Replace an Electric Water Heater Timer

25554306
by 25554306
2 Materials
$25
1 Hour
Advanced
My old water heater timer broke. That means its time to run to my local hardware store, buy a new one, and replace it! Yay! what a perfect Saturday night activity!
Hear's the broken one. Turn off the circuit breaker to the timer.
Unscrew the timer from the wall and check if you shut off the correct circuit breaker with a contact less voltage detector. Don't skip this step or you might not get to the next step!! If the power is off, detach the wires from the old timer, you can put a piece of electrical tape around the wires that come from your electrical panel so you have an easier time reattaching them correctly later.
Get your new timer out of its box.
Remove the screws holding the back of the timer on and start cutting out the access holes you will need.
If the holes that came pre-drilled in the back of your time don't line up with the mounting pieces in your wall, don't worry, just drill some new holes. You can't let a little VUCA get in your way when you're diying!
Attach the back of the timer to your wall. Pull your wires through. In Israel blue is neutral and brown is hot (line).
Try to find some indication on your timer which ports are in (from the main power box) and which are out (to the water heater). Once you are 150% sure you figured this out, you're ready for the next step, start cursing the guy who ran the wires to this box and cut just a little too short for comfort!!! Struggle to get the wires into the proper ports and start screwing them down.
Once you've attached all your wires get ready for the hardest part of any electrical project, trying you shove everything back together. Good luck!!
Screw the face of the timer onto the back, set the timer and you're done! Congrats, you can shower tomorrow morning! Your coworkers will thank you for that.
Suggested materials:
  • Voltage sniffer   (amazon)
  • Water heater timer   (Ace)
  • Outsmarting VUCA: Achieving Success in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, & Ambiguous World   (amazon)
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