water heater relief valve replacement ?s

[blobman]

my water heater is leakingout the relief valve and im gonna replace it.anybody know what to do beforehand?i realize its under pressure,do i just turn off thesupply water andten let it cool down or empty it via th valve etc?

[coppertales]

to the heater. Turn off the inlet valve to relieve the water pressure. You can drain a gallon or two from the valve at the base of the tank. It is probably best to let the water in the tank cool. Then replace the valve and reverse the other things. chris3

[slamfire51]

A plumber showed me how to change the elements without draining much water from the tank. Turn the power off and open a faucet in the house. After it drains all it will, close the faucet and get the new relief valve ready to install.

Unscrew the old relief valve and remove quickly. And just as quickly, screw the new relief valve in. You'll lose very little water because a vacuum was set up when you shut the faucet off. The same method is used when replacing a heating element.

[Kadmos]

Yep. Just another 2 cents though. You can relieve the pressure easier and safer by tripping the test lever on the relief valve itself. Personally I would drain all the water. It should be drained on occasion anyway to help keep it clear of buildup.

Lastly, some dripping from the relief valve is pretty normal. The bigger concern is never dripping.

[blobman]

kadmos its leaking quite a bit ,constant drip and iv noticed that my hot water (shower) doesnt seem to last as long..........i noticed it leaking lastr wek after my boy and his friend went down there to get chips outta our stopreroom....little shits

[Kadmos]

Sounds like it needs replacing then. The issue, as I understand it, is the pressure comes out and calcium builds up in the valve stopping it from closing as well as it should. My guess is you'll find the old one to be fairly crusted up.

I really would drain the whole tank, and possible reopen the inlet valve and try to flush it out to some degree.

On my old one I even went into the hole when the relief valve was out and scraped some of the gunk out of there.

[deth502]

second on draining the whole thing, youd be surprised all teh shit that builds up in there. just draining it isint gonna clean it, but it should get some of the loose stuf out.

and if its not heating the water right, its not your relief valve, its probably one of your elements are shot. you can check teh resistance on it with a multimeter to determine which one, if any, are bad.