Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Buy one of these at the hardware store. They screw into a house bib and you'd screw it into a bib that was downstream from the regulator like one in the backyard
Thank you! I will buy it tomorrow! I'll report back tomorrow afternoon with results.
Of course, if the pressure is dangerously high, I'll call the township and a plumber before reporting back.
For purely entertainment value, I'll share what my hubby said when I asked him why the pressure valve wasn't plumbed outside:
Hubby: "What? Because the water heater is in the basement which is completely underground."
Me: "So they don't need plumbed outside when they are underground?"
"They're usually plumbed to the drain."
"Is ours plumbed to the drain?"
"No. Because there isn't a drain there."
(FYI: It's about 20 feet away across the basement and through a doorway opening in the foundation.)
Me: "Why is someone saying it needs to be plumbed outdoors?"
"Probably because they live in an area where there are codes. Tell them we live in a 120 year old house. It was built before there were codes. Heck, it was built before there was indoor plumbing!"
(FYI: That's why the drain is located just on the other side of that doorway opening. It's in the room under the porch, which didn't exist at the time the house was built.)
He's funny. That's why I love him. He always makes me laugh.
But he's right. This house didn't have indoor plumbing. When he moved here, the only plumbing was in the basement and the kitchen sink. He built the bathrooms on the upper floors 25 years ago.
We're talking about a house with a sandstone foundation that used to have a dirt floor, a well with a outdoor pump and an underground cistern just outside the kitchen door.
I'm sure at one time there was an out house before the plumbing was put in the basement.
Just a few comments.
The person who asked why the T&P valve was not plumbed outside is from down south. This is more common down there.....although for it to be proper the T&P valve should be plumbed with a 3/4" extension within 6" of the floor.
The tank itself should be in a drainpan. That drainpan can be plumbed outside...not the T&P valve directly. The Valve should discharge in the same room as the tank, so you know if there is a problem or not.
Of course up north where there are basements, the tank, etc is plumbed down there, and the discharge needs onlt to be within 6" of the floor.
It is either a defective valve, or a problem with the pressure reducing valve recently installed. That reducing valve should be able to be adjusted.
Has been few decades since I bought a new home. At that time water pressure from the city ws 90lbs to a residence and 150lbs to commercial. There was a pressure valve at the meter (by curb) and a main shut off valve at the outside wall of the house in front. The line into the house was either 1/2 in or 3/4in...can't recall exactly...been a while.
Fast forward. House I built down here has an electrical water heater which I installed myself along with all the woodwork. Did have problems with temp control burning up couple of the internal electrical electrodes untill realized the thermo sensor was not working properly. New sensor still same problem. Solution was to affix a separate timer turning on the water at specific hr in the AM that allowed me hot water thru the day.
Long story here...heater is a 6 yr warranty tank that I've been using for 13-14 yrs now and still working fine. To the point. Allowing the temp to get too high will cause the pressure relief valve to release water. Found this out when I bypassed the timer to run longer for some extra hot water showers that resulted in a puddle of water in the drip pan under the plumbing making me think there was a PVC pipe leak. In doing the plumbing I installed many shut off valves thruout the house to isolate any possible future repairs.
Bottom line would be to control the water temp.
One thing for sure is that I will never have the bottom of the tank leak from any gas burner.
Sorry, Charles, I didn't get a chance to buy the gadget for checking the pressure today. I'll definitely get to it this week.
Quote:
Originally Posted by thecoalman
Both hot and cold water does this?
I'm going to do some research. Hubby is the one who said it does it when the hot water is used. I'm not sure. I ran the kitchen sink hot water and it didn't do it. I'm wondering if it happens after a certain period of time or afterwards or when cold is used. I'll check it when I do a cold load of laundry.
Quote:
Originally Posted by faithfulFrank
Just a few comments.
The person who asked why the T&P valve was not plumbed outside is from down south. This is more common down there.....although for it to be proper the T&P valve should be plumbed with a 3/4" extension within 6" of the floor.
The tank itself should be in a drainpan. That drainpan can be plumbed outside...not the T&P valve directly. The Valve should discharge in the same room as the tank, so you know if there is a problem or not.
Of course up north where there are basements, the tank, etc is plumbed down there, and the discharge needs onlt to be within 6" of the floor.
It is either a defective valve, or a problem with the pressure reducing valve recently installed. That reducing valve should be able to be adjusted.
Thanks for clarification. I know our setup isn't unusual for my region of the country. It's just like every tank in every house I've lived my entire life. When a basement isn't finished, it really doesn't matter. Our boiler, water heater and laundry appliances are built up on concrete pads to keep elevated from flooding. Even though our house itself isnt' located in an official flood area, it's the common way to design a basement in this region because rain can cause flooding even in a house on a hillside if the ground gets over saturated. Water can also flood basements via the sewer drains if too much rain falls too quickly for the sewer system to manage.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Bagu
Long story here...heater is a 6 yr warranty tank that I've been using for 13-14 yrs now and still working fine. To the point. Allowing the temp to get too high will cause the pressure relief valve to release water. Found this out when I bypassed the timer to run longer for some extra hot water showers that resulted in a puddle of water in the drip pan under the plumbing making me think there was a PVC pipe leak. In doing the plumbing I installed many shut off valves thruout the house to isolate any possible future repairs.
Bottom line would be to control the water temp.
THIS is fascinating information! I've been keeping the temperature on this new tank set super hot. Now that the kids are adults, I decided I deserved the luxury of extremely hot water. BUT I can't imagine it being hotter during or after hot water is used. Afterall, cold water is going into the tank at that time. You'd think it would leak when hot water wasn't being used because it would eventually reach top temperature. Either way, I'm going to lower the temperature a little and see if that makes a difference. It will be very interesting if it does.
Quote:
Originally Posted by thecoalman
Could be bad expansion tank too especially if it's just the hot water.
I need to verify it's only when hot water is used.
Quote:
Originally Posted by thecoalman
While on this topic never fix this by replacing the release valve with plug.
I thought I'd give an update for anyone who might be searching for solutions to this problem.
It was a simple problem. The house pressure is 70 PSI. Expansion tank was 40 PSI.
Hubby took expansion tank to the gas station to set the pressure to 70 PSI to match the house pressure.
1-1/2 years later the problem is solved.
Now I am really thinking. I wasn't sure I understood this. So, I just went to my expansion tank. I measured its PSI at 40, then I got out my glasses and noticed the sticker which read "This tank factory set to 40 PSI." So, doesn't that mean 40 was/is the right pressure? Why would you have to pressurize it up to 70? My house pressure is around 55 or 60.
So I am asking was setting it to 70 from 40 the right thing for you to do?
Our boiler and hot water tank have been blowing water for a while. The hot water tank much longer than the boiler.
When it first started, the hot water tank would drip water after water was used. Hubby did replace the pressure relief valve but didn't resolve the problem.
At some point, it started BLOWING water after water was used. A big huge gush we could hear when we weren't in the basement.
The boiler company came last week to do maintenance. Hubby told him about the hot water tank blowing. (Unfortunately, hubby only mentioned the boiler was leaking, not blowing.) The technician told hubby to take the hot water exapansion tank to the gas station and set it to match the house pressure to resolve that problem.
The hot water tank has not blown any water since he changed the pressure to 70. (Prior, it blew every single time the water was used anywhere in the house.) Hubby says that it needs to match the house pressure because too much pressure pushing against the expansion tank causes the expansion tank to blow because diaphram inside the expansion tank can't hold against the high pressure.
Everywhere I have read on the internet since the technician came here says that the hot water expansion tank pressure needs to be changed to match the house pressure. There are youtube videos on how to change the pre-charge of an expansion tank. Just because the factor pre pressurized it at 40 doesn't mean it's the right pressure.
This youtube video dude explains that the pressure needs to match the pressure inside the house and shows how to change the pressure:
Somehwhat related and unrelated to this thread, there is a similar issue with the boiler. Since hubby only told the technician the boiler was leaking (instead of blowing), the technician told hubby to replace the relief valve on the boiler. (This hasn't been don yet.) I asked hubby why the expansion tank on the boiler didn't need to be increased to the house pressure too. It just didn't make sense tome that they both shouldn't need to be set the same. For some crazy reason, hubby thinks it's different because the systems are separate. Even though the hot water tank and the boiler are separate, they aren't separate from the house pressure IMO, but hubby thinks a regulator that is prior to the boiler lowers the water pressure before it gets to the boiler.
On Monday, I will be calling the boiler company to come back for the boiler, but the hot water tank issues are definitely resolved.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
