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Smawgunner
Member
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# Posted: 4 May 2018 20:54
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So I bought a brand new 10 gallon hot water tank and installed it in the cabin. Got everything plumbed up and the relief valve starts to leak, dripping slowly. I tried to flush it thinking maybe some debris got caught in it but no luck. So I bought a new valve and replaced it. Same company from Lowe's, they only make one relief valve. This one leaks exactly like the other one. The ratings on them say they are junk also. I don't want to spend another $20 on a valve only to have it leak again. Could I just jam some RTV up there to seal it? I'm thinking if that valve has to blow the RTV would give way before the tank would. Thoughts?
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DaveBell
Moderator
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# Posted: 4 May 2018 23:47
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Defeating safety devices is a way to incur a trip to the hospital. Take the Chinese POS back to Lowes and buy something better. (Utilitech?)
I could not find a 10 gallon hot water heater at Lowes. Could you post a link to the heater and the relief valve?
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Smawgunner
Member
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# Posted: 5 May 2018 01:20
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It's a 12 gallon. Here is the valve...it is a Utilijunk
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Utilitech-Water-Heater-Pressure-Relief-Valve/3693200
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Greenland South
Member
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# Posted: 5 May 2018 10:57
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The other possibility is the tank itself is defective, and is overheating or over pressuring. The relief valve may actually be doing its job.
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 5 May 2018 12:16 - Edited by: ICC
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Have you tried bleeding off some water after the tank has heated up from cold? If that stops the drip/leak from the relief valve then Greenland South is likely correct. What is the source of the cold water line?
In a city water utility hookup the heated water would be pushed back into the supply lines as the water was heated and expanded. New plumbing codes usually incorporate a back flow preventer. This is the reason that new water heater installation code now also includes an expansion tank in the cold inlet side of the water heater tank pipes.
My cabin water heater will dribble a little water out the relief valve when starting up from a fresh fill of cold water. It is a closed system with no place for the increased water volume of the heated water to go. I will sometimes relieve the pressure after the heater has run a while, by opening a hot tap at the sink.
reference link
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Smawgunner
Member
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# Posted: 6 May 2018 18:05
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Thanks guys. It's a contained system that uses an on demand shurflo pump. Thoughts about that?
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darz5150
Member
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# Posted: 6 May 2018 18:17
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Is your pump on a switch? I have a setup similar to yours. I have the water heater on a switch. Only flip it on when needed. I leave the pump switched off when the heater is heating up. And also crack the hot water faucet open so it doesnt build up pressure. Once the water is hot, I close the faucet and switch the pump on when needed.
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 6 May 2018 19:14 - Edited by: ICC
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Quoting: Smawgunner Thanks guys. It's a contained system that uses an on demand shurflo pump. Thoughts about that?
That is much like the system in my hunt cabin, same type of pump, but I have a 6 gallon water heater tank. Water from the cistern in the ground is usually about 50 F.
A reference I found (about half way down) states "If we heat 40 gallons of water (a typical domestic water heater or calorifier size) from 40 °F (a cold state) up to 120 °F (hotter than most manufacturers recommend and about the limit you'd expect), then our new water tank volume would be 40.672 gallons."
0.672 gallon = 86 ounces.... take 12/40th of that 86 ounces and you would have a volume increase of 25.8 ounces with that 12 gallon tank.... I do not know how that volume increase relates to pressure increase in PSI, but water is pretty much incompressible.
I'd say the relief valve would be dribbling quite a bit. The relief valves are supposed to release at 150 PSI. My experience with the 6 gallon tank is that several ounces dribbles out. I can't say how much as it is directed out onto the dirt. It does create a wet patch. I start the heater with about 40 PSI in the tank; whatever the Shurflo pump shuts off at.
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Davidsmith011
Member
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# Posted: 24 Jan 2019 02:07
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There is also another water heater in the market i.e. tankless water heater. For more information visit here: https://easyhome.guide/best-electric-tankless-water-heater/
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