The overflow pipe on my water heater is continuously draining hot watre. We tried drainage the water heater bu

Question

The overflow pipe on my water heater is continuously draining hot watre. We tried drainage the water heater bu

Answer 1

hi there. the valve you are talking about is a pressure relief vave. meaning to much pressure and the inside opens and lets the excess out. you can go to the local hardware store and ask for a p&t valve for a hot water heater. also buy  yourself a small tube of pipe dope. when you get home turn off your water heater and turn off the cold water feeding this. look at the 2 water lines coming in and read the top of tank. it will say cold and hot. the cold is the feed. now lift up the lever on the old p&t valve to drain the level of water down to that point. no need to drain the whole tank as its not needed. the water will be hot coming out so BE CAREFUL. now take a pipe wrench and unscrew the old p&t valve out. put some pipe dope on the new valves threads and s***w it into the port. using pipe wrench tighten the new one in. turn the water back on and re lit your pilots or plug it in and now your all set

Answer 2

That's called a pressure-relief valve, and it needs to be replaced.   The part itself is not too expensive (I'm guessing about $20-$30), the pipe that points downward is screwed into it, and the valve is screwed into the water heater.

You really should call a plumber for this one.  For safety, they'll know just how not to get scalded, and how not to put too much pressure on the pipes trying to unscrew it.

(Sometimes they're so tight from the factory, that the whole water heater will turn trying to remove one.)

Answer 3

This also happened in my house, dad says it's because of mineral deposits that built up in the valve or something. I empty a cooler every few days :|

Answer 4

Do it right has the correct answer..it is the pressure relief valve designed to pop open if the temperature gets so hot it may rupture the tank..get a new one ,replace, then make sure the thermostat on the water temperature is not set all the way up..

Answer 5

Sounds like you have a slow leak. We had that for a while, and kept letting it slowly drain till one morning I got up to no hot water, went to the basement and it was flooded and steam everywhere. Sounds like you need a new one. Have someone check it out. I was thankful ours didnt catch on fire but it did ruin things in the basement.

Answer 6

you need to replace the valve

Answer 7

either you have it set to high,or the pop/off is defective,best thing todo is replace it or lower the setting on the heat range (thermostats) if elec. gas valve if gas

Answer 8

You can save the expense of a new hot water heater by replacing the pop off valve at the top of the hot water heater. This valve is located in the water heater where the overflow valve enters the tank. Turn off the gas, drain the tank and replace the pop off valve for the water heater you have.This is not a difficult repair and most anyone that can find a wrench to fit the fitting can make this repair. Reattach the overflow pipe, turn on the water supply and re-light  and your good to go