I received a text message from my tenant this Friday evening. He rents my 2-brm, 2-bath unit . He said "the water hasn't been getting hot today from the faucets and shower. Only cold water."

I texted him back that I would be there tomorrow morning at 10a to check it out. I'm going to check to see if the breaker switch tripped. I will also look at the water heater. I'm not a plumber.

What else should I look for? It's an electric water heater. What else should I trouble shoot for before calling in a professional if need be?

Presuming water is actually flowing thru the heater, it has to be an electrical issue. As you said it could be a tripped breaker. That is the first place to check. it could also be the Tstat or one of the heating elements.

If at least some warm water is coming out then it's most likely one of the heating elements. Wiki has an excellent tutorial on trouble shooting an electric water heater. In case the link below doesn't make it thru the censor just search on wiki for how to repair an electric water heater.

I second what Steve said - if not the tripped breaker likely an element or t-stat.

Could be anything like what they stated above - could be the temp is set "too high" on the tank itself and if there is a leak (even a small one) where the tub or sink drips - it could be making the water "too hot" to trip the water heater itself (not the breaker - the water heater).

Last week I had a tenant contact me that he had no hot water (this one was gas but it could still be the same issue) - when I went there, the relief valve was leaking - thus making the heater "keep running" and it shut itself off.

So don't just go to where the water heater is - check all of the faucets to see if there is a drip/leak as well (especially if you find that it really did just "trip").

AllyM mentioned WH age. If the WH is at least 10 years old, replace it without delays. Some WHs are rated 12 years, but good luck trying to enforce the mfg warranty after 10 yrs.

For fairly young WHs follow the trouble shooting guide.

Check all the components around the WH mentioned above. Power supply, T-stats, elements, hot/cold nipples, water supply and connectors, shut off valve, all faucets in the apt.

What type of water pipes do you have? galvanized pipes can develope rust chunks that can prevent the hot water from flowing.

WH failures are pretty common. I have replaced over 200 WHs in my life as a LL.

The only hard thing in replacing is the schlepping up or down stairs. Luckily (by design) all my rentals are 1 story.

On some water heaters it is common for the diptube to deteriorate or break off due to deterioration (especially after it's been in for several years).

The common issue with the diptube when it goes bad is that water may be warm or even hot briefly (maybe a few minutes) but then it starts turning cooler rather quickly.

They are supposed to be serviceable but I haven't had much luck getting the old ones out.

If the breaker is tripped and I turn it fipl it back on, is there a danger to this? The water heater is more than 10-years old.

Or should I replace it immediately?

Should be fine to flip it back on. Just realize that the breaker flipped for a reason and the WH is likely to have an issue that caused that.

I agree - after 10 years you are on borrowed time - replace. If you get it working by resetting the breaker, hopefully they will have hot water for the time you take to get it replaced and they won't actually have no hot water for days.

Make sure your tenant knows how to reset a breaker. Flip it off, then back on fully. That is something they should know. Make sure your breakers are labeled. This is something basic a tenant can do if you can't get there until the next day. You would then know if it flipped again, or stayed on enough to heat the water.

It is always good to train a tenant to do do some basic trouble shooting with you first.... Do you notice a big puddle by the heater? Is there any water at all coming out? Reset the breaker. etc.

If you can get it going and get ample hot water, without new parts...go ahead.

I'd rescheduled the time to have my brother drop by the unit for tomorrow. He is going to do a diagnosis with technical tools on the WH.

In the meanwhile, the tenant texted me to say he'd re-set the breaker and now has hot water. Obviously , there was a reason the breaker was tripped. If it's an inexpensive fix that my brother can do , I'll have him do it. He's replaced a few water heaters in his house.

If the tenant resets the WH whenever the water runs cold- is that a safety issue? Thanks.