I just had the relief (release?) valve replaced on my Hot Water Heater because it was constantly leaking and dripping. The new one seems to work great because I don't see it dripping anymore. However, I kept a bucket under it to be cautious, and every day there is a little over a cup of clean water in the bucket. Is it normal for the hot water heater to release over a cup of water a day? I am a new homeowner so I am not too skilled on these issues yet. It doesn't seem normal to me but I am not sure.

Thanks for any help.

PS - The temp on the hot water heater is very low, and our hot water consumption is average.

HI,
Is the water slowly leaking from the threads where the new valve was screwed in? If it's leaking from the threads, then whoever replaced it didn't put "thin thread tape" on the threads before tightening down the valve.
Just a thought.

I don't think its leaking, so much as maybe just releasing water every now and then. I watched it for a few minutes and there was no sign of a slow leak or any dripping. Before it was fixed I could see it dripping every second or two. Ug

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Originally Posted by fredg

"thin thread tape"

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I'm assuming you mean teflon tape?

I would first get the valve checked and make sure it has the right temperature and pressure rating for your water heater. If not then get the heater itself checked out. The purpose of the valve is to open and vent water and pressure if temperature or pressure exceed's the valves limit and preventing the heater from blowing up. A cup a day of water is not normal.
Check this site for an overview on water heaters http://www.sutherlands.com/aboutwaterheaters.htm#a10

Are you on city water and do you have a back flow preventer? It would be a brass thingamajig screwed into the line near the meter. It may have an arrow pointing away from the meter. If you have a back flow preventer, you must have an expansion tank between it and the hot water heater. It would just be sort of a small tank connected to the pipes somewhere. When you draw hot water, it is replaced by cold. The cold then expands as it heats. If it can't flow back the in line, it has to go out the relief valve. The back flow preventer and expansion tank is a new trick it took us old dogs, Tom and I a while to figure out. Look things over and post back with what you find.

Note, it is the builder or sellers responsibility to have the hot water tank in good operating condition.

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Originally Posted by labman

Note, it is the builder or sellers responsibility to have the hot water tank in good operating condition.

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... but if you wait too long after buying/building the house, the seller/builder will be able to tapdance out of his responsibility by claiming that if it took so long for you to come forward, it must be that it was good originally, and only now malfunctioned due to some fault of yours. So if it turns out to be a pre-existing condition, don't wait around - take care of it as soon as possible.

I had a plumber come out. He said I needed a new thermal expansion tank.
The pressure gause read 80-100 normally, and it spiked to 160 after a shower, which triggered the release value.

He also said the previous owner probably knew something was wrong but didn't mention it to us - shocker. It's been since just after Thanksgiving when we moved in so there is nothing I can do but pay the bill and shake my fist in the air.

Thanks for the help.

Labman blows it. I said an expansion tank. Guess I should have said a working expansion tank.

If you had a lawyer at closing, talk to him about it. A copy of the bill and a letter from the lawyer may be all it takes. If you didn't have a lawyer, maybe check out the law forum here. It is very hard for a seller to weasel out of a known, undisclosed defect.

Thanks for confirming it was an expansion tank issue.

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Originally Posted by nickels

It's been since just after Thanksgiving when we moved in so there is nothing I can do but pay the bill and shake my fist in the air.

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So what? That's only a couple of months - you can still do complain about it to the seller for at least half a year (or a year) after you buy it, if not more.

One more point, if it could possibly be a plumbing problem, post it to plumbing. You would have been told about the expansion tank the day you posted it. I was under suspension the day you posted.

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Originally Posted by labman

I was under suspension the day you posted.

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Suspension? For what? I didn't know you could get suspended around here... :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by labman

Labman blows it. I said an expansion tank. Guess I should have said a working expansion tank.

If you had a lawyer at closing, talk to him about it. A copy of the bill and a letter from the lawyer may be all it takes. If you didn't have a lawyer, maybe check out the law forum here. It is very hard for a seller to weasel out of a known, undisclosed defect.

Thanks for confirming it was an expansion tank issue.

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labman,
It's obvious it would need to be a working expansion tank. A good laugh never hurt anybody! ;-)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nickels

I just had the relief (release?) valve replaced on my Hot Water Heater because it was constantly leaking and dripping. The new one seems to work great because I don't see it dripping anymore. However, I kept a bucket under it to be cautious, and every day there is a little over a cup of clean water in the bucket. Is it normal for the hot water heater to release over a cup of water a day? I am a new homeowner so I am not too skilled on these issues yet. It doesn't seem normal to me but I am not sure.

Thanks for any help.

PS - The temp on the hot water heater is very low, and our hot water consumption is average.

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If your usage is normal, but your water seems to run out to soon, I would say you've got a bad lower heating element. It's always the bottom one (trust me). But don't sweat it.
1. Turn the power off
2. Turn the incoming water supply off
3. Have element changing wrench and new element
4. Remove old element
5. Quickly as possible replace element
6. Fill tank back up with water (turn on water supply)
7. Check for leaks
8. Clean up any water that may have been expelled from tank during steps 4 & 5.
9. Turn power back on
10. Enjoy a hot shower, you earned it