You might sometimes find yourself in a situation where there is no hot water; You could try to reset your A.O. Smith water heater as a way to fix the problem. While there are many potential reasons you could lose hot water, a common culprit is when your unit is tripped. This article will tell you where the reset button on an A.O. Smith water heater is located and how to reset it.
The A.O. Smith gas and electric water heaters are pretty common for many homeowners in the United States. Their line of water heaters is extensive, with electric and gas models for home and business use.
The reset button on the A.O. Smith water heater is challenging to find. The company ensures the button is safe and can’t be pushed accidentally. The reset button’s location may also depend on whether you have a gas, electric, tank, or tankless water heater.
Where is the reset button on the A.O. Smith water heater?
On a gas or electric A.O. Smith water heater, the reset button is under the metal cover near the middle of the unit. As soon as you open the cover, the button will be hidden by a piece of insulation.
How to Reset an A.O Smith Water Heater?
You can reset your A.O. Smith water heater in 4 easy and simple steps.
The first thing you should do when troubleshooting your A.O. Smith water heater is to turn off the electric power. You must also turn off the gas line valve if your water heater is powered by gas.
- Go to your home’s electrical panel. Turn OFF the circuit breaker.
- Remove the screws holding the top panel cover on the side of the unit. The reset button will be right inside the panel, covered by an insulation pad.
- Remove the insulation pad.
- Press the A.O. Smith water heater reset button. You should hear the water heater click, which means it has been reset.
- Turn ON the circuit breaker.
If you keep pressing the button and don’t hear a click, there could be a problem with any other part. You should check to see if the wiring inside the hot water heater has any nicks. You might also want to look for wire nuts that are loose. Even if you think you can handle these problems on your own, you might want to talk to a professional who can help you figure out what’s going on with your A.O. Smith water heater.
What would make a water heater breaker trip?
A.O. Smith water heaters are made with an emergency limit switch (reset button) that turns the unit off if the temperature gets too high. It is the water heater’s built-in safety system to protect any other part from malfunctioning. Often the water heater reset button trips because of issues such as:
- A faulty thermostat.
- A faulty reset button.
- A faulty high-limit switch.
- A faulty heating element.
- There’s a loose wire somewhere.
If your A.O. Smith water heater is having issues, check out the steps above to troubleshoot the issues. Hopefully, it is a minor issue, and you can fix it only by pressing the reset button.
