how do you know if a hot water heater is bad?

Question

my water heater is starting to let more and more water out of the releaf valve.

Answer 1

Shut off the electric FIRST. Shut off the cold water that feeds the heater, some only have a valve on the hot side, in that case you will have to shut off the main valve. Drain the water heater, cut the relief line out of the valve 2 " from the adapter in the valve so that it clears the top of the heater when it's turned. Go to a plumbing supply with the valve, make doubly sure that the new valve is the Exact same rating as the old one, accept nothing else, this is critical! A water heater without the Proper safety device is a time bomb! Get some teflon paste for the threads and a compression coupling the same size as the pipe you cut, the relief line is Required to be exactly the same size pipe as the thread on the relief valve. Thread the valve in, thread the old adapter in, join the pipe with your coupling. Connect a hose to the drain, turn on the water and flush the heater. Do not touch the electric until you are positive that the air is completely out of all the water lines. If it's a gas heater, just turn the thermostat to vacation setting.

Answer 2

There are several possibilities in play here. The pressure relief valve on the side or top of the unit, is there as a safety measure, to relieve pressure that builds up inside the heater tank if the temp. gets to or close to boiling, (212 degrees). If you haven't been adjusting the temp. on the thermostats of the unit, and you've noticed the temp. of the water getting hotter than it should be, then there's a possibility that one or both are going bad. It's comparatively easy to replace them, and not terribly expensive. If you have a fairly high concentration of lime, calcium in your water supply and don't have a water softener, then it's possible that the corrosive materials of the lime have weakend the internal parts of the relief valve and it's no longer capable of holding the proper pressure. This item is also comparatively easy to replace, if you're somewhat handy with tools. It's probably the most likely culprit, and a good place to start. Just be sure to shut off the electicity to the unit, if it's an electric heater, and the water supply, (from both hot and cold pipes if possible), and drain a couple of gallons of water out of the tank before unscrewing the relief valve. If it's a gas unit, just turn the valve to PILOT before draining. Put some tape or pipe dope on the threads of the new unit after unscrewing the old one and put it in. If that one starts popping off, letting out water, then you need to replace the thermostats, if it 's electric. If it's gas you may as well consider a new unit, if it's 5 - 10 years old already. The gas valve assembly, (which houses the thermostat on gas models), is very costly and somewhat tougher to replace.

Answer 3

You can replace the releaf valve. If the valve is starting to let water out period it needs to be replaced. It takes about 5-10 minutes. Just make sure you have the water turned off to hot water heater and take the old releaf valve into your local parts store with you to make sure you get the right one. Good luck!

Answer 4

We've had that problem. If you are handy with tools, just shut off the power to the unit, and using an ohm meter/volt meter, check the thermostat --or thermostats: some units have two! We found out one was bad. We replaced it and two weeks later, after more water poured out of the relief valve, we checked the second one and it went bad too. It was only about $25 to fix and talk about an inexpensive fix when looking at a new water heater!

Answer 5

you have the temperature turned up too high. The water inside is boiling off and coming out of the relief valve. All you need to do is turn it down, and you won't be wasting money on water or electricity. You will know when its bad, no more hot water. Usually there are two different heater elements in your heater, one may go bad before the other all you need to do is replace the bad element. Easy to do.

Answer 6

Check the date of manufacture on the side. If over 5-10 years old you may have to replace it. If the relief valve is the only problem you can replace but be sure to let it cool off to reduce any heat buildup and release of hot water. Also your temp should be set around 110 F. Factory settings are usually around 130F.

Answer 7

put on a new valve . the seal is wore out