Pressure relieve valve (water heater)
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nealtw
Contractor retired
Usually goes to a floor drain but yes, you do want it to go somewhere.
Most common application is to just run it down the side of the heater a few inches from the floor. You shouldn't see any water come out unless you have a problem so targeting a drain if one is not close by won't be an issue.
Wuzzat?
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You're supposed to test the valve once in a while, along with checking GFCIs.
I never have checked the valve because if it's opened temporarily for the test and it doesn't fully close, this could be a problem.
So I'd do this test in the morning of a day when plumbing supply stores are open, if I ever do it.
And the drain valve at the bottom of your heater should be the gate valve type so it doesn't obstruct the blobs of minerals that may collect the bottom of your heater and will not want to come out with a regular valve, see "doesn't fully close", above.
I never have checked the valve because if it's opened temporarily for the test and it doesn't fully close, this could be a problem.
So I'd do this test in the morning of a day when plumbing supply stores are open, if I ever do it.
And the drain valve at the bottom of your heater should be the gate valve type so it doesn't obstruct the blobs of minerals that may collect the bottom of your heater and will not want to come out with a regular valve, see "doesn't fully close", above.
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I prefer a 3/4" full port ball valve versus a gate valve.
Last year I had a contractor doing a boiler PM and he test the pressure valve on the holding tank. I waited a few days to see if the leak would heal up but, it ended up costing a $125 to replace it. I asked him to not do that again and he told me that he's required to (by law or by employer, can't recall) but, they had a heater blow up on them because the relief valve was stuck shut. They got sued for overlooking the valve during a PM.
Last year I had a contractor doing a boiler PM and he test the pressure valve on the holding tank. I waited a few days to see if the leak would heal up but, it ended up costing a $125 to replace it. I asked him to not do that again and he told me that he's required to (by law or by employer, can't recall) but, they had a heater blow up on them because the relief valve was stuck shut. They got sued for overlooking the valve during a PM.
Wuzzat?
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http://www.google.com/search?q="wat...IvMsQSeroCoBw&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=768&bih=449
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=full+port+ball+valve&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
There are several in my house. I would have done that one but it stuck out too far from the heater.
The ball valve does seem more suited to this application -
"Ball valves are durable and usually work to achieve perfect shutoff even after years of disuse. They are therefore an excellent choice for shutoff applications (and are often preferred to globe valves and gate valves for this purpose)."
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=full+port+ball+valve&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
There are several in my house. I would have done that one but it stuck out too far from the heater.
The ball valve does seem more suited to this application -
"Ball valves are durable and usually work to achieve perfect shutoff even after years of disuse. They are therefore an excellent choice for shutoff applications (and are often preferred to globe valves and gate valves for this purpose)."
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