the pressure relief valve keeps dumping the contents of the tank on a daily basis up to 6 times a day i have replaced the valve and it worked for a few month now it is doing it again a friend looked at it not a plumber but an hvac guy and he said the h2o heater is bad and will blow from the pressure the people at home improvement store said since it opens so frequently the h2o heater is bad we called the manufact. and they tell us the tank is fine just install a thermal expansion tank however they said that may not work but they are sure the heater is fine i need help cold showers are harsh at 5am
Welcome to JA! Water heater is most likely OK unless you are getting very hot water from it even when set at normal temperature. You should first check your house water pressure ..my guess is that your pressure reducing valve is failing thus giving higher than 80 psi to your home. Then when the water heats in the tank, the pressure goes high enough to trip the relief valve. Also putting in an expansion tank is a good idea but won't help if your pressure coming in is too high.
ok the tempature was hot after i change the pressure relief valve the first time so i turned down the setting to a lower heat and its been fine i am assuming the pressure reducing valve is what i am calling a pressure relief valve? if so how often should they fail as this is the secon one in a year o and how do i check the water pressure in the house
No a pressure reducing valve is not on the water heater. That is a pressure relief valve. You can buy a pressure gage that screws onto a hose faucet to see what your pressure in the house is. These cost about 10 dollars and can be purchased at any home improvement store. If your pressure in the home is over 80 psi you will need to find your pressure reducing valve and either clean and adjust it or replace it cost is about 100 dollars for parts. The pressure relief valve is mounted on the water heater and is working properly if it is relieving water because of too high of pressures or too high of temperature. Jerry41087.93216875
ok i got that last thing is the cold water inlet to the water heater has corrosion on it the copper is sweated on the top and a nut on the water heater can i replace just that fitting the nut as well as the copper around the nut and the fitting coming out of the water heater all have the corrosion on them
Yes just those copper fittings and nut can be replaced, but the threaded piece coming out of the tip of the Heater won't be easy to replace. It is most likely corroded in too tight and it also is part of the dip tube assembly. I wouldn't try that one.
in that case should i consider replacing the hot water heater then, i would imagine that having corrosion there will lead to failure no? i just dont want to think i fixed it to find a flooded basement
If your water heater is over 8 years old I would replace it. Looking at the picture I would say yes. Time to replace it.