So my water heater was on the fritz. I woke up to nearly boiling water. I replaced the thermostat and all appeared well. The next day the water was lukewarm. I thought I would test to make sure there was power.
...this is where it gets dangerous.
My water heater works on 220v. Which needless to say is very dangereous. I was aware it was on and had my shiny new meter set to measure the AC. When I touched the probes to the contacts the following happened: A huge bang, a bright light, and me nearly soiling myself.
Turns out I still had the meter red lead plugged into the port to measure current - not voltage. i.e. when I plugged it in I created a short.
Luckily I did not electure myself, however it had the following effects: Water hearter contacts blackened, shiny new meter test probe melted at end, circuit breaker tripped, fuse blew in meter, and the best part: it blew the tracing right off the circuit board in my shiny new meter. Later I was able to solder a jumper over the damaged circuit board, but I don't know if I will trust it to accuratly measure amperage...
Eventually it turned out to be just a bad element in the water heater. I replaced it and all was well....
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