 1307, 1308, 1315, 1405, 1417 and 1418, Bradford White electric manual 238-44422 and gas FVIR manual 238-51012-00, Bradford White Quick Service Guide 238-55593-00A and FAQ, and A. O. Smith Technical Bulletin 36. No code section is cited; local codes vary. - **Assumptions:** A residential storage tank water heater: a two-element 240 V electric tank or an atmospheric gas tank with a standing pilot or an electronic (ICON type) gas control. Tankless and heat pump units have their own diagnostics and are outside this page.; The cause lists are each maker's published general tables. The manual for your model, and the lighting label on the tank, override anything here.; Anything behind the access cover of an electric tank, and any work on a gas control, is done with power off at the breaker or the gas off, following the manual. Bradford White's manual says not to repair thermostats, elements or wiring and to refer those repairs to a qualified service technician. - **Method:** A comparison of manufacturer troubleshooting bulletins and installation manuals, read as PDFs and web pages on 2 October 2026. Symptom rows are copied from each maker's own cause list and attributed to it. No tests were run and no units were opened for this page. - **Primary source:** [Rheem TSB 1307 Residential Electric Troubleshooting Table (PDF)](https://cdn.globalimageserver.com/FetchDocument.aspx?ID=0e0b50ec-76cc-4a7d-9204-610e231a68ea) (manufacturer or vendor document) - **Facts verified:** 2026-10-02 - **Last updated:** 2026-10-02 - **Canonical URL (cite this):** https://ownerspec.com/plumbing/guides/water-heater-no-hot-water-electric-gas/ Do not press the red reset button a second time: if it trips again, the button did its job and the fault is still there. ## Which table do you need? The fuel decides the table. An electric tank has two access covers on its side and a 240 V breaker; a gas tank has a gas control at the bottom with a knob or a status light. If you smell gas, this is the wrong page: Bradford White's gas manual says do not try to light any appliance, do not touch any electrical switch, do not use any phone in your building, and call your gas supplier from a neighbor's phone. If the heater runs out early rather than never heating, the tank may simply be undersized: check the [first hour rating calculator](/plumbing/calculators/water-heater-size-first-hour-rating/). ## Electric tank: what does the symptom tell you? Bradford White's electric manual says to disconnect all power at the main circuit breaker or fuse box before any work, and not to repair thermostats, elements or wiring yourself. The rows below are Rheem bulletin 1307's cause list, in Rheem's grouping. | Symptom | Cause on Rheem's list | What confirms it, and the next page | |---|---|---| | No hot water, breaker tripped | Blown fuse or tripped breaker; a repeat trip points at a grounded element or improper wiring | Reset the breaker once; a second trip is an electrician's call | | No hot water, breaker fine | High-limit switch tripped: Rheem's service step is "manually reset ECO button" | Press it once. Bradford White: a trip from overheating means power off and a technician | | No hot water, reset does nothing | Defective upper element, or defective upper thermostat | Power off, then a continuity test: [element resistance ohms test](/plumbing/calculators/water-heater-element-resistance-ohms-test/) | | Short burst of hot water, then cold | Defective lower element, or a defective or miswired lower thermostat (Rheem lists these under not enough hot water) | Same test on the lower element; replacement by rating: [element by wattage and voltage](/plumbing/parts/water-heater-heating-element-by-wattage-and-voltage/) | | Hot water runs out faster than it used to | Scale on the elements, a damaged dip tube, or a thermostat set low | Rheem bulletin 1308 calls scale over 1/16 inch excessive; see [sediment flush](/plumbing/guides/water-heater-popping-noise-sediment-flush/) | | Slow recovery after a shower | Elements too small for the tank, or a defective lower thermostat | Match the element rating to the nameplate, not to the old part | The high-limit switch is the safety thermostat on the upper control. Bradford White's manual describes it as a manual reset, trip-free device that interrupts all ungrounded power conductors if a thermostat fails. A tripped ECO is a thermostat problem, not a button to press again. ## Why does one bad element kill all the hot water, and the other only some? Because the two elements never run together. Rheem bulletin 1315 explains that on a double element tank only one thermostat has power at a time: the upper thermostat heats the top of the tank first, then transfers power to the lower thermostat, which heats roughly the bottom two thirds. If the upper element or upper thermostat is dead, the hand-off never happens and nothing heats. If the lower side is dead, the top still heats, so the tap runs hot for a short burst and then cold. An open element can look perfect. Rheem bulletin 1308 says the only test for an open-circuit element is verifying continuity through it, and that a dry-fired element fails within seconds. Bradford White says dry-fire failure is not covered by warranty, and Rheem 1315 says never to turn on power unless the tank is full and purged at a hot faucet. A. O. Smith's Technical Bulletin 36 gives the field check for the short-burst case: set both thermostats to 130 F, draw 60 percent of the tank, and expect a drop of about 30 F. If the loss is excessive, check the lower element for continuity and the dip tube. For normal use Rheem recommends no higher than 120 F, and Bradford White ships thermostats preset to about 120 F. ## Gas tank: what does the symptom tell you? Rheem bulletin 1405 is the standing-pilot table; Bradford White's manual and Quick Service Guide add the error codes for electronic ICON controls. Relight only by the label on the tank, and wait the 2 minutes Bradford White requires after the control is pressurized. | Symptom | Cause on the maker's list | What confirms it, and the next page | |---|---|---| | No hot water, no pilot flame, no status light | Rheem 1405: gas supply turned off, pilot not lit. Bradford White ICON: no LED means no pilot, follow the lighting instructions on the heater | Check the gas cock, relight once per the label | | Pilot will not light | Rheem 1405: gas off, knob not positioned, clogged pilot orifice or pinched tube, air in the line, defective thermocouple, or the thermostat's single-use ECO tripped (replace the gas valve) | A single-use ECO is a gas valve replacement, not a relight | | Pilot lights, goes out when you release the knob | Rheem 1405: poor or defective thermocouple, thermocouple tip not in the flame, defective safety magnet, drafts, clogged flue, improper gas pressure | [Pilot light won't stay lit](/plumbing/guides/water-heater-pilot-light-wont-stay-lit-thermocouple/); part by type: [thermocouple and thermopile](/plumbing/parts/water-heater-thermocouple-thermopile-by-type/) | | Status light flashes twice | Bradford White ICON: weak pilot signal or low thermopile voltage, main burner not lit | Verify the pilot, check thermopile voltage output and the wire connections at the gas valve | | Status light flashes four times | Bradford White ICON: excessive tank temperature, temperature cut-out limit reached, system must be reset | A cut-out trip is a service call, the same logic as the electric ECO | | Pilot stays lit, burner never fires, water runs out early | Rheem 1405 not-enough list: thermostat set low, clogged burner orifice, low gas pressure, downdraft, clogged flue, defective thermostat, defective dip tube, undersized heater | Start with the thermostat dial, then the venting | Bradford White's FAQ puts the gas table in one sentence: the pilot should only have to be lit once, at installation, and nuisance pilot outages need a plumbing professional. The thermocouple is the sensor in the pilot flame that holds the gas valve open; the thermopile is the larger version that also powers an electronic control. ## What does the flammable vapor lockout mean? Gas tanks built since the ANSI Z21.10.1-2001 schedule carry flammable vapor ignition resistant (FVIR) hardware: Rheem bulletin 1417 dates it from July 1, 2003 for 30, 40 and 50 gallon atmospheric tanks. A flame arrestor seals the combustion chamber and a thermal device shuts the burner down if the chamber overheats. The makers differ on what a trip means, and the difference is the whole repair bill: | Maker and system | Thermal device | If it trips | |---|---|---| | Bradford White Defender (manual 238-51012-00) | Re-settable thermal switch, wired to the gas control leads | Clear the restriction, keep the switch connected; annual maintenance cleans the burner area | | Rheem Guardian, early generation (bulletin 1418) | Thermal release device, trips when chamber temperature exceeds about 350 to 375 degrees | Cannot be replaced or reset: Rheem says the water heater must be replaced | Bradford White's gas manual adds that if flammable vapors are detected, do not light any appliance or touch any switch, leave the premises and call the fire department from a neighbor's phone, and that a heater involved in a flammable vapors incident is replaced. **Before you buy an element or a thermocouple** Do not order a part from the symptom alone. The breaker, the ECO button and the two elements all produce "no hot water", and only a continuity test with the power off tells them apart: a Klein MM325 multimeter reads resistance and continuity, and a non-contact voltage tester proves the breaker opened before the cover comes off. Neither listing prints a safety listing mark, so none is claimed here. If the ECO has tripped twice, skip the meter: Bradford White's instruction is power off and a qualified technician. ## What should you do first? 1. Electric: reset the breaker once. A second trip is a short, not a setting. 2. Electric: power off, open the upper cover, press the ECO button once. If it trips again, leave the power off and call a technician, as Bradford White's manual directs. 3. Electric, still cold: test the upper element for continuity, then the lower. Open means replace, matched to the nameplate wattage and voltage. 4. Gas: confirm the gas cock is open, then relight once by the label, after the 2 minutes Bradford White specifies. 5. Gas, pilot will not hold: read the status light chart, then the thermocouple page. A gas smell or a tripped FVIR device is a call, not a relight. ## The picks - **Klein Tools MM325 Digital Manual-Ranging Multimeter, 600V AC/DC, resistance and continuity**: An electric tank: confirm power is off, then test each element for continuity (Listing states 600V AC/DC voltage, resistance, continuity and diode ranges with manual ranging; the listing prints no safety-listing mark, and none is claimed here) Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B57L9FNL/?tag=ownerspec-20 - **Klein Tools NCVT1P Non-Contact Voltage Tester Pen, 50V to 1000V AC**: Proving the breaker really cut power to the heater before the cover comes off (Listing states a 50V to 1000V AC detection range with audible and flashing LED alarms; a non-contact tester checks for the presence of voltage only and does not replace a meter test) Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099SJ6469/?tag=ownerspec-20 ## Frequently asked questions ### Can I press the water heater reset button again if it trips a second time? The makers say no. Bradford White's electric manual describes the energy cut-out as a device to prevent overheating and says that should overheating occur, turn off the electrical supply to the water heater and contact a qualified service technician. Rheem's bulletin 1307 lists a tripped high limit as one no-hot-water cause, with one manual reset. A repeat trip means the fault that overheated the tank is still there. ### Why does my electric water heater give a short burst of hot water and then run cold? Because the lower side has failed, not the upper. Rheem bulletin 1315 explains that only one element heats at a time: the upper thermostat heats the top of the tank first, then passes power to the lower thermostat, which heats roughly the bottom two thirds. Rheem's bulletin 1307 lists a defective lower element or lower thermostat under not enough hot water, never under no hot water. ### My gas water heater pilot is out. Is it normal to relight it? Once is normal, repeatedly is not. Bradford White's FAQ says that under normal operation the pilot should only have to be lit once, at installation, and that nuisance pilot outages call for a plumbing professional. Bradford White's gas manual says to wait at least 2 minutes after the control is pressurized with gas before lighting, and to follow the lighting instructions on the tank's label. ### What does the flashing light on a gas water heater control mean? It is the control's error code, and the chart is in the manual. On Bradford White's ICON controls, no LED means the pilot is not lit: follow the lighting instructions on the heater. Two flashes mean a weak pilot or low thermopile voltage: check the pilot flame, the thermopile output and the wire connections at the gas valve. Four flashes mean the temperature cut-out limit was reached. ### Does a tripped flammable vapor sensor mean a new water heater? It depends on the maker and generation. Bradford White's FVIR manual lists a re-settable thermal switch that stops the burner when airflow is restricted. Rheem's bulletin 1418, for the early Guardian system, says its thermal release device cannot be replaced or reset and the water heater must be replaced. Bradford White also says to replace any heater involved in a flammable vapors incident. Check your own manual before deciding. ## Sources - [Rheem Water Heating Technical Bulletins index](https://www.rheem.com/whtechbulletins/) (manufacturer or vendor document) - [Rheem TSB 1307 Residential Electric Troubleshooting Table (PDF)](https://cdn.globalimageserver.com/FetchDocument.aspx?ID=0e0b50ec-76cc-4a7d-9204-610e231a68ea) (manufacturer or vendor document) - [Rheem TSB 1308 Electric Water Heater Element Failures (PDF)](https://cdn.globalimageserver.com/FetchDocument.aspx?ID=d367c3c9-6e05-42f5-badf-1a14f181d81a) (manufacturer or vendor document) - [Rheem TSB 1315 Non Simultaneous Operation, Double Element Water Heaters (PDF)](https://cdn.globalimageserver.com/FetchDocument.aspx?ID=1a6eb4b9-583e-4133-aa7e-0292b344bfa6) (manufacturer or vendor document) - [Rheem TSB 1405 Residential Standing Pilot Gas Troubleshooting Guide (PDF)](https://cdn.globalimageserver.com/FetchDocument.aspx?ID=daa9802a-1d37-4bf6-a2c3-01c29238ec57) (manufacturer or vendor document) - [Rheem TSB 1417 FVIR ANSI Standard Z21.10.1-2001 (PDF)](https://cdn.globalimageserver.com/FetchDocument.aspx?ID=8e7158eb-655e-477f-94dd-b4a17dbc39e1) (manufacturer or vendor document) - [Rheem TSB 1418 Guardian System FAQ (FVIR) (PDF)](https://cdn.globalimageserver.com/FetchDocument.aspx?ID=b7198d8b-9e96-42b0-a873-e15a2602a9fc) (manufacturer or vendor document) - [Bradford White Installation and Operation Manual, residential electric, 238-44422 (PDF)](https://docs.bradfordwhite.com/I&O/238-44422-00_Current.pdf) (manufacturer or vendor document) - [Bradford White Installation and Operation Manual, residential gas FVIR models, 238-51012-00 (PDF)](https://docs.bradfordwhite.com/I&O/238-51012-00_Current.pdf) (manufacturer or vendor document) - [Bradford White Quick Service Guide, ICON 2.0 gas control, 238-55593-00A (PDF)](https://docs.bradfordwhite.com/Quick_Service_Guide/238-55593-00_Current.pdf) (manufacturer or vendor document) - [Bradford White FAQs](https://www.bradfordwhite.com/faqs/) (manufacturer or vendor document) - [A. O. Smith Technical Bulletin 36, Not Enough Hot Water (Electric)](https://www.hotwater.com/info-center/technical-bulletins/bulletin-36.html) (manufacturer or vendor document) --- Citation: OwnerSpec, "Water heater no hot water: the electric and gas causes in the makers' own order, and the reset button you press once", https://ownerspec.com/plumbing/guides/water-heater-no-hot-water-electric-gas/, facts verified 2 October 2026. Canonical citation target: the URL above (the public HTML page), not this Markdown representation. Reuse: quoting with attribution and a link is permitted. See https://ownerspec.com/legal/terms/.