This is the second heater I have installed in a two month period and the same problem exists. This is an electric heater. The original heater was taken out because it rusted out. Does anyone have any idea why the relief valve leaks when the water get hot. Its happened now on two new GSW6 water heaters. Maybe there is an adjustment on the the relief valve that I can do or something but its not normal for it to happen on two brand new heaters.
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1Did you install the heater, or was it installed by a professional? Do you have a check valve on the main supply? Is there an expansion tank installed?– Tester101Mar 9, 2015 at 17:53
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1Expansion tank. Several recent questions are similar. diy.stackexchange.com/questions/61313/… and diy.stackexchange.com/questions/61103/…– EcnerwalMar 9, 2015 at 18:01
1 Answer
There are two scenarios,either the relief valve is working properly or it isn’t. Check the pressure. If it is too high the valve is doing its job and you will need to install a regulator. Does this problem happen only when hot or when cold as well? If only when hot and has been sitting unused for at least a few hours an expansion tank will help. If it is hot and leaking, open a hot water faucet and let it run for a few seconds, close it and see if it is still leaking. If that temporarily solved the problem an expansion tank will help. If it didn’t help it is either too hot or too much pressure.