Hot water heater expansion tanks
I have an electric hot water heater with an expansion tank mounted on the cold water supply side. The pressure relief vave keeps opening and releasing water, so I replaced it with a new one, thinking that was the problem. Unfortunately, it is still opening and releasing water. Is there anything I can do to solve this problem?
Replies
It's a pressure/temperature
It's a pressure/temperature valve. It can go off because the water heater's too hot too.
There are five possibilities:
1) You were unlucky and had one valve fail and bought a defective one.
2) The expansion tank is waterlogged (failed).
3) The water heater is overheating.
4) Your incoming pressure is too high and you need a pressure reducing valve.
5) You already have a pressure reducing valve and it's misadjusted or has failed.
goldtools,
DanH is right on ...
To check your incoming pressure, you can buy a pressure guage with a hose bibb end.
If your pressure is below 60-70 psi, most probably your expansion tank has no air cushion.
Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm......
Normal everyday objects expand when they are heated and contract when they are cooled. But water expands when its heated AND expands when its cooled. Somehow I'm sure my wife would say its my fault.
Trains STOP at a train station. Buses STOP at a bus station so why do the people in information systems call their desks WORK stations???????????????
Thank you folks. Be kind to your waitresses. I'll be here all week.
"Normal everyday objects expand when they are heated and contract when they are cooled. But water expands when its heated AND expands when its cooled."
How does this help our discussion?
Water expands as it is cooled only from approx. 34 to 32deg F. as it transitions to ice.
Obviously goldtool's expansion tank is not operating in this temperature range.
>>Trains STOP at a train station
Even more importantly, they also stop at the terminal....