A cold shower and a $1,400 'you need a new water heater' quote often have nothing to do with each other. Electric heaters usually fail at a $12–$25 heating element or a tripped limit switch; gas heaters at a pilot light or a $15 thermocouple. Twenty minutes of diagnosis protects you from a four-figure guess.
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Scan It FreeGas has a vent pipe on top and a gas line + control box near the bottom. Electric has a metal conduit or cable running to the top and two access panels on the side.
Flip the 30-amp double breaker fully off, then on. Then remove the upper access panel and press the red high-limit reset button — a click means it had tripped (and something caused that: usually a failing element or thermostat).
Breaker off, verify with the multimeter, then test each element for 10–16 ohms of resistance. A dead lower element = lukewarm water that runs out fast; dead upper = no hot water at all. Elements cost $12–$25.
Look through the sight glass at the bottom. Pilot out? Follow the relight instructions on the tank label (usually: knob to Pilot, hold, ignite, keep held 60 seconds).
A worn thermocouple is a $15 part and the most common gas water heater failure. Scan yours with SpotFix AI to match the length and thread type.
Scan the serial-number sticker — SpotFix AI decodes the manufacture date. Rusty water, rumbling, or a leaking tank on a 12+ year heater means replacement is the honest answer, and now you know before someone tells you.
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