Under storage electric water heaters there is a safety valve for automatic pressure relief, protecting the boiler from rupture due to excess water pressure and its reverse flow. A common problem with water heaters is leaking. There can be several reasons for this, so diagnosing and resolving the problem may take some time.
Reason 1: Excessive pressure from thermal expansion
When heated, water expands. As a result, its volume increases and it begins to put pressure on the walls of the tank. To prevent its rupture, a safety valve is activated, which relieves the pressure by draining the water. In this case, it works properly and the problem can be solved by setting the water heater to a lower temperature. In this case, the water will press less when expanding, and the valve will stop working.
Reason 2: Valve stuck due to blockage
When water flows through the valve, scale, scale debris, or other debris may remain in its channel. As a result, the valve will not be able to close completely and will constantly leak. In this case, you need to open it several times and close it with a side flag. The effluent will flush the channel, removing blocking debris.
Reason 3: Excessive cold water pressure
A common problem is excessively high pressure in the water supply system. It can significantly exceed what the water heater is designed for. In this case, the safety valve will continuously release pressure to prevent the tank from rupturing.
It is necessary to measure the water pressure before entering the water heater with a pressure gauge. If it is higher than the maximum allowable for the tank, then an upgrade is required.
In this case, instead of the usual safety valve, a pressure reducing valve is installed. On it you can adjust the pressure of the water supplied inside the water heater, thereby completely solving the problem.
Cause 4: Valve failure
If everything is normal with the water pressure, temperature and patency of the valve, but it still flows, then this indicates that it is faulty and needs to be replaced. For this, a new valve is purchased, the maximum operating pressure of which does not exceed that permissible for the water heater tank. Information about this can be found in the instructions for the boiler or look at the markings on the old standard valve.
