State Select Water Heater No Hot Water

The Short Answer: On an electric State Select, no hot water usually means the breaker tripped, the high-limit (ECO) opened, or the upper element failed. On a gas State Select, it usually means the pilot is out. If the water is warm but never hot, look at the lower element, a mixing valve, or a broken dip tube. Start by identifying the fuel and how cold the water is.

Step one: electric or gas?

Look at the rating plate on the side of the tank. Electric models list volts and watts and have two small access panels on the side. Gas models list BTU per hour and gas type and have a control knob near the bottom with a vent pipe on top. The checks below are split accordingly.

How cold is it?

Electric State Select: what you can check

• The breaker. Electric tanks use a double-pole breaker. If it is tripped, reset it once. If it trips again, leave it off; that points to a short in an element or wiring. See water heater breaker tripped and won’t reset.
• Whether the tank was recently drained. Powering an empty or partly filled tank burns out elements quickly. If it was drained, the breaker should stay off until the tank is full and hot taps run without spurting air. See water heater turned on without water.
• The thermostat setting if your model has an external control. Most covers hide the thermostats; do not remove them.

The high-limit reset sits behind the upper access panel next to live terminals. Whether to press it, and why it tripped, is a technician’s question; see State Select reset button.

What the technician will test: the voltage reaching the heater, each element’s continuity and insulation to the tank, and whether each thermostat closes when it should. Elements and thermostats are inexpensive parts. Brown or melted plastic on a thermostat usually means a loose connection that also needs fixing; see what causes a water heater thermostat to burn up.

Gas State Select: what you can check

• The gas supply valve on the pipe to the heater should be open (handle in line with the pipe), and other gas appliances should work.
• The pilot. Look through the sight window. If it is out and there is no gas smell, relight it once using the instructions on the label.
• The bottom air screen. State’s flammable-vapor-resistant tanks draw air through a screen at the base, which lint can block. The owner’s manual describes vacuuming it with the heater off and cool.

If the pilot will not stay lit, see State Select gas troubleshooting for the full gas side, including what the technician checks.

Lukewarm water that is not the heater

A thermostatic mixing valve near the heater, or a failing single-handle faucet cartridge, can blend cold water into the hot line. If water drawn from the heater’s drain valve or the nearest hot tap is hot but one bathroom is lukewarm, the problem is downstream. A cracked or shortened dip tube lets incoming cold water mix at the top of the tank; you often see small white plastic bits in faucet aerators. See water heater dip tube failure.

Repair or replace

Elements, thermostats, thermocouples, igniters, and dip tubes are repairs. A tank that leaks from the shell or from under the jacket needs replacement. On an older heater, combining a major repair with heavy sediment or rust in the water can make replacement the better value; the water heater age guide explains how to read the serial number.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Should I turn the thermostat up to get more hot water? A: Not as a fix. If a heater that used to work at its normal setting now runs lukewarm, a part has failed. Raising the setting increases scald risk and does not repair an element or a dip tube.

Q: Is the State Select the same as an A. O. Smith? A: State is part of the A. O. Smith group, and many parts and designs are shared. Use the model number on your rating plate, not the brand name, when ordering parts or finding the manual.