Leak from hot water heater

[work2fish]

Hi Folks,

I've been having a great time with my new camper this summer. I especially like that I can just stop anywhere to camp and do this on a whim since everything is packed and ready to go.

I noticed that when I had my hot water heater on, there is a constant dripping of water drops coming from one of the spigots, here:



It only drips when the hot water heater is on. I'm guessing that this is not normal, but the only way to fix it would be to put some sort of plug in that spigot. Can anybody tell me why this might be happening?

Thanks,
Mike

[darsben]

Before you replace the leaking valve get some PB BLASTER and after relieving pressure on the tank open the valve using the lever. Spray into the valve opening while opening and closing the lever. Let sit for 24 hours or longer. Pressurize valve and see if the leak has stopped.
I have done this on a hot water heater valve and it worked for me.

See the label of can

[John_Wayne]

What the others have said try and reestablish the air pocket and when you open and close the relief leveler let it snap closed do this a few times.

[old_guy]

could be that you just have some mineral build up in the valve. try to flip open and closed a few times and let the water spray out along with the mineral, if that doesn't work, THEN replace the valve. there is very little maintenance with these valves, normally they will last not for ever but for a long time.

[robatthelake]

Just give the handle a quick pull or two . Wear gloves it's scalding hot water. That should clear the built up crud and cure the drip!

[Reddog1]

I question Home Depot will have a replacement. As I recall, the typical home water heater uses 3/4" male pipe threads on the relief valve. I think the RV water heaters use 1/2" Male pipe threads. Be sure to check this, I could be wrong.

Wayne

[work2fish]

Thanks again for the information. I will try to release the pressure/clean the dirt out of the area by the methods described before replacing the part.

[Joe417]

You can find them at hardware stores but there are 2 sizes. 1/2 inch and 3/4. Measure the diameter of the thread that screw into the tank to be sure.

I speak from experience, it's a pain to buy adapters to make the wrong one fit, but you can.

[ronniedean1234]

RV'S have a closed system, as the water heats it has to expand somewhere so out the relief valve it goes, you need to establish an air pocket at the top of the water heater for water to expand to, shut water heater off, shut incoming water off, open inside faucet and them open relief valve until water stops draining, shut relief valve then turn water on, then faucet off, the water heater does not draw the hot water off the top therefore leaves an air pocket in place, every once in awhile you need to replenish the air pocket....

As mentioned never put a plug into the p/t valve

[ab257]

Sometimes if your water system is pressurized and you turn the heater on, the thermal expansion of the water will overpressurize your system a little and cause this to leak. Just run some hot water out of the inside faucet to lower the pressure back to normal. Or it could be some dirt caught in the seat of the relief valve. When the heater is off and the water in the tank is cold, remove the red dust cover, get a plastic bag to cover the electrical connections, stand clear of the outlet and lift up on the silver lever. This will blow some water out (probably quite forcibly) and might clear the dirt out if that is causing the problem. Or just change the safety valve for one of a similar size and pressure rating.

You never want to plug this or your water heater could explode if the thermostat fails and it overpressurizes. Mythbusters had an interesting episode on what happens if you plug the safety valve on a house water heater and then overheat the water.

I also drain and flush out my tank occasionally (usually when winterizing). It looks like you can do that with the plastic plug in the lower left of the photo.

[work2fish]

bka0721 wrote:
Have you tried just opening a hot spigot, like at your sink, after you turn your Hot Water on? This relieves the pressure in the tank from the heating water, which creates many of these temporary leaks, like yours.

I have not tried that, but will do. Thanks.

bka0721 wrote:

Also, do you just turn on your hot water heater when you are going to need it, or do you turn it on at the start of a trip and leave it on during the time you are gone, until you arrive back home?

I usually only turn it on in the AM before or before I need it if I am going to use the shower, wash dishes, etc.

[work2fish]

OK, thanks for the quick pointers. Since it appears to be common on all water heaters, I am assuming I can find the part at Home Depot?

[bka0721]

Have you tried just opening a hot spigot, like at your sink, after you turn your Hot Water on? This relieves the pressure in the tank from the heating water, which creates many of these temporary leaks, like yours.

Also, do you just turn on your hot water heater when you are going to need it, or do you turn it on at the start of a trip and leave it on during the time you are gone, until you arrive back home?

b

[brirene]

What Reddog said.

[Reality_Check]

And no, don't plug it. It's got threads on it so that it can be ran to a safe place (on a typical WH, it would be a head height and dangerous if it went off). But the threads are not there for a plug. If if can't blow off when things go wrong, you're WH becomes a soft grenade.

[Reddog1]

Moved to Tech.

Wayne
Moderator