Water Heater pressure valve leaking

R

Rowdyroady

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exMember
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May 18, 2009
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31273
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noticed that the pressure valve is dripping...even though I haven't run the hot water heater in months? Bad valve and just replace? can I find these at a home depot, or are they marine units and I need to go to West Marine or similar marine ditributors?
 
Pressure relief valves are usually generic. They should have a metal tag on them, giving the pertinent information for the valve (pressure/temperature/btuh rating, etc.). It would probably be best to remove the valve (turn off electric power and pressure pump first, then bleed the pressure off the water system by opening a couple taps on sinks, etc.) and take it with you to a good plumbing supply outlet - where the contractors buy their stuff, not to Home Depot or Lowe's, and see if they can match it up for you. The reason I suggest that you take it with you is to be sure they match up the thread size as well as the other specifications for it.

If it's an oddball, you may have to contact the manufacturer of the water heater, to get a replacement.
 
We went through this recently, and the marine units will charge you a TON for a replacement. Shop well. Look at the temp and pressure values or find them and see what you can match up. Make sure the sensor prob is the same length?
 
I found my replacement at Ace Hardware. It was an easy fix.
 
Pressure valve or relief valves are built for a one time use only. They are safety devices on pressure vessels and are designed to lift to prevent damage to the more expensive vessel or tank. As such they are not designed to be used over and over. Over time the spring will not maintain the correct pressure and the valve can leak. Since this is not a large relief like we deal with in power plants just replace the whole thing. Also once installed make sure your water heater is working properly and not overheating which can cause the relief to lift to begin with. This can start a valve leaking.
 
I could not find one the proper size at Lowes. So, I went to the RV store and they had the smaller size substantially cheap than the boat store.
 
Just replaced mine too, $15 at the local SMALL hardware store
 
If you are going with smaller size make sure it is rated for the same capacity to relieve pressure (blowdown) otherwise if you run into a serious problem it will not relieve enough and you might still ruin your tank
 
mine died last month.

went to a slightly higher pressure rating.

RWS
 
Be VERY cautious about going to a higher pressure rating on the relief valve. The tank may not burst, but you may blow a line if the pressure gets too high. A lot of boats have the push-in PEX or Quest plastic pipe and fittings. You're risking popping a fitting or a pipe if you go too high with the relief pressure. The valve is not only to protect the tank, but also the connecting pipes and fittings. Many hardware stores only carry relief valves for household water heaters, which are set to open at 150 PSI. Will your onboard piping handle that kind of pressure, should the water heater thermostat stick in the "on" position, causing the water in the tank to overheat?
 
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