Howdy,

My mother lives in a mobile home, and when she arrived from work today, her yard was filled with water.

I have shut off the cold water valve outside and checked what I know to look for around the house to find no leaks.

After removing the skirting of the home, I found that it's the white release pipe(pvc) connected to the water heater that leads to the TPR valve.

After after reading on a few other threads in this forum, and via the great advice from SpeedBall1; I figure I need to replace the pressure release valve. But before I do this, I wanted to confirm the steps.

1) Turn water/electricity off
2) Drain the tank
3) unscrew the valve from the pvc/tank
4) attach the new valve and wrap the valve's threading with a sealant where it connects to both the pvc and the water heater
5) test

I should also note that the water heater is 8 years old and the only place water is coming out, is at the pvc under the house connected to the valve. Is replacing the valve the only way to know if it's the water heater? Or is there something else I can check prior to spending the time/money to replace the tpr?

Hi Cory...

Best place to start is replacing the T&P valve. All you said is right, except you don't need to drain the entire heater... just to below the T&P valve... so that should save you some time.

After that you will want to monitor the temp. of the water for a few days. If it gets excessive then the thermostats may need to be replaced. If not, then it was just the T&P valve malfunctioning... but monitor it to be sure.

If excessive temps. Occur then the new T&P valve will blow off and you will know to replace the thermostat(s).

Let us know if it happens again and we can talk you through replacing the thermostat(s).

Good luck!

MARK

Most appreciated Mark. I will replace the valve tomorrow and update with my results.

Mark nailed down good, one other thing that I will suggest get a water pressure test gauge and check your water pressure, see the image, Thanks.

In addition to Mark's answer: The leak from the pressure relieve valve indicates other problem. They are:

1. Too much pressure in your house / malfunctioning pressure regulator
2. Hot water temperature is too high

Temperature and Pressure relieve valve is factory preset to hold pressure of 150psi and temperature up to around 200F.

Once this valve leaks, it has to be replaced with new one. The old one will continue leaking even after you fix the problem .

PS: You only have to turn off the cold water inlet to the water heater unless there are other plumbing issues with faucets that can cause a back feed.

Be aware that some faucets will do strange things when both hot and cold aren't present.

Since it's hot water, the lines should probably be CPVC. Any input here besides check the pipe?

Make sure you get the right cement/primer and pipe for the job.