New Hotwater Tank - Water out of Pressure Valve

Hello,

I recently had a plumber install a new hotwater tank in our home. After awhile I began to notice that there was a little water outside where the pressure release valve is plumbed. I have had the tank for about a month. Last week I called the plumber and he believed it was a faulty valve and replaced the pressure release valve. I still notice water outside. The water is not a constant drip but rather comes in sporadic spurts. I'm kind of at a loss here. I know the plumber will not be happy to come back again. I wouldn't mind fixing it myself, but I have no idea what is wrong. I did happen to notice that it typically makes a popping sound before it disburses the water out. It's not a lot of water, maybe a few tablespoons, but it happens several times a day.

Any suggestions would be appreaciated.

Thanks,

What do you have the temp set at? Is this a gas or electric unit?

It's electric and set for 120 F.

This valve is known as the TXV which stands for Thermal Expansion Valve. It's purpose is to release excess pressure from the tank in order to prevent things from becoming over pressurized. Typically the excess pressure is a result of too high of a temperature setting on the water heater. Check your water temperature coming out of the TXV with a thermometer and make sure it is not exceeding 120 degrees. Performing this check at other points will not give you accurate information due to scald guards and/or mixing valves built into some faucets and showers.

Thanks. This is very difficult to do, as it's plumbed outside and since it is sporadic, I never see it come out, I just see a bit of water on the lip of our house....

If I am unable to come up with a solution, is it a bad idea to just leave it alone? It's only a little water, and I'm assuming the waterheater has a 5-6 year lifespan... If it was tons of water or a hazard, then it needs to be dealt with. Any other ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

If you paid somebody to put it In and it's not working properly , call them back.

What size tank , did you upgrade tank size?

Did I read right , your tanks outside?

Thanks. It's a 50 gallon. I had a house built and the plumber installed it. It is not outside, it just has the pressure release run to the exerior of the house by PVC pipe.

The plumber that did our house ran in to some serious issues with our boiler for the hydronic heating system in the floor (seperate from the hotwater tank... and a whole seperate post...). He has been reluctant to call me back as he just wants to be done with this project... so I really want to just fix this last thing myself if possible.

make and model of w/h? you may need an expansion tank.

would be nice to read what the manufacture suggests for that model

you need to know the psi of the incomeing water to your house. this can be done with a simple gauge that screws onto your outside hydrant...ho depot has them,,,,10--15 dollars

should really need an expansion tank on a regular residential setup but then again, if it fixes the problem then so be it.
Is the PVC drain to the outside shared with the boiler system or some other source of overflow/expansion ?
If the incoming water pressure is too high then you will need to install a pressure reducing valve. The installer should have checked this on his return call. What is the pressure/temp rating on the TXV that was replaced ? Typically they would be 150psi @ 210 degrees. I'd say the plumber needs to come back and take another look.

Hmmm, thanks for the ideas guys. I will check the incoming water pressure and see what that says.

RickOShay said:

Hmmm, thanks for the ideas guys. I will check the incoming water pressure and see what that says.

Click to expand...

so......you are not going to tell us the make and model? OK...:hide:

Sorry. It's AO Smith model #ECT 52 210.

So is there an expantion tank near the heater?

No expansion tank.

4 things, high pressure, high temp. bad valve and bad controller

take the gauge for the outside hose bib and put it on the hot side on the washer machine box

ck the psi of the hot

Besides being defective, normally two things can cause a new T&P to drip. Temperature of the water or the pressure. First make sure that the T&P the plumber installed is correct. Normally it should be set at 210 degrees and 150 psi. The btu rating should higher that the btu rating of your water heater. If you water heater is not sending out 210 degree water then it is probably not the temperature. The next place I would look is at the water pressure. You can pick up a gauge that screws onto the drain valve of the heater at a hardware store. Some gauges have a red indicator to show what the highest pressure was. In most places the pressure on the main is higher at night due to lack of usage. Any pressure above 80 psi is a concern. If it is above 80 you may need to have an expansion tank and or pressure reducing valve installed. If you already have an expansion tank installed you may need to check to make sure it is installed correctly. Most bladder type expansion tanks should be installed as follows. 1. Check your home pressure with a pressure gauge. 2. Pressurize the bladder with an air compressor to the same pressure as observed in step 1. (Very important, you must have the expansion tank removed from the system (no water pressure on the opposite side of the bladder) during this step.) 3. Install expansion tank into cold side of system. Once installed, do not check or adjust air pressure without removing the tank from the plumbing system. Hope this helps!!
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