Pressure Relief Valve

[crmfghtr]

After almost 2 months in this new Landmark Concord, I have noticed water in the bottom of the water heater pan where the outside door is. The first time I thought I fixed the problem because the anode rod was leaking. I tighten the rod and it was still leaking. I opened the water heater guide and read that if the water heater is seeping it may have lost the air pocket at the top of the tank. Without going into all the steps, I removed the anode rod in the process and put new teflon tape on it and replaced it back on the tank.
Yesterday NO water in the pan! Hooray! Today I noticed water in the bottom of the pan again, not much maybe 1/8 of a cup.
Here is my question to some experts here. Is it normal for the pressure relief valve to allow water to seep or open? When I checked the pressure relief valve I did not see or feel any water leaking from it. So if the anode rod is not leaking where else would the water come from?
Anyone want to tackle this question it is driving me crazy.

 

[cookie]

I've read that if the relief valve is leaking you should turn off your pump, turn off all supply spigots then relieve any pressure in the system by opening a faucet.
Then, with no pressure in the system, open the relief valve and then allow it to snap back to the closed position. Do not soft close it.
If it continues to leak replace it.
But, remember that the valve is there for protection from over pressure which could be the result of over temperature.

Peace
Dave

 

[danemayer]

First, before going further with the relief valve, you might want to confirm it's the source of the water. Maybe dry it off completely and wrap it with a paper towel. Come back later to see if the paper is wet.

Is it normal for them to seep? Yes and no. Yes because it's a closed system. So as the water heats up, pressure increases but has no where to go. So it can seep. The idea of having an air bubble at the top is to allow some room for expansion as a way of preventing/minimizing seepage. But No, it doesn't happen to most people.

If the paper towel is wet after a while, given that you've filled the tank a few times without resolving the problem, it would be worth trying a new relief valve. I don't think they're very expensive, and it probably doesn't take long to replace.

 

[crmfghtr]

Let me try those steps. I will let you know what the verdict is.
Thanks for the advice.

 

[Lynn1130]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYnL0Z0D79I

It is normal and something that is covered in a number of YouTube videos as well as in some RV handbooks.

I usually just follow the directions in this video and give the relief valve a quick open/close to release some of the pressure and things go back to normal.

Sorry for the sideways post. Apple's idea of how a phone should work

 

[Gary521]

Just a quick note that is brushed over a bit but this is also a high termperature relief valve too.

 

[crmfghtr]

Well I tried the paper towel and confirmed that the pressure relief valve is the cause of the leak. I also tried the steps outlined in the water heater.pdf. still has water in the pan every day. So, looks like it is doing it's job but why is the pressure or water temperature causing it to relieve itself. I'm hesitant about changing it. Is there a temperature control somewhere or is it built in for a specific temperature. Right now it is on electric mode.

 

[danemayer]

Suburban uses a thermostat that is preset for 130 (F). It's not adjustable. When the water temperature reaches 130, the thermostat should open, cutting power to the heating element. If it were to fail to open at 130, the High Limit Switch/ECO on the same assembly, is a backup device that should open at 180 (F). As a further temperature backup , the temperature and pressure relief valve is supposed to open if the water reaches 210 (F) - which it never should.

If the temperature was running out of control and both thermostat and high limit switch were failing, you would know it from how hot the water was when taking a shower or using a kitchen or bath faucet. So I would discount the possibility of the water getting too hot.

The temperature and pressure relief valve is also designed to open if the pressure inside the heater reaches 150 pounds. In a closed system this can happen.

Suburban says: "When this pressure is reached, the pressure relief valve will open and water will drip from the valve. This dripping will continue until the pressure is reduced to below 150 pounds, and the valve closes. This condition is normal and does not indicate a defective relief valve."

But they also say that there may be 6 reasons that could account for excessive dripping.
Here are six basic reasons:
1. The temperature and pressure of incoming water.
2. The cleanliness of the thermostat or "probe" position of valve.
3. The pressure setting of relief valve (150 PSI).
4. Age and condition of the spring assembly inside valve.
5. The temperature setting of preset or manual thermostat.
6. The evaluation and atmospheric pressure at which the heater is used.

If you're not using a pressure regulator on incoming campground water, I'd start there. If it continues with a pressure regulator, I'd change the relief valve.

 

[crmfghtr]

Thanks Dan, maybe my pressure regulator is defective. Let me try changing it and see if that is the culprit. I had 3 filters on the system due to rotten egg smell. I flushed the system this morning with bleach. I think there is alot of sulphur in the water where we are at. I have also been dealing with that.
Hopefully that took care of that problem. I read that sulphur or bacteria in the water will cause that smell.

 

[TedS]

Consider installing an expansion tank to give the expanding water someplace to go and not raise the pressure high enough to open the water heater relief valve. I know that works.

 

[crmfghtr]

Update:
The water pressure regulator was ok, I ended ou replacing the pressure relief valve. Flipping the relief valve only allowed it to open maybe 1/32 of an inch. So I think it was bad out of the gate because it had a rust stain on one side of the seat. Looked like it had been leaking for awhile.
Like anything mechanical it can fail.
Thanks, everybody for all the great advice.