Pressure relief valve on water heater..

Jabroni

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..has got a drip to it.. how bad is that? I put a bucket under it to try to gauge how much its dripping a day, but it has been doing it a while from what it looks like..

Is it worth it to just swap the valve if Im planning on swapping the tank out this summer anyway? Imminent danger?

I would assume itd be a matter of dropping power to the tank, shutting water off, draining, etc. .?
 
It should be replaced. No imminent danger. It's actually safer.
the drip will get worse. And it's a serious safety feature....
Wait, what's the water temp? Go to the nearest faucet and check the hot water temp.
 
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No eminent danger. Replace as soon as possible.
 
I might just step up the replacement schedule since you are just a few months away.
 
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Just checked wwter temp out of the tap. 125ish.

How do you burp it? Just open the valve a few times to flush? Do you need to shut anything off prior?
 
Will try burping it and see if it clears...

The tank is atleast 10yr old, might be older, so figured this summer itd be time to swap. Done it before (its electric, so easy). Might step it up as suggested.

Appreciate the feedback gents!
 
Plumber trick, pull the lever up a time or two to 'burp' it, and tap on the valve with a hammer.

Is there an expansion tank on the water heater? When cold water heats up it expands and it has to go someplace.

Any chance the incoming pressure is too high? In the mountains we can get some crazy high pressure. Last time my PRV on the water heater was leaking it took a new pressure reducing valve from the meter. Pressure here can be as high as 360 PSI
 
No expansion tank. Never had one on any of my previous homes either...so these are a curiosity to me.

Water pressure is unknown, but low. We are on the 2nd house from the end of the road on city water, and the house is 100yd from the meter... I wish it was a bit higher actually.
 
Also, while burping, rotate the valve. It may unclog or more properly seal.

Not likely to blow. I wouldn't change it if I was replacing the heater in a few months. I wouldn't risk depressurizing the tank, or letting the water level fall.

Why are you waiting to change the whole thing, since it now has a new problem?

Sounds good on rotating..hopefully itll do the trick.

June/july was my original time frame for swapping. Will play by ear now. We have a few ither projects going on this spring already.
 
No expansion tank. Never had one on any of my previous homes either...so these are a curiosity to me.

Water pressure is unknown, but low. We are on the 2nd house from the end of the road on city water, and the house is 100yd from the meter... I wish it was a bit higher actually.
Every water heater needs an expansion tank on a water heater. Heated water creates pressure. Guess what happens when you don’t have one? The safety relief valve leaks. LOL.
 
..has got a drip to it.. how bad is that? I put a bucket under it to try to gauge how much its dripping a day, but it has been doing it a while from what it looks like..

Is it worth it to just swap the valve if Im planning on swapping the tank out this summer anyway? Imminent danger?

I would assume itd be a matter of dropping power to the tank, shutting water off, draining, etc. .?
Swap the valve. It is idiot proof to do (I can teach my wife to do it in 20 mins or less, and she is super mechanically uninclined., and if you are leaking, you need it anyway
 
Every water heater needs an expansion tank on a water heater. Heated water creates pressure. Guess what happens when you don’t have one? The safety relief valve leaks. LOL.

Weird..never owned a house with one..
 
Will try burping it and see if it clears...

The tank is atleast 10yr old, might be older, so figured this summer itd be time to swap. Done it before (its electric, so easy). Might step it up as suggested.

Appreciate the feedback gents!
Sometimes old ain't bad, if it ain't leaking I'd leave it alone, the one you replace it with might have a cracked liner from being dropped at the factory or in transport and rust out in two years. Just my two cents on replacing it.
 
Expansion tanks are standard equipment on water heaters in new houses now, at least with the builders I work with.
It doesn't add that much cost to the new heater. It's either something the plumbers do for that added touch, the builder insists on it, or more likely...I think it's code now. I'll ask the plumbers next time I see them.

I recently wired in a new Barber shop. The plumbers I never worked with before. They put the WH over the bathroom in a tiny attic/closet and had to use a shorty 40 gallon. It was tight. So they proceed to plumb the expansion tank right over the electrical junction box on top of the heater. Right on it! No way to get the cover off and wire it up. Genius.
 
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It's county code in Meck Co for a while now.
I figured it was a code thingy. Plumbers are not well known for adding things just because. Water comes out of faucet, drains downhill. Done.
 
Tried flushing the valve a few times, but no go. Think Ill swap it out this weekend and figure out where the heck I can mount a expansion tank, might do that prior to water heater swap and just do the swap of tank out in a few months as planned.
 
I had to put an expansion tank on my house this winter. PRV just started to leak. I changed it, it still leaked, I changed the thermostats, it still leaked, I changed the elements, it still leaked, I put a 3rd PRV on it, it still leaked. Plumber installed an expansion tank, It stopped leaking. House is 17 years old, it didn't have a expansion tank. They are required by code now.
 
Plumber trick, pull the lever up a time or two to 'burp' it, and tap on the valve with a hammer
Friend showed me that trick recently. The PRV on the water heater on my travel trailer was dripping, so I jiggled the lever. Mistake. It started running and I couldn’t get it stopped. The trick of bumping it worked. He said after we get home, he’ll come over with the tool and show me how to replace it.
 
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Is there an expansion tank on the water heater? When cold water heats up it expands and it has to go someplace.

Have a gas water heater with the same issue. Replaced PRV and it still leaked. After watching it, I saw that it only leaked when it was heating.... DING DING DING... no expansion tank installed. That was the issue! The expanding water has to go somewhere.

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